Chapter 2 Chapter 2 The Threat of Poverty: Firms Rising

Carrie's older sister, Minnie, lived in an apartment, as that was then called for a suite occupying one floor. The apartment was in West Vanbrunn Street, a residential area for workers and clerks. These people were from out of town and people were still moving. Come. The population of Chicago is increasing at a rate of 50,000 a year. Her room is on the third floor. The window of the front room faces the street. At night, the grocery store is brightly lit, and the children play in the street. When the carriage passes, The bells of the coach jingled and jingled until they faded into the distance. To Carrie the sound was not only new but pleasant. After Minnie led her into the front room, her eyes turned to the brightly lit windows. I was amazed by the sounds, activities, and hums that spread for miles around in a big city.

After the first pleasantries, Carrie's sister, Mrs. Hanson, handed the baby to Carrie, and went to cook supper. Her husband sat down to read the evening paper after asking a few words. He was a man of few words, born in the United States. , his father was Swedish, and he himself was a cleaner of a refrigerated truck on a cattle ranch. It had nothing to do with him whether his sister-in-law came or not. Her presence neither pleased nor annoyed him. He and Carrie The only serious topic that was said was the question of job opportunities in Chicago. "It's a big place," he said. "You can get a job there in a few days, and everybody does."

They had agreed in advance that Carrie would have to find a job and pay for her board. He was a man of integrity and lived frugally, and he had ordered two lots in installments far away on the West Side of Chicago, and had paid for them for several months. His ambition is to build a house on that land one day. Carrie surveyed the flat while her sister was cooking. She had a gift for observation and a feminine instinct. She realized that their life was very difficult. The walls of the room were patchwork and paper, and the colors were very inconsistent. It's the kind of poor quality stuff that the installment shop sells.

She sat in the kitchen with the baby in her arms, and stayed with Minnie until the baby cried. Then she got up and walked up and down, humming to the baby. Hanson was so disturbed by the baby's crying. If there was no reward, he came over and took the child. This shows a gratifying side of his character: he is very patient. It can be seen that he loves his child very much. "Okay, okay, don't cry," he said to the baby as he walked around, a slight Swedish accent in his voice. "You must want to see the city first, don't you?" said Minnie at dinner. "Well, we'll go up to Linkin Park on Sunday."

Carrie noticed that Hanson was noncommittal to the proposal. He seemed to be thinking of other things. "But I'd like to look around tomorrow," she said. "I've got Friday and Saturday to spare. It won't be any trouble. Where's the business district?" Minnie began to explain. But her husband dismissed the subject. "Over there," he said, pointing to the east, "on the east side." And he began his first tirade since Carrie came, on the layout of Chicago. "You'd better go over the river, Take a look at those factories along Franklin Street." He concluded, "a lot of girls work there. And it's easy to get home from there, not far from here."

Carrie nodded, and asked her sister about the neighborhood again. Her sister told her in a low voice what she knew. Meanwhile, Hanson was only interested in teasing the child. At last he jumped up and handed the child to him. wife. "I have to get up early tomorrow morning, and I have to go to bed." He disappeared into the bedroom next to the living room, and went to bed. "He works on a cattle ranch a long way from here," Minnie explained, "so he's up at five-thirty." "And when do you get up for breakfast?" asked Carrie. "About twenty minutes to five."

Together they got the day's work done. Carrie did the dishes, and Minnie undressed the baby and put him to bed. Minnie's every move showed that she was accustomed to hard work. Carrie could see that her sister's day It's just working non-stop all day long. She began to realize that she must give up Drouet's association. He could not be allowed to come here. She saw it in Hanson's manner and Minnie's repressed air, in fact, in the whole atmosphere of this apartment. Hansheng has a conservative attitude towards life, and apart from working, everything else is incompatible with them all year round. Hansheng's life is to read the newspaper in the front room every night, go to bed at 9 o'clock, and Minnie goes to bed later. What would they expect of her? What? She realized that she had to get a job so she could pay for her room and board and settle down before she could think about making friends or anything like that. Her little flirtation with Drouet now seemed like out of line.

"No," she thought to herself, "he cannot come here." She asked Minnie for ink and paper, which were on the mantelpiece in the dining room. When her sister went to bed at ten, she took out Drouet's card and began to write. "I can't let you come and see me here. Wait till I write again. My sister's house is very narrow." She was thinking about what to write again, and she wanted to mention their friendship on the train, but she was embarrassed. So she just thanked him for his care on the train in general as a concluding remark. Then she wondered how to write a tribute before her signature. The language took a lot of thought. At last she decided to write "Sincerely and regards" in a serious tone, but then she decided to change it to a more cordial "Good regards." She sealed the letter, wrote the address, and went into the front room. There was her little bed in the recess of the front room. She dragged the only small rocking chair to the open window, and sat there, quietly watching the night and the street outside the window, silently amazed. At last she felt tired, sat in the chair and felt drowsiness hit her, and it was time to go to bed. So she put on her pajamas and fell asleep. When she woke up at eight o'clock the next day, Hanson had gone to work. Her sister Busily sewing in the dining-sitting room. She dressed and made herself some breakfast, and then she asked Minnie where to look. Minnie had changed a lot since the last parting. Big. She is now a woman of twenty-seven, haggard and emaciated, though still hale. Her outlook on life has been influenced by her husband, so that her ideas of pleasure and duty are now greater than they were when she was a young girl in a small place. She invited Carrie not because she missed her, but because Carrie was dissatisfied with life at home. Carrie might be able to find a job here and support herself. Of course, she was also somewhat happy to see her sister, but in Carrie agreed with her husband on the question of employment. It didn't matter what the job was, as long as it paid, say, five dollars a week at first. They thought she might be a shopgirl. She Go into some big shop and work there until...how should I put it? Until the day comes. They don't know exactly what's going to happen, they don't expect her to be promoted, and they don't Not quite pinning their hopes on marriage. But they had a vague feeling that things would turn around, that Carrie would be paid, and not come to town to toil for nothing. Carrie was holding This wonderful desire to go out and find a job.

Before we follow Carrie around looking for a job, let's take a look at the world she hoped for. Chicago in 1889 was so blessed that even young girls would risk their luck here. It The plethora of business opportunities in the city is known far and wide, making it a huge magnet, attracting people from far and wide, some hopeful, some out of desperation. Some come to make a fortune, while others fail elsewhere Later. This city of more than half a million people had the ambition, spirit and enterprise of a million-person metropolis. The streets and houses were spread over a large area of ​​seventy-five square miles. Its population boom was not due to Traditional commerce, but due to various industries. These industries are still preparing to accommodate more newcomers. Everywhere you can hear the hammering of new buildings. Big industries are moving in. Those big railroad companies see The prospect of this place has long since occupied a large area of ​​land for the development of transportation business. Tram tracks have been laid in the surrounding wilderness, because it is foreseen that there will be rapid development there. In those areas where there are only scattered houses, the cities are also Long roads and sewers have been built... These are the forerunners of the bustling city in the future. There are no houses in some open areas to shelter from the wind and rain. However, at night, long rows of gas street lamps are It came on, and the lights swayed in the wind. The narrow boardwalk stretched, past a house here, at a distance, a shop there, and finally out into the open meadow.

The city center was a large commercial center, and a wholesale business. Uninformed people often went there to find work. Each of the larger firms occupied a separate building, which was what made Chicago different from other cities at that time. They It was possible to do this because there was plenty of room. This made most of the wholesale houses look imposing. Offices were on the ground floor and had a clear view of the street. Large window glass, which is common now, was just widely used, It adds a magnificent style to the office room on the first floor. When people wandering through these sets of shiny office facilities, they can see many frosted glass, staff working hard, and businessmen wearing neat suits and clean shirts sitting scattered , or get together. A shiny bronze or nickel plate is hung on the doorway made of ashlar, on which the name and nature of the business are marked in concise and discreet words. The purpose is to make those ordinary job seekers daunted and afraid to ask for it, and also to make the gap between the rich and the poor appear wide and deep.

Carrie walked timidly into this important business district. She walked east along Van Buren Street, passed through a less luxurious area, and continued on. The houses became more and more ordinary, and gradually shacks appeared. and the coal yard, and finally arrived at the river. The desire to seek a job prompted her to continue to move forward bravely, and the interesting things in front of her stopped her from time to time. Facing these enormous wealth and power that she could not understand, she could not help but Feeling lonely and helpless. What are these high-rise buildings for? What business do these strange industries and big companies do? She can understand the nature of the small quarry in Columbia City, which cuts marble into small pieces and sells to private individuals. But When she saw the quarry of a huge stone company, saw the criss-crossing railway lines and flatbed cars inside, the riverside wharf piercing the quarry, and the large wooden and steel cranes above her head, she couldn't understand Yes. She has never seen the world, and certainly does not understand the nature of these things. Those huge railway station yards, the densely packed ships she saw along the river, and the big factories along the river on the other side also puzzled her. Through the open window she could see people in work aprons. Men and women with waists were busy walking around there. The high-walled shops on the street were some unfathomable mysteries to her. Those large office rooms were like some mysterious mazes, leading to Great people from far away. As for those business people, she can only think of them counting money, wearing fancy clothes, and riding in a carriage. As for what kind of business they do, how they do business, and the results of their business, she only has Some of the vaguest notions. Seeing it all so great, so grand, so unattainable, she couldn't help but feel discouraged. The thought of walking into such a grand firm and looking for a job, a job she could do...  .No matter what the job was, her heart was pounding with fright.