american tragedy

Chapter 35 (2)
Chapter 25 (2)
Clyde thought, Gilbert's position is really great.He must come and go freely, work late and leave early, and must live in a luxurious villa with his parents and sisters.But he, Gilbert's cousin, was led to work in a very obscure department of the factory.

After seeing all the sights of this big factory, he began to think about other things.On this upper floor, on the other side of the large office he had just seen, was a larger room filled with rows of boxes that opened onto a passage no more than five feet wide.Clyde saw that there were countless collars in the box, packed in cardboard boxes according to size.Warehouse guys wheeled them from the boxing shop on wooden carts, filling case after case.Sometimes the wholesalers also come in with a trolley and pick up the goods according to the bill of lading in their hands, and they will empty out several boxes at once.

"I guess you haven't made collars before, Mr. Griffiths." Huigen regained his energy once he was out of Jill's sight, and Clyde noticed that in his question, "Mr. Griffiths "This appellation.

"Ah, no." He replied hastily, "I have never been to such a place."

"You must want to spend a while to figure out the whole process, right?" Huigen said, walking into a long aisle.

"I hope so."

"Some people say that there is nothing to learn, but in fact, all this knowledge is great." He pushed open a door, entered the room, and entered another warehouse: boxes were also piled high and filled with white cloth.

"Since you went to the sink first, you should know a little bit about it. This thing is used to make collars and linings, called gray cloth. Each roll is called a gray cloth. But if you can't use it immediately, you have to go to the basement first Go into the water. Otherwise the collar will shrink when it's cut. We soak these things in a vat and dry them."

Clyde clearly sensed that this man never regarded him as an ordinary worker.He called him Mr. Griffiths, he assumed that Clyde was going to learn all the steps, and he took the trouble to explain to him about gray cloth, which made him feel that he was regarded as a respectable person.

He followed Huigen, curious about everything.Behind the third room, they descended several flights of stairs to a vast basement.Here, there are four rows of very bright lights, and rows of porcelain vats fill the room.The gray cloth he saw upstairs just now was soaked in the vat—the vat was filled with scalding boiling water.There are huge drying racks on both sides of the porcelain vat, which form a movable flat shelf, and high-temperature steam pipes are installed on the top, bottom and both sides.Rolls of gray cloth hung in the middle of the steam pipe, moving slowly on the rotating shaft, and the gears made harsh noises.These gears rotate by themselves, sending the gray cloth from the east end of the room to the west end. Along the way, the gray cloth is dried and rolled up automatically at the west end, and rolled into bundles of cloth on wooden shafts. He lifted it down, which is called "unloading down." At the east end, a person about his age was "loading up", that is, loading the soaked wet cloth on a hook, slowly opening it, and drying it through the drying teeth. Board, wait for one gray cloth to pass through completely, and then install another.

There are many drying machines between every two rows of porcelain vats in the center of the room. After the gray cloth is soaked for a day and a night, it is piled there to dry, absorbing as much water as possible, and then drying.

Clyde paid attention to the environment in this room—noise, heat, and steam. A dozen young men were all wearing sleeveless shirts, old trousers, a belt around the waist, and a pair of canvas-topped rubber-soled rain boots.It was so hot, so humid, and so much water in the room, it was obvious that it could only be worn like that.

"This is called Falling Water," Huigen said. "The conditions are more difficult than other places. This is the first step in the whole production process. Kemana!" he shouted.

One person responded.The man was short and stocky, with a round face and a pale complexion. He wore dirty, wrinkled trousers, and a sleeveless flannel shirt.He was as respectful to Whigan as he was to Gilbert.

"This one is Clyde Griffiths, cousin of Gilbert Griffiths. I told you about him last week, remember?"

"Remember, sir."

"He starts here, tomorrow morning."

"Yes, sir."

"You put his name on the roster, and he will go to work on time tomorrow."

"Yes, sir."

Clyde saw that Huigen raised his head higher and spoke more clearly.He was now a master, not a subordinate.

"Everyone here starts work at 07:30 in the morning," Huigen told Clyde, "but everyone arrives earlier, around [-]:[-], get dressed and go to work."

"Mr. Kemena," he continued, "can tell you what you are going to do tomorrow before you go, I have things to do later. But you have to be at the operator at the gate at 05:30 , I can ask Mrs. Braley to wait for you there and show you the room. I won't go myself. You can ask the operator about her." He turned and said, "I have to go first. .”

Clyde said, "Thank you very much, Mr. Whigan." He made no answer, but made a gesture, and went away.Mr. Kemena still looked uneasy and showed him a look of awe.

"As for what you're doing tomorrow, it's no big deal, Mr. Griffiths, you'll be unloading the greige tomorrow. But if you want some old clothes, I advise you to wear them. A suit like this is here. It won't last long." He carefully looked at Clyde's neat but not luxurious clothes, showing awe and suspicion as he did for Huigen.Only time will dispel this doubt.Here, the surname Griffiths means something different.Although only a cousin, and not very popular with relatives.

Based on his first impression, Clyde was a little unhappy when compared with his previous dream of this industry.It seemed to him that the people here were lesser than he had imagined, far less intelligent and quick-witted than his colleagues at the United Club and the Glynn-Davidson.What's more, they are humble and impersonal, just machines.Clyde also noticed that when he and Huigan walked in, these people pretended not to pay attention, but they actually saw it clearly. Their eyes were fixed on him and Huigen.They were so snobbish that all his lofty ideas of working here vanished.Why can't I be assigned in the office or somewhere upstairs because I don't have experience?

He walked all the way with Mr. Kemena, and Mr. Kemena took the trouble to introduce him to porcelain tanks, suction dryers and drying tooth plates.It was only past three o'clock, and Mr. Kemena told him that he could go.

He walked out the nearest door, thinking how exciting it was to be able to do something for such a big company, and worrying about whether he would be able to do it to the satisfaction of Mr. Kemener and Mr. Whigan.What if he couldn't? Or, what if he couldn't bear the pain? It was hard work.He thought, if it didn't work out, he could go back to Chicago, or go to New York, and find another way to make a living.

But he still had a series of questions: why didn't Samuel Griffiths receive him, why was this young Gilbert Griffiths so cold to him, what kind of woman was this Mrs. Braley , Is his performance this time smart enough? Will others promote him when he comes here?

As he thought about it, he walked towards the Riverside Street.There are some other factories on this street.He walked north through some factories and more streets, the tin factory, the tungsten wire company, the vacuum cleaner company, the carpet company, and so on.He broke into a slum which, though small, had a sight he had never seen before.The disparity between the rich and the poor made him feel the misfortune of the society.This made him so unhappy that he turned back and went west along the bridge over the Mohawk River to another area.The houses in this area are more elegant.Going further south, you will reach the wide road with trees on both sides.On the surface at least, this is the main residential area of ​​Lycurgos.He immediately noticed the people on the road, because he believed that his uncle lived on this street.Most of the houses in the street were French, Italian, or American, very elegant in style, but he didn't know much about it.

The luxury of these houses made him feel good.He walked on, looking around, guessing which house his uncle might live in.He thought, getting rich is really important.What a sight it was when Cousin Gilbert walked out of these houses every morning.

He stops in front of a house.In the yard of this family's house, all kinds of flowers and trees were planted. The flower beds were newly repaired, but they hadn't bloomed yet.There is a large garage at the back, a fountain on the left, and a sculpture of a swan boy in the center.On the right side of the house is a group of cast iron statues of dogs chasing stags.Constructed according to English classical forms with some adaptations, the building is majestic and captivating.He asked a passer-by who looked like an ordinary worker: "Whose house is this?" The man replied: "Why, you don't even know this? This is the home of Samuel Griffiths. The big boss of the collar factory!"

Clyde's heart trembled: This is his uncle's residence! His car is parked in front of the garage at the back, and another car can even be seen through the door!

The scene in front of him touched colorful associations in his mind: red roses, pleasing fragrance, gorgeous colors, beautiful music, this is the life of his uncle! But his own parents are so poor, living in Kansas or Denver Preaching in the streets and setting up a church! He is still very proud.Isn't his surname Griffith? Isn't he the nephew of the owner of this house? Isn't he working for him in this capacity? Doesn't this herald his bright future? Griffith here What a status! Griffiths was nothing compared to them in Kansas City or Denver! He tried to hide his identity as much as possible.Thinking of this, he was discouraged again.What if uncles, cousins, or their friends and staff, wanted to investigate his parents and his past? The little girl who was murdered in Kansas City, the life of her parents displaced, and Esta, this How can we let them know everything? But what if they know? What if they find out?

God, what kind of character is he? If their past is known to them, how can the world accommodate him?

He suddenly realized that he was so incompatible with this place, so he turned his head in frustration and went back the same way.

(End of this chapter)