The Rathole Archipelago : industrial pioneers in a hammershop of hell, reflections of the I.W.W. in fiction.

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of an early twentieth-century labor union in the United States, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), on the lives of two fictional heroes: Janet Bumpus in Winston Churchill's The Dwelling Place of Light (1917) and Waclaw Krasinski in W. E. Trautmann and Peter Hagboldt's Riot (c.1922). Churchill was one of the most popular writers of his day, and The Dwelling Place of Light was the last novel he wrote before retiring in 1919. Although Trautmann lacks Churchill's literary fame, he possesses a notoriety of his own, and, until the writing of "The Rathole Archipelago," the novel Riot with its IWW connection has passed unnoticed. Between 1905 and 1920 the IWW was active in organizing the unskilled labor force on the East Coast and the migratory workers in the West. But fueled by a utopian dream of forming a new society from these laborers, the IWW possessed a strain of idealism that made it as much a social movement as a labor organization. After tracing the history and the collapse of the union, one might consider the endeavor a failure. However, the two novels described above show that the IWW exerted a beneficial influence not only on the protagonists but also on the other workers around them. The first chapter provides an historical sketch of the IWW intended to impart an overview of where the union came from, who its members were, what they wanted, and how controversy came to surround the organization. The second chapter examines some of the ideas conveyed through the songs, poems, and pageantry written by Wobblies--as IWW members were nicknamed. Also, this chapter surveys works of fiction that feature Wobblies and explores how the character of the individual Wobbly is used and what he represents in various novels. The third and fourth chapters focus on the novels by Churchill and Trautmann-Hagboldt and investigate whether the IWW played a constructive or destructive role in the lives of the fictitious characters. The fifth chapter provides a summation and conclusion. The IWW has the unique distinction of being the only organization that was--according to its opponents--dominated by both the Kaiser and the Bolsheviks. Vilified by powerful elements in American society, the IWW was often depicted as an organization either infused with a foreign ideology or adopted as a tool by the current enemies of the United States. The IWW was often perceived as an organization apart from American tradition. In much literature, however, the IWW, with its concern for downtrodden workers, is portrayed as an indigenous organization infused with altruism--a part of American tradition.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Grantor

Baylor University.

Year dc:date.issued

1993

Author dc:creator

• Miller, Jay.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Collmer, R. G., 1926-2018.

• Churchill, Winston, 1871-1947 -- Criticism and interpretation.
• Trautmann, W. E. (William Ernst), 1869- -- Criticism and interpretation.
• Industrial Workers of the World.
• Labor unions.

Statement dc:rights

• Baylor University works are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact libraryquestions@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission.

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2104/14616

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:baylor-ir.tdl.org:2104/14616