ve their lives and the futures of their families. None of the men described by Bell - from Djuro to Mike to Dobie - fail to work hard and to accept the necessity of hard work as a means of achieving the goal. A single episode of drunkenness should not be allowed to denigrate the years of work in which Djuro performed efficiently and effectively and worked to become a part of the "American dream." Bell made this crystal clear, just as he also made it clear that Mike's idealism (and its transmission to Dobie), is an inevitable consequence of a desire to become a fuller participant in that dream. Opponents of immigration have expressed concerns that by accepting unprecedented numbers of immigrants the country would rapidly alter its own ethnic character. At the time that this novel is set, it had been argued that these diverse ethnic groups had a damaging effect upon the culture of the United States, though this assertion had not been proven correct. Dobie Dobrejcak's own determination to improve the working conditions, treatment, economic prospects, and very lives of working men was fundamentally "American" in that it addressed issues of justice, fairness and equality. His belief that such a social transformation was possible attested to the continued vitality of the American Dream and the willingness of people to pursue that dream against great odds. The ideas advanced at the turn of the century with respect to the potentially debilitating influence of an immigrant population upon American culture have not been borne out by this country's social and cultural experience. The vast majority of all immigrant groups that have come to American in search of freedom and economic opportunity have made enormous contributions to the growth of this country. In art, literature, economics, and politics, the Irish, Poles, other Eastern Europeans, Latinos, and Asians have been side-by-side partners in creating the American cultural makeup. Earl...
