and closes in the crowded poverty of a Detroit housing project.

Through the characters in Arnow's novel, we can see the effects of this

transition. The story takes place in the midst of World War II, and many

of the men in the area have already gone off to work for the war effort.

We meet the main character, Gertie, her husband Clovis, and their

five children. While both parents with for a better life for their family,

their perceptions of what is "better" are very different.

Gertie's goal is to own her own piece of farmland where she can

produce everything they need, while Clovis dreams about getting

out of the country and making money in the big city.

Eventually, Clovis is called to move to Detroit to work in a defense

factory, and the entire family is uprooted from their home and thrown

into a new, complex urban setting. They are forced to deal with "various

nationalities, religions, and social backgrounds, but also a strange mixture

of prejudice and charity," and come into contact with a new world

involving "installment buying, labor unions, mass education, radio, movies,

comic books, etc." [2]

The plot of Harriette Arnow's novel, The Dollmaker, follows very

closely the events of her life.