Carrie
Upon coming to the city, Carrie immediately tries to find a job. At first, she is ashamed to humble herself to the status of those who need employment and is too embarrassed to inquire managers about job opportunities. She begins her search in the department district, but everywhere requires experience. Her depression deepens as she walks through the stores and sees all of the things that she wishes she had the money to buy. After no offers, she begins to enter any shop that looks as though it needs workers. Carrie is finally offered a job at a shoe factory in a bad neighborhood. She takes the job at $4.50 per week, and is told to show up at 8 A.M. Monday morning. This elates Carrie that she has work, and she wishes to go to the theater that night to celebrate. Minnie advises her not to, and Hanson thinks that she is silly to want to spend her money that way. With her living arrangement, $4 of the $4.50 goes to Hanson and Minnie, which leaves her with $.50 per week for herself. She also has to consider bus fare, Hanson reminds her.
Carrie's first day of work is a disaster. She arrives at 8 A.M. as instructed, and is told to sit at a stool and punch holes in shoe leather. She is part of an assembly line, which she is continually slowing down. The other workers try to accommodate her, but the overseer reprimands Carrie for slowing down progress. Leather gets caught in the machine, her back and shoulders ache from sitting on a stool with no back for hours, and time virtually stops. She finally hears the lunch bell, and cannot believe that only 4 hours have passed. However, the lunch break was not as relaxing as anticipated.
The workers gather in the food area for lunch and chat about the weekend. Carrie is disgusted by the crude comments the men make toward the women of the factory. She does not feel respected and becomes uncomfortable. One man tries to start a conversation with her, but she answers as simply as possible and leaves quickly. She cannot believe that men and women work together in the same factory, right next to each other on the assembly line. Carrie shows that she is much too proud for the lower/middle socioeconomic class.
When her first day ends, ten hours after it started, Carrie complains about her horrible experience and tells Minnie and Hanson that she wants to quit. Hanson explains that this is not an option because she has bills that she must pay. Carrie sticks with the job for a week, but falls very ill due to exhaustion and walking home in the cold Chicago winter in an effort to save bus money. She misses 3 days, and understands that she is terminated from the factory because of this. She searches unsuccessfully for 4 days trying to find new work, but ultimately chooses another way to get what she wants.
