When Smoke Ran Like Water Analysis

Words: 626
Pages: 3

In the beginning of When Smoke Ran Like Water, Ms. Davis explains that the town's cars and windows would be covered in grime by the end of the day because of the pollution in the air of Donora. The town didn’t question what it could be doing to their health, or the possibility that the Iron Mill was causing the pollution. The weather conditions trapped the smog by the river and around Donora. Because Donora depended on the Mill for working families in need of jobs, no one wanted to pay attention to the idea that people were getting sick from the source of their income. For example, Ms. Davis says; “That’s what kept your zadde and your father employed. Nobody was going to ask if it made a few people ill”. In the 1950’s, the Iron mill started creating steel. Large amounts of water, coal, and limestone were needed to make steel. The smoke that was produced in the making was supposed to stay in the oven but did not, and polluted the air with hydrocarbons. No worker could stay in the mill for long periods of time. …show more content…
The heart became weak, teeth would become mottled from fluoride poisoning, and many breathing difficulties and lower lung issues occurred in the people of Donora. For a long time, it was extremely difficult to find the problem because it was expected that the lungs would be damaged. The non-health related effects involved the young working people’s needs to have a job and take care of their families. The author also describes how Donora’s pollution was almost nostalgic to the people that lived there, and it resembled what home felt like. For example, Ms. Davis says; “My chinese hosts were embarrassed by the noise and stench, but I found myself strangely exhilarated, almost nostalgic.” This shows that even though the smog killed and sickened several people, it also gave the families of Donora a way to come together and have a way to remember the homey