I Came a Stranger: Life as a Woman in the early 20th Century Hilda Satt Polacheck lived an extraordinary life as an immigrant woman in the early twentieth century. Hilda’s life is on display (portrayed)? throughout her book, I Came a Stranger: The Story of a Hull-House Girl, which showed the struggles and challenges faced by women in America during the early twentieth century. Polacheck guided us through her time of transition to America as she was getting accustomed to a vastly different way of life for not only herself, but her family as well. When Russian oppression became an issue for Polacheck’s family, they decided it was time to move to America, in search for a better life. The voyage to America took longer than anticipated,
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This escalating social responsibility was facilitated through Jane Addams's Hull-House. The Hull-House was a settlement house used mainly by immigrant women founded in 1899 by an American, Jane Addams, in the west side of Chicago. It was a safe place that celebrated women of all ages, both wealthy and poor, and empowered them through education and social training. In the words of Pollacheck, it was to “Create opportunities for young people of the neighborhood”(xix). To many immigrant women, Jane Addams was a savior that helped not just assimilate them, but thrive in America. Polacheck stated that after some time in the Hull House, “I was not only hungry for books, music, and all of the arts and crafts offered at Hull-House, but i was starved for the stimulus of people my own age”(ixi) From the lens of Polacheck, the Hull-House guided many women like her, to become leaders socially. Hull-House consistently produced women who were ready to advance themselves in the world. Now that women were enhancing themselves intellectually and gathering skill sets, more opportunities began to open themselves up. For example, Polacheck was invited to quasi-attend the University of Chicago to study on a full scholarship due to her academic promise she showed at the Hull-House. Polacheck stated, “...Miracles at the Hull-House all the time” and with this specific miracle, she would be experiencing one of the greatest social opportunities America has to offer, college. Without the Hull-House, opportunities similar to the one Polacheck received would not have been accessible for hundreds of women. Socially, women were now able to strive for a higher position in the social hierarchy in many communities across
This escalating social responsibility was facilitated through Jane Addams's Hull-House. The Hull-House was a settlement house used mainly by immigrant women founded in 1899 by an American, Jane Addams, in the west side of Chicago. It was a safe place that celebrated women of all ages, both wealthy and poor, and empowered them through education and social training. In the words of Pollacheck, it was to “Create opportunities for young people of the neighborhood”(xix). To many immigrant women, Jane Addams was a savior that helped not just assimilate them, but thrive in America. Polacheck stated that after some time in the Hull House, “I was not only hungry for books, music, and all of the arts and crafts offered at Hull-House, but i was starved for the stimulus of people my own age”(ixi) From the lens of Polacheck, the Hull-House guided many women like her, to become leaders socially. Hull-House consistently produced women who were ready to advance themselves in the world. Now that women were enhancing themselves intellectually and gathering skill sets, more opportunities began to open themselves up. For example, Polacheck was invited to quasi-attend the University of Chicago to study on a full scholarship due to her academic promise she showed at the Hull-House. Polacheck stated, “...Miracles at the Hull-House all the time” and with this specific miracle, she would be experiencing one of the greatest social opportunities America has to offer, college. Without the Hull-House, opportunities similar to the one Polacheck received would not have been accessible for hundreds of women. Socially, women were now able to strive for a higher position in the social hierarchy in many communities across