City of Orphans

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2000

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Chapters 29-35Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 29-35 Summary

Maks arrives at the shoe factory with news of Emma for Papa. He notes the dangers surrounding factory work, especially on the large machines. People often lose limbs or worse. He is thankful Papa works in shoes and only has to use scissors. Agnes is particularly useful for her small hands; as Papa once said, “Best thing ‘bout America, she uses all kinds” (129). Maks finds Papa and relates to him the sad state of Emma and the story of the watch. Papa is called back to his work by the foreman, Mr. Purnham. He tells Maks to return home and tell Mama the news. Maks considers going to look for Willa. He bumps into a member of the Plug Ugly Gang and escapes by running home. Mama is not there, but Willa is. He tells the whole story to the family. Maks is in a hurry to collect his papers and make his daily sales. Mama, like Papa, is grieved over the news of a possible trial and the lack of food. Maks assures her that Agnes is trying to find a lawyer but says that, in the meantime, she could visit her for comfort. Willa says she is sorry about all that has happened to Emma and agrees to join Maks to collect his papers. She tells him as they are leaving that Mama is very proud of him.

Twelve rows of newsies wait behind the World building to collect their papers to sell for the day. Time is of the essence in paper sales due to all the competition. There are at least 30 newspapers in town. Maks’s paper The World sells well because of its dynamic headlines. One newsie, Rory, tells him about a few newsies that were battered and robbed the night before by Bruno, and the rumor is that Bruno’s actions have something to do with keeping Gorker out of the headlines. Maks pays for his papers, still mulling over Rory’s story. Maks heads for his post on Hester Street and Bowery. It is important for him to stay in his territory so as not to disrupt other World newsies. Maks shouts the headlines, and Willa helps him carry the papers. Maks shows Willa his trick for selling the last few papers. He lies to people saying his mom is sick and he must sell the last one. He pockets the day’s earnings and announces they are headed to find the detective Chimmie told them about.

House 624 on Delancey Street is a tenement and home to Bartleby Donck. It is crowded and dirty, and there is not even a doorknob on Donck’s door. Maks reminds himself, “[…] don’t need rich” (145). They let themselves into the flat, astonished at the condition. Bartleby Donck, a bald, eccentric man who is nearly deaf, is asleep in the chair at the desk, snoring loudly. Maks realizes this is the strange man he noticed on the steps of The Tombs. Donck uses a curious tube-like contraption to hear them speaking. Donck tells them they are among many needing his help and no one ever has money. This has rendered him broke. Donck begins a lengthy diatribe about freedom and justice in America, explaining how money controls everything, including innocence. The children know a little something about detective work from their reading of The Bradys and the Missing Diamonds. Donck is not amused by their fantasy and continues to question them about many things, including why their parents have not come. Maks explains they are immigrants and lack a proper understanding of the situation. Donck declares this a “city of orphans” and launches into a speech about the plight of immigrant children (154). Maks notices his persistent cough and remarks that his sister is ill, too. Donck names his illness consumption, or tuberculosis, and rattles off all the many other diseases that afflict the poor. He agrees to teach the children detective work if they promise to help others. Donck asks Maks to walk through the details of Emma’s situation and notes her full name on a scrap of paper. He is only giving advice, and it will be Maks’s job to do the work. Maks corrects his summary of the evidence, noting it was just the chain found. Donck has thus taught Maks his first detective lesson. He bids them to leave and return tomorrow at the same time.

Chapters 29-35 Analysis

Maks’s trip inside the factory where Agnes and Papa work allows the reader a glimpse into the harsh conditions workers faced during this era. Although Papa makes light of the situation, it is clear that the workers are neither respected nor even viewed as humans in this jungle of industrial equipment. They are valued only for their ability to produce a certain amount of product in the least amount of time. No care is given to their health or safety. Important muckraker writers of the day, such as Upton Sinclair, used their voices as journalists to expose the wretched working conditions of the day in hopes the government would pass legislation to regulate hours and improve safety conditions. Labor unions also formed to fight for workers’ rights. However, profiteers and large corporations cared little for the plight of the workers and only about their bottom line, as seen in the moment Papa is castigated for pausing in his work to hear news of his family. The foreman not only scolds him for losing time but dehumanizes him with his comments.

The appearance of Bartleby Donck is a turning point in the novel. Maks has taken on a one-child crusade to help his sister escape The Tombs and what could be a devastating trial and possible deportation. He is bent on not only saving Emma’s life but preserving his family’s integrity. Everyone but him questions her innocence at some point. He remains steadfast in solving the mystery of the watch and thus clearing Emma’s name and keeping his family together in America. He includes Willa in his quest as she has now become a part of the family. She requests a bath from Mama, serving as a baptism into her new family and new life. However, after he visits the prison and then the factory, Maks is overwhelmed at the task he has before him. He lacks the resources, both money and influence, to solve all his family’s problems. He begins with what he knows best, selling the daily paper, but a few pennies in his pocket are not enough to surmount all the obstacles lying in his path. It is difficult for him to admit that he will need help if he is to succeed. Enter the unlikely hero of Bartleby Donck.

Donck, despite his filthy residence and shabby appearance, is a crusader for the lower-class citizens of the city. He works for little to no money, and he has become a victim of the wasting disease so common among the lowest members of society. His eccentric personality, including quirky facial hair and a bizarre ear megaphone, lends him a comedic appearance, but there is nothing funny about his opinions on the state of justice in the city. He has seen firsthand how greed and corruption have ruined the vision set out by the Constitution. He has made it his pursuit to right these wrongs and help those affected most, the children of the city, who have been all been orphaned in his eyes. His remarks on the children of immigrants are especially poignant. Donck has a tender heart for young people, particularly those who have immigrated. He recognizes the struggle of their poverty compounded with discrimination. Donck himself is an immigrant and has also experienced the pain of prejudice. As is later revealed, he once loved Packwood’s sister but was not permitted to marry her based on his socioeconomic status. Donck has sacrificially given up what means he does have to help those in worse condition. He left his job as a detective to seek justice and equality for everyone and in the process has lost his financial stability and his health.

Donck was ready to dismiss Maks and Willa, but with one poke of Willa’s tree branch, he reconsiders, as he notices something different in these children. They have a spark of optimism and adventure that might just be the energy needed to carry on his cause once he is gone. He agrees to teach them what he knows of detective work, thus empowering them to complete the work of rescuing Emma and hopefully others who suffer the same plight. Donck is an adult who genuinely cares for the children of the city. He has made it his life’s work to look at those who have been overlooked, but in Maks and Willa he sees the future.