Upton Sinclair

“ Come away! Hard as it is to believe, you'll forget all this. People suffer, but then they stop suffering; it's nature's way--to make them forget."
"Nature's way has been to beat me dead," said she.
"Yes, Mary. Despair can become a disease, but it hasn't with you. You're just tired out. If you'll try to rouse yourself--" And he reached over and caught her hand with an attempt at playfulness. "Cheer up, Mary! You're coming away from North Valley."
She turned and looked at him. "Am I?" she asked, impassively; and she went on studying his face. "Who are ye, Joe Smith? ”

“ The people on top yearned to them, and they, down below, yearned back. It was impossible to forget them for even a few minutes. People would become abstracted while they talked, and would stand staring into space; suddenly, in the midst of a crowd, a woman would bury her face in her hands and burst into tears, and then all the others would follow suit. ”

“ But Hal had been thinking while he watched Mary.
"Listen, Mary," he said, at last; "when this thing is over, you must really come away from here. I've thought it all out--I have friends in Western City who will give you work, so you can take care of yourself, and of your brother and sister too. Will you go?"
But she did not answer. She continued to gaze indifferently into the dirty little street.
"Truly, Mary," he went on. "Life isn't so terrible everywhere as it is here. ”