The Jungle
Upton Sinclair's The Jungle is the story of a Lithuanian family that immigrates from their home city in Lithuania to the city of Chicago. The novel begins with the strong description of a wedding in which Ona Lukoszaite and Jurgis Rudkus are united in Holy Matrimony. The two of them then move to Chicago. Soon after the wedding, Ona and Jurgis have many great debts to pay due to both the wedding and a large debt that Ona's father left them after he died. Due to Jurgis' large size and strong will he found a job in Chicago within only a half an hour of waiting in the unemployment line. Back in the newlywed's hometown of Lithuania, Ona and Jurgis' family anticipated a move to America. America uses the image of the "American Dream" to lure immigrants to this land of opportunity. The family desperately desires higher wages and true freedom. For months and months, Jurgis works very hard to pay for the families travel to Ona and Jurgis' new hometown, Chicago. When the family finally makes it to America, their funds are very low. They met with a well off man named Jokubas Szedvilas who placed the family in a run down youth hostel. Jokubas takes the family to the meatpacking factory. He makes jokes about the sanitation of
Jurgis' father, Dede Antanas, is promised a job by a grubby worker, but only if he pays that worker one third of his wages. He takes the job despite the disgusting working conditions and his low pay. Jurgis is a very hard worker. He is the only person in the meat plant that doesn't complain. He doesn't think much of the other workers. He feels that they never get any work done, and all they do is gripe. Marija, Ona's cousin and Jonas, Ona's step brother, both get jobs, but neither one holds them for very long. From there things take a turn for the worst. The meat packing factories prove to be very unsanitary. Animal fetuses and even human corpses were processed, packaged, and distributed to the country. Working conditions became even worse for Jurgis, and after both his wife and child die, he left his job and family. Back then, in the United States, being poor was a terrible crime in its self. I believe that these people looked toward a more Socialistic government because this type of government would take some of the power from the upper class and would give it to the poor. These people were working terrible shifts in horrible working conditions. If they were born poor they would remain that wa
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 823
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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