Jurgis In The Jungle

808 Words2 Pages

Written in 1906, The Jungle conveys the life of Jurgis Rudkus, his wife Ona Lukoszaite and the torturous events that consist of their life. In the time of their arrival to Chicago from Lithuania, Jurgis and his family experience the hardships that come along with being immigrants in America. While in Packingtown, the center of housing for all the Lithuanian community, the family signs an agreement to buy a house; this unfortunately came along with hidden costs as well as the house being in terrible shape. As living expenses rose, more and more members of the family went out to find jobs, including Ona and her step brother Jonas. Packingtown, though, has a reputation of bad working conditions and little care is placed upon the quality of life …show more content…

The labor unfortunately is too much to bare and both Ona and her baby are killed, accounting for the next two deaths of the family. Overridden with depression and dejection, Jurgis once again disappears from his family as he tries to find the answer to coping with these prodigious loses at the bottom of a bottle. Due in part to the guidance from his mother-in-law, Jurgis finally wakes up and devotes himself fully to his son Antanas, and with the assistance of a wealthy woman, Jurgis finds a job a steel mill. During the triumphant return of Jurgis’ self-confidence, his son Antanas drowns in a mud-logged street which leaves Jurgis shattered. This again accounts for another death among the family. Jurgis eventually finds another job digging freight tunnels, but soon after finds himself hurt and is forced to spend time in the hospital. He is now by this point completely broke, and is forced to be a beggar. A wealthy young man gives Jurgis a hundred dollar bill one night which eventually leads to Jurgis being cheated out of his money at a bar and landing in jail yet again. While in jail, Jurgis meets a man by the name of Jack Duane. After they are released, Jurgis becomes Jack’s partner and the two commit burglaries and muggings

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