The Jungle Relationships

What would you do if you were an immigrant coming to the United State for the promises of a better life, only to receive harsh working/living conditions and no support from others? The Jungle a novel by Upton Sinclair and Cinderella Man a movie by Cliff Hollingsworth shows the lives of two men Jim Braddock and Jurgis Rurkus during the early 1900s, they tell about the life style conditions and exploited lives of immigrants coming to the United States. Both men’s physical appearances, emotional characteristics, and relationships will change throughout their experiences in America. The physical appearances of the two men are comparable throughout the stories, even though their paths may vary throughout their journeys. The narrator writes, “Jurgis

Jurgis is just starting a family the narrator states, “The scene of the wedding feast and the joy-transfiguration of the little Ona” (Sinclair 8). This is only the beginning of Jurgis experiences with his own little family. Jim already married to his wife May, with their three children, have their family started. Both men have families and are happily married. In the middle of the stories, both couples’ relationships are struggling. The narrator states, “She was getting paler every day, it pained her that Jurgis did not notice” (Sinclair 124). Jurgis being out of work is getting in a bad habit of not doing much with his days; he has even stopped noticing the little things in his relationship with Ona and his son Antanus. While Jim and Mays relationship is struggling too, Jim never gives up as Jurgis has started to do. He does whatever it takes to save his family, even if that means getting money from the relief agency, this was really hard for him to do because he is one to never ask for the help of others. By the end of the book Jurgis and Jim’s relationship have taken way different paths. Jurgis family is falling apart, “He clutched her hands, he shook her, he caught her in his arms and pressed her to him; but she lay cold and still-she was gone-she was gone” (Sinclair 189). Jurgis losing both his wife and stillborn baby is a

Jurgis says, “I will work Harder” (Sinclair 22). He is determined, with just starting a family, to give Ona the life she deserves. As for Jim, he has been working hard to give his family a good life, both men’s lives are headed in the right direction, as far as they know. Until, they come upon some unexpected bumps in the road. One day while Jurgis is working an accident happens; this leaves him unable to work. The doctor tells him, “He would have to lie quiet for two months, and if he went to work he could be lame for life” (Sinclair 121). The news is upsetting to him, he feels like he is letting his family down. Just as Jurgis had his accident, so did Jim with breaking his hand in a fight. With having no source of steady income, Jim becomes fretful that he cannot support his family and keep them together. The turning point for the characters emotions in the end of the stories describes them being proud and feeling accomplished. The narrator writes, “The socialist party was really a Democratic political organization-it was controlled absolutely by its own membership, and had no bosses” (Sinclair 310). Being a part of a group helped Jurgis to want to fight for something again; this helped him to strive to be a better person again. Jim has his feet back under him. He is making money for his family, and is able to support