Mackendrick, Study Guide The Jungle, Eng.

11A

The Jungle, Upton Sinclair (Chaps. 1 thru 4) Novel: Victorian Style, - narrative is third person (omniscient, all knowing), - realistic fiction, very descriptive, uses second person voice to show familiarity w/ reader - originally published in serial style (released in parts, not as a whole) - Upton Sinclair writes about what many characters think, not just the main charc. Chap. 1: The Jungle opens during the wedding celebration of the expected marriage of two Lithuanian immigrants named Jurgis and Ona. Having moved to Chicago, Jurgis and Ona have had to wait a long time to marry. They are poor, but proud, people and due to the financial difficulties of moving they have had to economize. Many people turn out for their wedding, it is custom not to turn anyone away, but it is also custom for guests to give money for the couples future life. In fact they dont receive enough money even pay the cost of the wedding. Jurgis, the protagonist, in his Old World ways, accepts responsibility saying: I will work harder. Chap. 2: The narrator describes how the foreman at one of the Chicago meat packing companies, hires workers, by size and strength. This gives Jurgis hope. From this point the narrator goes into writing in flashback giving information about destitution they left behind in Lithuanian, how both families were poor to begin with, and how Onas father had died opening up the opportunity for Jurgis to marry Ona. Jurgis takes his bride to be; Teta Elzbieta, her aunt; Elzbietas six Children; Marija, Onas cousin; Jonas, Elzbietas brother; and Antenas, Jurgis father to America. Their trip is filled with problems and travel agents, officials, and many cheat them others along the way. Finally, when they arrive the meet Jokubus Szedvilas the owner of a delicatessen who helps them find a place to stay. Chap. 3: Jokubus Szedvilas attempts to find work for Antenas and Jonas, but Jurgis refuses because he is determined to find work by himself. Because of his great size and strength he is hired quickly shoveling animal guts at Brown Company, a meatpacking company in Chicago. Szedvilas takes the new arrivals on a tour of Packingtown where they get an impression of endless railroads, pens of cattle, and swine. Jurgis is at once shocked and impressed, the technology of the assembly line, (killing machine) that begins the process for meat to be cleaned, packaged, and shipped to market. The characters and reader are introduced to The Beef Trust, the organization of the meat industry owners, who in their efficiency even use parts of the slaughtered animals as fertilizer. Jurgis realizes that he is going to become part of this shocking system. Chap. 4: Jurgis first day on the job. He arrives at the door the foreman pointed to when he hired him, but is not bright enough to figure out that he is supposed to actually open the door and go inside. Hours later, as the foreman is coming out of his office to find another worker to fill the position he thought hed hired Jurgis for, he finds him and puts him to the brutal task of sweeping up animal parts on the killing machine assembly line. Jurgis finds a flyer advertising houses for sale, the family is lured in by the flyers claims that paying rent is a waste of time when you can own a home instead. Although they see that the house is not exactly what the flyer had pictured, they are conned into buying the it by a crooked real estate agent. Jurgis is not able to finish the deal by himself because he must work, so he sends Ona and Teta Elzbieta to finish the deal who are concerned about the wording of the contract, but follow through with the purchase anyway.