Novel The Jungle - Essay Example

The book tells the story of Jurgis Rudkus, a Lithuanian who migrated to the United States, hoping to fulfill his dreams for a better life. The story begins with the wedding in Chicago of Jurgis to fifteen-year-old Ona Lukoszaite, a fellow immigrant. Chapter two details the life of Jurgis and Ona when they were still in Lithuania. It depicts their courtship, the death of Ona’s father, and their decision to come to the United States.  Jonas Lukoszas, a brother of Ona’s stepmother Teta Elzbieta influenced them to migrate upon hearing how successful the life of a fellow Lithuanian Kojubas Szedvilas had become upon owning a delicatessen in Chicago. With little savings Jurgis, the voyage of the immigrants which include the father of Jurgis Dede Antanas, Teta Elzbieta and her children, and Ona’s cousin Marija Berczynskas came to reality. The family settled in Packingtown, a district of Chicago known for its meatpacking industry. Jurgis has resolved that he will work hard. Soon the family realized that life for immigrants in Packingtown is not easy. They all have to work, including women and children, in the slaughterhouses for twelve hours a day to survive. The family encountered numerous problems such as falling prey to scrupulous real estate agents, corruption, unsanitary working conditions, unfair labor practices, and poverty. Jurgis was jailed when he attacked Phil Connor, the boss of Ona when he learned from Ona that Phil had raped her and threatened to fire her from her job if she will not give in to his sexual demands. 

After his imprisonment, Jurgis returns to his family, only to be told that they were already evicted from their house. The fate of Jurgis and his family was turning very bad and came to its worst turn when Ona died giving birth to her second child at the age of eighteen. This was followed by the death of their first child who drowned in the muddy street. This series of misfortunes led Jurgis to seek a sojourn in the rural part of the country. Jurgis found out that even outside Packingtown, he could not escape poverty.

Jurgis returns to Chicago and works several odd jobs outside of the meatpacking industry such as digging tunnels, being a political hack, and con man. But his self-worth and sense of personal pride and integrity continue to bother him, thus he drifts in life with no meaning and direction. One night, as Jurgis was seeking a warm place to stay, he found himself listening to the speech of a charismatic Socialist speaker. The message struck him and he realized that the company of these people advocating socialism gives him a sense of belonging and has given him a purpose in life. From then on, Jurgis attended socialist gatherings and it beckons to him that socialism as well as labor unions are the answer to his and his family’s sufferings and to all the others who have endured what he went through in life.

The story ends with a socialist rally that comes after a victorious win in the political arena of the socialist group. The speaker gives remarkable encouragement to his fellow socialists and proclaims “Chicago will be ours!”

Part Two – Context of the Novel

The novel was written in 1906, a time when a huge number of immigrants from Europe came to the United States to answer the call inscribed clearly on the famous Statue of Liberty – “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” It was written to strongly uphold that socialism was the answer to capitalism and as such was truly polemic in nature. Uston Sinclair was successful in presenting the negative impacts of capitalism such as corruption among the capitalists and wage slavery among workers. Sinclair introduces the “goodness” of socialism in every turn of events in the story particularly to the immigrants who are unskilled and therefore employers offer low wages for measly jobs. The workers could not demand better wages because there were so many immigrants willing to do the work. At the time the story was written, the population of the United States more than doubled and workers were always ready to grab whatever work was available.

Part Three – Opinion and Analysis

The novel was a true representation of the realities of its period. It presents several social problems of the progressive era such as overpopulation due to the influx of a huge number of immigrants wanting to make it big in the land of their dreams – the United States. Another social problem is the working conditions of the immigrant workers in the meatpacking industry. They were exposed to rotting meat, unhealthy workplaces, and poorly maintained machinery.

The story in general was good. The strong point of the author in opening the eyes of the reader to the harsh realities of the condition of the meatpacking industry was clearly delivered. The characters were well depicted so that a reader could sympathize with all the miseries that each character has encountered. The victory of the socialist group in an election at the end of the story could have been more substantiated if reforms for the working conditions of immigrant workers were established. It could have been a better ending if, after all the tragedies and misfortunes of Jurgis, he and his family could have attained their American dream – the socialist way.