The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

Where does the book open

The reception after a wedding

What city does the story take place in

Chicago

Where do most of the men work

The stockyards - slaughterhouses

What is a veselija

a Lithuanian celebration where all are welcome to come eat and drink as much as they can

Who were the bride and groom in chapter 1

Ona Lukoszaite, a tiny girl of fifteen, and a large, gentle fellow called Jurgis Rudkus.

What ethnicity are the main characters

Lithuanian

Who is the Lithuanian lead violinist?

Tamoszius Kuszleika

Who is Jurgis’ father?

Antanas Rudkus

Who is Ona's stepmother?

Teta Elzbieta

Is the family's first experience of America a good one?

No, they are cheated and stolen from by officials

Who was Jonas's friend who had come to America and gotten rich; owned a deli; helped Jonas and his family get settled?

Jokubas Szedvilas

Where does Jurgis first find a job?

Brown's meatpacking plant

Why can't Antanas find a job?

None of the meatpacking companies will hire the elderly

What disgusts Antanas about his job?

the filthiness of the meatpacking conditions

What are "slunk" calves?

Cow fetuses

Why do so many different ethnic waves of immigrants go into the workforce for the meatpacking industry?

Each wave of immigrants only stays until the factory managers find another group willing to work for less

Who faked their age in order to get a job?

Stanislovas

What did Jurgis first not join but eventually join?

A labor union

What motivates Jurgis to learn English?

The labor union

What injury did Jurgis suffer at work?

A broken ankle (later a twisted tendon)

What has to happen to Stanislovas to go to work after the snowstorm?

Jurgis has to beat him

Why was Durham's fertilizer plant the last resort for Jurgis?

The fertilizer plant caused health problems like excessive phosphate intake

Who ends up struggling with alcoholism?

Jurgis

Who didn't come home immediately after work because of a blizzard and scared the rest of the family?

Ona

Where did Ona say she was when she didn't come home from work due to the blizzard?

At her friend's place (Jadvyga)

Why did Ona lie to Jurgis about where she was?

She was forced to sleep with her boss, Connor, so her family could continue to get jobs

What did Connor force Ona to do?

Sleep with him and work as a prostitute or else her family would lose their jobs

Why is Jurgis placed in jail?

He attacked Ona's boss Connor who forced her into protitution

What was the name of Jurgis's cell mate?

Jack Duane

How does Ona die?

She died in childbirth (the baby also died)

Why was Jurgis sentenced to jail time?

The judge believed Connor, although he had no evidence

What four things does Stanislovas inform Jurgis of when he visited him in jail?

1. Ona is in bed and can't go to work.

2. Marija has cut her hand badly and it's getting infected. The company doctor has told her she may have to have her hand amputated.

3. They are starving, they can't get credit at the local store anymore, and they have missed the rent and interest payment for their house.

4. The Sunday before, there was a heavy blizzard, and Stanislovas couldn't go to work.

Why did the Harvester Trust close down?

They have made more harvesters than the farmers need (supply and demand)

After Ona's death, what is Jurgis's only source of happiness and hope?

His son Antanas

How does Antanas (baby) die?

He drowns in the street

What does Jurgis do after the death of his son?

He runs away

How does Jurgis meet Freddie Jones?

He runs into him in an alley. Freddie was very drunk but sympathetic to Jurgis's stories of misfortune. Then Freddie invited Jurgis to have dinner with him.

What moral dilemma does Jurgis face when meeting Freddie?

He could have stolen Freddie's excessive amount of money and gotten away with it, but he didn't do it

What does Freddie give Jurgis before they enter the cab?

A $100 bill

Where does Freddie live?

A giant mansion

What is interesting about who Freddie's father is?

His father owns Jones' packing plant

What happens to the hundred dollar bill Freddie gave Jurgis?

Jurgis tried to break it at a bar but the bartender stole the money and Jurgis attacked him, leading to Jurgis's arrest

What does Jurgis decide to become after his second jail experience?

He is going to become a real professional criminal

Who does Jurgis go to for help in becoming a criminal?

Jack Duane (who he saw in both jail times)

Who was the politician Jurgis fixed the elections for in chapter 25?

Mike Scully

What political party was Mile Scully a part of?

Democratic

Who brings Jurgis to Marija and where is she?

Alena Jasaityte and at a brothel where she was working

What happened to Tamoszius Kusleika after he was separated from Marija?

He lost a finger to gangrene so he couldn't play the violin anymore then he disappeared

What does Marija get hooked on?

Morphine

What is the speaker preaching that motivates Jurgis?

Socialism

Who teaches Jurgis about socialism?

Comrade Ostrinski

What are the main points of the Jungle?

-The immigrants/hardships they faced, dark side of Capitalism, the corruption in meat packing industries, political corruption, the Gilded Age, Industrial revolution: as society advances, people fall, propaganda piece of socialism, call to action, led to reforms in food industry and the creation of the FDA, profit more imp. than people

Strengths and weaknesses of the Jungle

Strengths:

-Strong sense of injustice, makes you feel upset about the immigrants’ plight

Weaknesses:

- poor ending with socialism, talking about political machines

Result of the Jungle’s publication

FDA, food packaging and food standard laws, unintentional side effect, goal of the book was the immigration problems, how they are exploited, mistreated, come in naive, taken advantage of, like slavery, blindness to normalcy, “I will work harder,”

What are some ways immigrants were exploited?

Working conditions, misled by tenement housing, constantly exploited by politicians, paid unfairly, vote buying

How does the Jungle portray the American dream?

-Portrays the American dream in a negative way

-immigrants did not always experience a new life in America, sometimes it was worse than what they had