Jurgis In Ayn Rand's The Jungle

The Jungle (1906), by Upton Sinclair, is a story mainly about the life and turmoil of a man who came to American in hopes that he will become a free, rich man with a beautiful wife, Ona, and happy family; this man is the young Jurgis Rudkus, a strong, energetic Lithuanian whose personality and life are all changed several times over the coarse of the story. Major— usually tragic— events that occur in the story serve as catalysts for Jurgis's dramatic, almost upsetting, transformations. There were four major turning points in Jurgis's life: after he loses his job and is forced to work at a fertilizer mill; when he loses his wife and children; when he is incorporated into the criminal and political underworlds; and when he picks his life

In The Jungle a young man named Jurgis Rudkus moves to the United States landing in Chicago, with his family looking for a better life then what they had in Lithuania. They

“The Jungle” showed that the immigrants were taken advantage of, and the main protagonist was Jurgis, whom he and his family moved to Chicago thinking about the American Dream. Jurgis and his

Upton Sinclair’s novel “The Jungle” is a classic story of greed, corruption, and misfortune following Jurgis Rudkis and his love interest/eventual wife, Ona Lukosazite, and their two families. The novel shows off the complexity of and fickle nature of life and all that within it that we all take for granted. The characters feel very human and their troubles are very sympathetic as well. One begins to feel delight as well as anguish at the author’s non-existent mercy.

The Jungle demonstrates the exploitation of workers under the capitalist system where the majority of the wealth is concentrated in the hands of the few while workers like Jurgis are forced to become wage slaves in order to survive. Not only does the owners see workers as “wild beasts” and trap

Jurgis always struggled with money even when Ona was on the verge of dying. Jurgis finally convinced the women but Ona didn’t make it on time because it was too late already. Upton Sinclair shows you the struggle Jurgis went through with money and it wasn’t a fair life for him. When Jurgis lost both Ona and his son Antanas he was begging and a drunk man gave him a 100 dollar bill, that next day he enters a bar to receive change but the bartender tells him he has to buy a drink first, once he does the bartender only gives him 97 cents and refuses to give him his change. Jurgis then gets in a fist fight with him but then is sent to Jail. Once he was a prison he realized the life of crime was the best way to survive as an immigrant, then Jurgis finally loses his hope of getting that American dream he always wanted. Jurgis had a good reason to feel like this because he kept getting turned down by jobs and had nowhere to stay, he was homeless.

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, published in 1906 was written to depict the harsh conditions that immigrants that came to the U.S. lived in. This book describes the life of Jurgis, a young Lithuanian immigrant living in Chicago in search of the American dream. Jurgis faces many hindrances throughout his life in Packingtown. His living and working conditions, the nature of capitalism, and Packingtown’s environment affected both his physical and emotional states.

She prematurely went into labor, which kills her and their child. Devastated by what he saw, Jurgis disappears on a drinking binge. Making no money, becoming an alcoholic, and his wife’s death threw him into a downward spiral where he thought nothing could make it worse. All of his problems were driven by the poor treatment of the immigrants. Nobody cared enough to help him and employers would keep the people who would settle for less pay, no matter what problems they had.

“In twentieth-century America the history of poverty begins with most working people living on the edge of destitution, periodically short of food, fuel, clothing, and shelter” (Poverty in 20th Century America). Poverty possesses the ability to completely degrade a person, as well as a family, but it can also make that person and family stronger. In The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair, a family of immigrants has to live in severe poverty in Packingtown, a suburb of Chicago. The poverty degrades the family numerous times, and even brings them close to death. Originally the family has each other to fall back on, but eventually members of the family must face numerous struggles on their own, including “hoboing it” and becoming a prostitute. The

“When they came away, arm in arm, Jurgis was saying, ‘Tomorrow I shall go there and get a job!’” (Sinclair 34). The Jungle, a book, by Upton Sinclair takes place in Chicago in the early 1900’s that is about fictional events. Whereas Cinderella Man is a movie by Ron Howard that is set in 1930’s New York. Jurgis wanted a better life for his family, but this mentality is what caused a massive change in his life similarly to James Braddock. James risen up from nothing after a catastrophic blow to his family’s wealth from his inability to fight. Although Jurgis and James had differences in morals, they had many similarities and differences in physical traits, family dynamics, and personal values.

The Jungle written by Upton Sinclair in 1906 portrayed the harsh realities endured by millions of immigrants and working-class people during the Gilded Age. The book is centered around a Lithuanian immigrant named Jurgis and his wife Ona and their family. In the beginning, Jurgis and Ona have just moved to Chicago and neither speak English; yet, they have a sense of optimism about what their life in America will look like. In fact, when Ona tells Jurgis about her concerns that their wedding costs more than they can afford, Jurgis simply shrugs her off and states “Leave it to me; leave it to me. I will earn more money-I will work harder” [1]. This optimism found in the beginning; however, does not remain relevant throughout the rest of the novel. Numerous tragedies strike Jurgis and Ona’s family and soon, the happy couple loses their sense of optimism they struggle to even survive. Although, The Jungle is a fictional novel; the situations encountered by Jurgis and Ona is likely similar to what many immigrants faced during this time period. Sinclair uses his novel to make the argument for socialism and blames American capitalism for most of Jurgis and Ona’s

Living in the bottom of the class system, capitalism takes a toll on Jurgis and his family. His

The Jungle, written by Upton Sinclair Jr., talks about the trials and the desperation of a young family. During the story, a young couple falls into an abyss of debt immediately after getting married. While they were on a tour of Packingtown, they took in the terrible and disturbing sights and smells of the animals that were crowded at the slaughterhouse. In the later part of the book, Antana dies which causes Jurgis to fall deeply into despair. Although I did not think I could relate to this book at first, I was wrong and did in fact, find a few relatable occurrences while reading. Such as the loss of a loved one. I have lost many close friends and family over the years to unexpected tragedies.

Sinclair's novel The Jungle, introduces a young man named Jurgis who is eager to live out the American dream, however, he finds himself fighting for his life as he takes on the inhumanity of Chicago's factory industries. Throughout the book Sinclair utilizes numerous literary devices and elements to depict the story's theme: The evil of capitalism.

The Jungle is a novel that focuses on a family of immigrants who came to America looking for a better life. The novel was written by Upton Sinclair, who went into the Chicago stockyards to investigate what life was like for the people who worked there. The book was originally written with the intent of showing Socialism as a better option than Capitalism for the society. However, the details of the story ended up launching a government investigation of the meat packing plants, and ultimately regulation of food products. It gave an informative view of what life was like in America at the time. Important topics like immigration, working conditions and sanitation issues of the time were all addressed well in the novel.