The Jungle ch. 4-7

I thought that at the beginning of this reading, that things were going good for the family. They now had the necessary jobs to sustain themselves and own their own house. They were upset that the deed said rental, but if they make their payments the house will be theirs nonetheless. Their jobs bring home the bacon, but it doesn’t seem that anyone enjoys them other than Jurgis. He spoke with others who have been working harder that said that they hated their jobs and their bosses, and therefore life for them was miserable. That’s too bad for them, but at least Jurgis is content. He shows up, does his work, gets paid, and goes home, minding his own business. This is a quality that he thought would get him places in America and so far has, but later he begins to realize that his type doesn’t move up in the world at all.

                Not only are their jobs not what they were cracked up to be, but their house deed and something in it that they did not discover until it was too late. Interest was to be paid and resulted in Ona and one of the children to get jobs. The agent didn’t tell them about this, which was wrong and was another way to swindle these people. That’s how you move up in America, and the characters are soon learning this.

                Generally stories only get worse at this point, and seeing as new things keep arising, I predict more will soon. Mr. J mentioned that some characters die, which means things definitely will be getting worse for the family as Sinclair describes the evil of the meatpacking industry and begins to bring in the idea of Socialism.

Questions/Comments

1.       Why did Antanas, being an older member of the family, buy in to hating his job much faster than younger Jurgis?

2.       Was there a “minimum wage” back then?

3.       How did the health inspectors miss how unsanitary the plants were? Or was there a different definition of sanitary back then?

4.       With little money they’re making, how do they even afford food for everyone living in that house?

5.       Comment: I don’t think it was right for the real estate agent to not tell them there would be interest on the house.