The Jungle Essay

Christopher Haynes

In Class Essay

The Jungle, a novel by Upton Sinclair, contained many unique characters which were used as color for this story. The character of Jurgis Rudkis was the strong central character that the author developed as the cornerstone of this novel. The story was based on the life Jurgis led in the town of Packington. The remaining characters in the story merely made appearances, and aided in the tale of Jurgis’s experiences.

     Mr. Rudkis, originally from Lithuania, was a strong, overpowering person. His first appearance was during his wedding day in Packington. The celebration was delayed because of his family’s desire to provide Jurgis and his bride with a wedding feast. This problem was happily solved and he eventually worked at various positions in the town.

     Jurgis was forced to send his family to work in order to survive. He was horrified to discover how the meat packers, where he worked, took advantage of their employees. The workers at the plant had no benefits, worked long hours, and were paid poor wages. Jurgis decided to join a Union and took a stand on the issues with some other family members. For the first time in his life, he saw the corruption of a town and it’s employers. His solution to most problems, “I will work harder”, no longer helped him. He had believed hard work could conquer all, but found that it could not beat the corruption that spread like a wildfire in the town

    Jurgis soon becomes injured at the plant and he became bed ridden. Ironically, this was also a special time for him because he finally got to know his son and spent quality time with him. It was also a time of depression for Jurgis. He deteriorated and became a wreck of his old self. Eventually, he returned for work but he was arrested for beating Ona’s boss, who raped her. His family, so important to him, fell apart. Like most things that he worked so hard for were lost, his wife and two children died.

     Jurgis reacted to...