The Jungle page 78-115

       Ona and Jurgis' wedding ceremony had put them over one-hundred dollars in debt. Illness strikes the family frequently due to the unsanitary conditions of Packingtown, but no one can take a day off work to recover. Dede Antanas had died in packingtown, because there was a bad snow storm and the company did not provide heating during work. Tamoszius, a musician, begins to court Marija. His fiddle-playing brings a note of cheer into the family’s life. Marija’s canning factory shuts down and she loses her job. During the winter, after the rush season, many factories close down and many workers lose their jobs. Jurgis attends union meetings regularly and resolves to learn English by attending night school and having the children help him. Jurgis becomes a U.S. citizen at the urging of a man at his plant.  He learns of the graft, corruption, and greed spread by the likes of Mike Scully, a local Irish politician in Packingtown.  He comes to realize that the dishonest meat companies sell diseased meat and label cans as “deviled ham” or “potted ham” although the contents are a mixture of leftover bits and entrails from any number of slaughtered animals. Spring arrives and with it come frequent cold rains and mud. In the summer, the factories are infernos. Marija regains her job at the can painting factory, only to lose it two months later. She is fired when she vocally protests being cheated out of a portion of her wages. The loss of her income is devastating to the family because during the summer Ona discovers that she is pregnant. Ona gives birth to a healthy boy. She and Jurgis name him Antanas after Jurgis’s father. Jurgis is seized with an overpowering affection for his child and his commitment to his role as a family man grows in consequence. But his long work hours prevent him from seeing his son very much. Ona returns to work a week after giving birth, and her health suffers badly.
        
           I thought that was unfortunate how Dede Atanas died because of the poor working conditions, and how there was no heat during the extremely cold days. I also, thought it would be very unfortunate to work in a place like that because it is scorching heat in the summer, and is like an icebox in the winter. I thought that it was nasty and full of corruption how the meat packing plants were selling to the public a certain meat like ham, when it could have included any type of meat. I also thought that it was wrong how many of the factory workers got sick because of eating the meat that had a disease associated with it.