The jungle 51-77

          Jurgis begins his job of sweeping the entrails of slaughtered cattle through trap doors. He earns a little over two dollars for twelve hours of labor. The family finds a paper advertising the sale of four-room homes for fifteen hundred dollars. Buyers need only pay three hundred dollars down and the monthly payment is twelve dollars. Ona, Marija, and Teta Elzbieta visit the real estate agent, a slick, well-dressed man who speaks Lithuanian. The entire family makes a trip to see the house. To their disappointment, it doesn’t look as new or big as the one in the advertisement. Ona and Teta Elzbieta, accompanied by Jokubas, meet the agent to close the deal. The family purchases household necessities and settles happily into their home. One man promises Dede Antanas a job in exchange for one-third of his wages. Jurgis speaks to a friend and coworker, Tamoszius Kuszleika, about this practice. Tamoszius explains that corruption exists everywhere in Packingtown. From the top to bottom in the chain of power, people take advantage of one another. It is impossible to move ahead without taking part in the web of graft and corruption. Marija learns that her job came at the expense of a fifteen-year employee. She also learns that Jonas obtained his job after his predecessor died as a result of the unsafe working conditions. Grandmother Majauszkiene, a wizened old Lithuanian neighbor, explains to the family that houses such as the one they have taken are a swindle.  No one is able to buy the houses because, for the Packingtown workers, missing even one month’s payment means eviction and the forfeiture of everything paid on it.

        I think that Jurgis is a very hard worker, and he will do almost anything for his family. He said that he was very happy sweeping up slaughtered cattle, when everyone else was complaining about their jobs. I am also shocked at what the people have to do to get jobs, like Dede had to give one-third of his wages to the man that helped him get a job. I also think that the contract for buying the house might be a mistake, because if they miss one payment, then they lose all of the money that they put into the house, and they get put out onto the streets.