Around the turn of the twentieth century, Ona Lukoszaite and Jurgis Rudkus, two Lithuanian immigrants who have recently arrived in Chicago, are being married. The celebration takes place in a hall near the Chicago stockyards in an area of the city known as Packingtown because it is the center of the meat-packing industry. The highlight of the celebration is the guests, linking their hands, form a rotating circle while the musicians play; the bride stands in the middle and each male guest takes a turn dancing with her. After this every male guest is expected to drop money in the hat held by Teta Elzbieta, Ona’s stepmother. Many unscrupulous guests take advantage of the families of the newlyweds at these celebrations, however, filling themselves with food and drink and leaving without contributing any money. Noticing that many people are leaving without paying, Ona becomes frightened and worried about the cost of the ceremony, but Jurgis promises that they will find some way to pay the bill. He vows that he will simply work harder and earn more money. The celebration is overshadowed by the knowledge that most of the men who are lucky enough to have jobs must report to work early in the morning. If a worker is one minute late, he loses an hour’s pay; if he is twenty minutes late, he loses his job. Getting fired means waiting for hours in doorways for up to weeks at a time to obtain another job. In Packingtown, men, women, and children alike work grueling hours for the most paltry of wages.
I thought that the punishment for being late to work in these time periods were a little bit harsh, but looking back on the time period the employers could replace an unskilled worker very easily. I also, thought that it was a little bit cruel how the people at the wedding would not leave any money to help pay for the huge celebration. I also, like how the area in Chicago was called Packingtown, because it was the center of the meat-packing industry.
No comments:
Post a Comment