"Cliff Notes - Jungle, The" - читать интересную книгу автора (Cliff Notes)

butcher cattle that had died before reaching the
slaughterhouse.

His faith was further shaken when he heard their house was
not in fact new. The previous four families had lost the house
when they couldn't keep up monthly payments. Jurgis also finds
out there were hidden charges to be paid each month--for
interest, taxes, and so on.

Ona got a job sewing covers on hams, and 14-year-old
Stanislovas convinced a priest to certify he was sixteen--old
enough to hold a job. Stanislovas then joined the army of child
workers by getting a job at Durham's placing empty cans under
jets of lard, 10 hours a day, six days a week, for five cents an
hour. Working this way, the family was able to save enough
money for the November wedding of Ona and Jurgis.

All are back at work the morning after the wedding--mostly
dead on their feet from exhaustion. Jurgis and Ona's married
life is cheerless. The pressures of work, poverty, and illness
stifle their spirits. Jurgis's father, Antanas, sickens and
dies, and Jurgis, learning fast, negotiates a funeral that won't
bankrupt the family.

Winter comes, an agony for Packingtown. Homeless men who had
spent the warmer months in the country, working on farms, clamor
at the gates of the packing houses, looking for work. Inside
the plants, there is no heat, except in the cooking rooms. At
lunch break, the men race to "Whiskey Row," where, for the price
of a drink or two, they can keep warm and get a "free" lunch.
Jurgis takes only one drink, for he has Ona to think about. The
house is cold, and many nights they sleep with their clothes
on.

Marija and Tamoszius Kuszleika fall in love, but the canning
factory where Marija works shuts down, and they must postpone
their wedding. A general business slowdown means that Jurgis
gets only about a half day's paid work, though he must spend all
day on the killing floor.

Angry, Jurgis joins the union and has the other working
members of his family join as well. He begins to learn English.
He also acquires a cynical opinion of democracy. A Democratic
party member helps him become a citizen and vote for the
candidates of the local Democratic boss, Mike Scully. In
exchange for his vote, Jurgis gets two dollars and two hours off
work, with pay.

He begins to see how the packers operate. They sell spoiled
or adulterated meat without qualms. Their workers are exposed