The Jungle
Upton Sinclair
literary fiction
pg. 1-41

I decided to read this book because my AP US History teacher Mr. Schmidt had talked a lot about it and the impact it held during the progressive and reform era in the early 1900s. He said it wasn't taught anymore, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

Ona Lukoszaite and Jurgis Rudkus have migrated from Lithuania to the Chicago around 1900. They get married and hold their wedding reception or feast as is Lithuanian custom. The feast costs up to $300 so the guests all donate money to help pay for the feast. However, Ona notices many guests coming to eat and drink all they want, then leaving without paying. It causes her to worry about how her and Jurgis will pay for this. Jurgis says that he will work more and harder if necessary to pay for the festivities. In Lithuania, Jurgis had heard that a friend, Jokubas, had made it big in America. Before coming to America, Jurgis worked for months to raise money in order to pay for him and 11 other extended family members to make the voyage. By the time they all arrived in Chicago, most of their money was gone. The 12 of them are directed to an overcrowded boarding house. After, Jurgis and Ona go out for a walk and take note of this Packingtown until Jurgis declares he will go there to find work. Jokubas takes the family on a tour throughout Packingtown. They all notice the thousands of pigs, cattle, and sheep everywhere that will all be butchered by the end of the day. Jokubas tells how some of the meat inspectors don't even check all of the carcasses for TB, so many of them are packed anyways.