The Jungle
Upton Sinclair
literary fiction
pg. 141-181

So winter is back in Packingtown. It causes stress throughout the family. Twice, Ona doesn't come home from work saying she was staying with a friend because of snow. However, Jurgis soon discovers the truth: her boss raped her in the factory and forced her to be his mistress or else they would all lose their jobs. Jurgis was furious and went to her work and attacked the boss until some men pulled him off and took him to the police station. Jurgis is taken into jail and his bond is set $300. He is transferred to the county jail where he is stripped and taken into a cell. While there, he hears the bells, reminding him that it's Christmas Eve and his family is now alone. Jurgis becomes good friends with his cell mate, Jack, who gave him his mistress's number if he ever needed help. However, his trial came around and he was sentenced to 30 days in prison by the unsympathetic judge. While in prison, Stanislovas comes to visit, informing Jurgis that everyone except for the children selling newspapers have lost their jobs. Ona lies in bed crying all day and Marija is suffering from blood poisoning. Eventually, Jurgis is released from prison after having to stay 3 extra days in order to pay for his trial. He walks 20 miles to his home just to discover they have been kicked out. The neighbor tells him that they have moved back to the boarding house they first lived in. He arrives at the boarding house to hear Ona's screams from inside as he is informed she has gone in the premature labor and is in excruciating pain.

The book is becoming really intense. Even though this is in the early 1900s, it still has problems we see today with poverty and corruption.