Jurgis And His Family In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle

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As a whole, I loved this book, even though parts of it sickened and disgusted me. I would, and have, recommended it to other people, including my mother and sister-in-law who are in line to borrow my copy. Sinclair’s descriptions brought his characters to life and made me feel like I knew them and, because of that, I cared about them. The characters were very familiar to me because of the stories I heard about my own family, who came to the United States from Poland during the same time period. The story of Jurgis and his family was a very emotional one. They had such hope and optimism for their future. It was heartbreaking to see that each time they took two steps forward they were knocked back until eventually they were no longer able to get back up. They stopped being proactive and ended up barely existing. Sinclair’s description of Packingtown, and the conditions under which the …show more content…
She was a strong and vibrant lady who did what she had to in order to help her family survive, even at the expense of her own dreams. At one time, she was going to get married and was saving her money in order to make it happen. Unlike Jurgis, who, after the death of Ona, ran away from his responsibilities time and time again, Marija stayed in order to help the family. When her last chance at happiness (getting married to her beau) disappeared and with her family on the verge of freezing to death on the street, Marija became a prostitute in order to give money to her family so they did not have to live on the street. In order to cope with her new lifestyle, Marija turned to drink and became addicted to drugs. The last time Jurgis saw her he offered her a way out, but by that time she was so defeated that when she was offered a chance to leave the life she had been living, she chose not to take it. She made many sacrifices for her family and I thought that Marija deserved to have an end to her
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