The Jungle by Upton Sinclair is a harsh representation of how life was in the 1900's. It is about how
people, not just foreigners, but Americans as well had to struggle just to live and to keep on living even at
the bottom of society. It tells how a family has to endure hardships and tragedies just to barely make it.
Stories and rumors were being told by many to persuade people to leave their country and go to America
in search of happiness and success. But what was told turned out to be false in the sense that success and
happiness are exactly the opposite. What a small Lithuanian family found out was that America wasn't
One problem that faced this Lithuanian family is that they needed money. They were told that
you made more money when working but they were not told that everything cost more as well. The family
that included, Jurgis, Antanas, Marija, Ona, Jonas, Teta and her children were in America without a place
to live and start their lives over again. Without a place to live they luckily find a friend from their
homeland that tells them where they can live for low costs. The place they were sent to was a tenement
shelter where it was over run and filled with rodents. But being new to America and not having jobs this
is all the family could do to stay out of the cold.
Food was another problem that faced the family. Without work combined with the cost of living
the family had little money for food. With twelve family members food was a necessity. But you can't buy
Already Sinclair has portrayed life in America is not what it is made out to be. Problems in
society such as unemployment, lack of food, and lack of places to live, have all contributed to the Family's
With the family down on themselves the healthy, big, and strong Jurgis sets out to help the
family by finding work and supporting the family. Jurgis find a job at a stockyard where animals
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