The Jungle, a story of life and death in an American meatpacking factory in a grim Chicago town. Taking a close look at the lives of these hard working immigrants makes me thank God above I did not have to endure their hardships. From the beginning, a family is in search of the American Dream and departs their homeland for something they think will be better. It seems that if they can work hard and earn enough money they will conquer all obstacles. What they find is the sad truth that America is not a dream but a nightmare for them.
             I had never really thought about how people may have lived in 1906, nor the working conditions they had to deal with. I can only say it was these people who have made it easier for us today. America promised free school for its children and the right to get a job. Trying to actually get one that didn't half kill you was a job in itself. As for the children it was only the lucky who obtained the free education. Most families were so poor they had to have their children working in order the feed themselves.
             It was amazing to feel their optimism as the story began. Jurgis especially was so positive that everything would be okay if he just worked a little harder. When something went wrong and more money was needed he simply said, " I will work harder." I do wish there were more people like that in today's society. It seems everyone wants to take the easy way out. Jurgis would often hear coworkers talking about their rights as workers and that they needed to fight for better conditions. At first he didn't understand. Chapter after chapter I felt myself feeling so sorry for the workers and Jurgis's family. How could human beings have to be forced to work for mere cents for such hard laboring? The workers were subjected to disease from the livestock and swine, frozen in the winters and passed out from heat exhaustion in the summers. It is with this that I ca
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