The Jungle Chapter Summary

The beginning of ‘The Jungle by Upton Sinclair starts with the wedding of Ona Lukoszaite and Jurgis Rudkus who are immigrants that arrived in Chicago from Lithuania. Their wedding takes place in an area of Chicago called Packingtown due to it being the center of the meat packing industry. During the celebration the guest are supposed to drop money into a hat to help pay for the wedding. But most guest dropout of the party without contributing any money and the newlyweds are unable to pay the bill. This is when Jurgis promises that he will find a job in this new land to make money to support their new lives. In the following chapter the author talks about the family past of Jurgis and Ona and how before they came to America they did not have
When Jurgis begins working he is optimistic because he earns over two dollars an hour for his twelve hours of labor. Things also begin get better for his family, including Marija earning a job painting labels on cans. Ona, Marija, and Teta Elzbieta then find an add for four room homes and they quickly sign a deal even though Jakubas tell them that the deal is most likely a scam. Once the family moves into the house they begin to adjust to their everyday routine working in the slaughterhouse and Jurgis begins to enjoy it, while everyone else hates it. Dede Antanas, the father, even gets offered a job even though he has to exchange one-third of his wages for his work packing meat. The family begins to talk with their neighbors about the house and they realize that the house is a rental and most families get evicted because they are not able to pay the monthly bill. Unable to afford the rent Ona and the young Stanislovas obtain a job to make extra money. During the winter seasons Marijas factory shuts down and she loses her jobs. Jurgus as well is laid off from some of his hours at his job. This inspires him and other Lithuanians to join the