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Comparing Jurgis And James In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle

1286 Words6 Pages

When life gets hard, is giving up easier than carrying on? An American journalist and novelist, Upton Sinclair, wrote “The Jungle” in 1906. This fictional story depicts all of the gruesome conditions of the Chicago Shipyards in the early 1900s, as well as the harsh lives of immigrants at this time. A Lithuanian family sets of to America for a better life. Was it worth it? “Cinderella Man”, a movie based on the Great Depression, was released in May 23, 2005. This movie is nonfiction, and is based off James Braddock’s life trying to make a living in devastating times. Will they be able to survive? Although Jurgis and James both have a good work ethic, they have many similarities and differences in their physical traits, family dynamics, and personal …show more content…

“Ona was a blue-eyed and fair, while Jurgis had great black eyes with short beetling brows, and thick black hair that curled in waves about his ears- in short, they were one of those incongruous and impossible married couples with which Mother Nature so often wills to confound all prophets, before and after” (Sinclair 8). Jurgis was a big man from Lithuania. He was in his twenties when he made his journey to America. He shares many of the same physical features as James Braddock. James was a tall, sizeable man. He had thick jet-black hair just as Jurgis did. They do share some differences in their appearances that do stand out. James was born and raised in the United States. Their work lives were very weathering on these men. “The poor fellow looked like a homeless ghost, with his cheeks sunken in his black hair straggling into his eyes; he was too discouraged to cut it, or to think about his appearance” (Sinclair 122). Jurgis works as hard as he can at the Chicago Stockyards. He is a very good employee, and one of the hardest workers there. The twelve-hour shifts are definitely catching up with him. He is very exhausted, and is always working. James Braddock is a boxer, and he is on a winning streak. The

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Jurgis the protagonist of the book The Jungle was both a conformist and a rebel throughout the story. At the beginning of the story he followed rules and lived life as a conformist , later events in the story caused Jurgis to rebell and not really care about rules. When Jurgis first arrived in Chicago he had to find a job to support his family. Jurgis would follow the rules and do whatever his boss demanded at work so he wouldn’t get fired. Eventually Jurgis and his wife Ona saved enough money to buy a house.

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