Jurgis Rudkus, the main character in The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, has a very rough journey when he moves to America from Lithuania. He faces many hardships and they're difficult for anyone to endure. Throughout the novel Jurgis is put through the justice/prison system multiple times, and each time he experienced something new, whether it be the unjust treatment he received, the food he was served, or even the condition of his cell and daily life there.
The novel portrayed the justice system as an unfair one. They treat immigrants and the poor unfairly. Jurgis was taken to court and presented to a judge, but the judge didn't care about Jurgis's side. Unfairness and bias was common among the court systems in the nineteenth and twentieth century. People were often coerced into saying the things needed for conviction and thrown into
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The more common penal sanctions were fines, whipping, and the socks. The punishments varied from prison to prison. Some better than others and some worse. At a certain point the punishments become torture. From waterboarding to electrocution, the prisoners were disciplined.
Having been stripped the delinquent is manacled in the great bath tub. At the height of his neck in the sides of the tub are grooves and in these play great wooden clamps, carved to fit the human body. These are screwed together so as to grip in a vise the man’s chest and arms. In front of him is a faucet and a bit of hose, throwing a smart stream of water. First it is necessary to get the man’s mouth open by making him cry out (which is usually done by frightening him), whereupon the water streams down his throat and strangles him ("Torture").
In the novel, Jurgis refers to the meatpacking industries, what goes in the food, and the processes to make the food. He