1. What is Elzbieta’s attitude toward life?
2. What does Elzbieta ask of Jurgis?
3. What is Jurgis’s difficulty in finding a job?
4. Where and how does he find employment?
5. Just as Jurgis begins to feel hope, what is the next blow dealt to him?
3. What is Jurgis’s difficulty in finding a job?
ReplyDeleteJurgis's friends at one of the bars explain to him that he has been blacklisted. After beating the boss in the yards, does Jurgis really think anyone at the meatpacking plants will hire him again? He has no chance for another job at Packingtown. More workers exist in Packingtown than do jobs; therefore, packers have the ability to blacklist troublemakers. This is another way the owners exercise power over the laborers.
4. Where and how does he find employment?
The family decides that Jurgis should go downtown by himself to look for work. Jurgis goes downtown, homeless and alone. He begs and gets small jobs here and there, but he does not find solid work for two weeks. Finally, Jurgis gets a position thanks to a union friend of his. This friend points Jurgis in the direction of a factory that makes farm implements. This place is called Harvester Trust, and it pays good money. The factory has airy, nice workshops, and even a reading room. The factory is an assembly line and many big machines. The work is boring and repetitive. Jurgis is making money again and he has enough to pay his rent. He is paid nearly two dollars a day and after work, he re-enrolls in night school to improve his English.
5. Just as Jurgis begins to feel hope, what is the next blow dealt to him?
Jurgis wants to start over and to save money for the family now that the interest from the house is no longer draining him. Jurgis starts to have hope again, but is ruined when he goes to Harvester Trust for work. He finds that the company has been shut down until further notice.
Page 161. What do you think of the description of Elzbieta? This goes with question #1
Delete1. What is Elzbieta’s attitude toward life? Elzbieta's attitude towards life is that it should not be questioned, that all things have a reason and no matter what one must go on and persevere for the sake of the rest of those relying on you to do so. She is hardwired for survival and able to see things as hurdles instead of roadblocks, she can see past the situation, no matter how bad, and move on because she simply has to.
ReplyDelete2. What does Elzbieta ask of Jurgis? Elzbieta asks Jurgis to stay with the family, she is fearful he will leave their family to fend for themselves. She asks him to get himself straightened out for the sake of Antanas as Ona "left" him to Jurgis to care for and support.
3. jurgis can't find a job because he has been blacklisted and no packing house in america would hire him now. because he had acted out against conner and no one to back him up so he had nothing to fall back on.
ReplyDelete