1. When Jurgis goes to Marija, does her response to him surprise you? Explain.
2. How does Jurgis keep his life interesting?
3. What is Schliemann’s opinion of marriage? Do you agree?
4. What is the battle between the red and the black?
5. What are the references to religion in this chapter? To what extent do you agree or disagree?
6. What is Schliemann’s vision of society’s future? Do you think it is practical?
7. What evils should not exist in a Socialist society? Why are they considered to be evil?
8. What are some of the inventions and discoveries that Schliemann envisions? How realistic are they?
9. Describe the ending of the book. How satisfying and/or appropriate do you believe the ending to be?
Wow, I think I just read propaganda from the early 1900’s to join the Socialist Party!
ReplyDelete1. When Jurgis goes to Marija, does her response to him surprise you? Explain. It did surprise me that she was not upset at him for running out on them. She has been hardened by the society as well and men drinking and leaving their families had become common place in Packingtown. She is also doped up so her true feeling are repressed by her drug use and likely due to depression.
6. What is Schliemann’s vision of society’s future? Do you think it is practical? He envisions a future society where the laborer has stake in how things are run, specifically in the trusts, and that they become owners and the vast wealth is spread amongst the majority instead of the few. It is not practical because as we had discussed in the Amana Colonies the people begin to become lackadaisical and all will receive the same share whether they work hard or not. Checks and balances would need to be in place eventually in a Socialist society….their first course of action however was to dismantle the trusts, specifically the Beef Trust.
9. Describe the ending of the book. How satisfying and/or appropriate do you believe the ending to be? The ending to this book is absolutely different from how it begins. The author seems to be proving a point by doing this through what the reader expected and what they received in terms of the story and how that relates to Jurgis and what he expected and what he received in terms of reality in America. The ending is not entirely satisfying, and while there is hope for a potential brighter future it is very real and telling of the time that this author seized the opportunity to out this tyrannical capitalist society.
well sinclair did convert to socialism, but i don't feel that is why he wrote this. It's not about socialism it's about change towards a decent soceity where humans can be treated as humans.
DeleteIn further answering question 1, Marija chooses not to leave the Saloon because she is gripped with addiction and that is likely how she is able to numb herself from her plight entirely. She lost many children and her love, she knows she still has to work but in what capacity she cannot imagine. She has become content with what she does and chooses to stay in it because she has no more desire to fight, she is worn out and has essentially been defeated by Packingtown.
ReplyDelete1. When Jurgis goes to Marija, does her response to him surprise you? Explain.
ReplyDeleteWhen Jurgis goes to Marija and wants her to leave the brothel, but she refuses because she has an addiction to morphine and cannot find work anywhere else. Jurgis does not want to leave her, but turns to socialism for support. Jurgis believes that socialism is the only hope for the working person and Marija does not see this. She is unwilling to change. Marija plans to remain a prostitute for the rest of her life. Marija response does not surprise me because Marija is making decisions I feel that she has not control, yes, in reality, she does, but I think she really feels she has no other options. She has turned against herself as the world has turned against her. Marija turned to drugs as her escape just as people still do today. Marija has died inside and feels nothing, the drugs give her the ability to cope with her decision. The society she has lived in and the New America she had hopes for has grinded her down to an internal pain and suffering of squashed dreams.
1. When Jurgis goes to Marija, does her response to him surprise you? Explain.
ReplyDeleteNo, not really. Look at the power of stigma, if you go out of societies norms they will haunt you for the rest of your life or at least feel that way. She is drugged up and feels helpless about her situation and can only hope that she finds someone who knows about her past and can look past it. She is also depressed and after all that she has gone through, she's very much at the end of her rope. They said that society hardend her, but I think it's more taking out her soul and a case of learned helplessness, that she sees nothing but lost hope around her so she feels the same way herself.
1. no, her life had been tough in America and she had been made out to be worthless. she became addicted and didn't see the light of hope in Jugis. a sad fate for Marija.
ReplyDeleteany answers for question 2?
ReplyDelete2. How does Jurgis keep his life interesting?
ReplyDeleteJurgis immerses himself in “the world of ideas.” Though he is only a hotel porter, he spends his interests and energy on learning about the socialist cause.
4. Between the Roman Catholic Church and Socialism
ReplyDeleteAny answers for question 7?
ReplyDeleteI despise how choppy your answers are...
ReplyDeleteany answers for question 5, 7, and 8
ReplyDelete