litlogs

Chapter 8
LIT LOG
                This chapter was very interesting we would like to express our feelings on two topics we feel are important. One topic is Tamoszius’s jealousy and the other topic is Marija getting laid off. We feel these two are very important and they have a interesting relationship.
                  The quote that made us want to take about Tamoszius was “Tamoszuis was of an excitable temperament and afflicted with a frantic jealousy and any unmarried man who ventured to put his arm about the ample waist of Marija would be certain to throw the orchestra out of tune.” This is what makes the relationship interesting because how can it survive with all the jealousy. There is know doubt that they love each other so if they love each other where is the trust on his part. He needs to learn the difference between love and insecure love.
                  The other quote that made us talk about Marija was “But now it was shut down! And they had not given her a day’s warning.” This situation is something that goes on everyday and we feel it is a very important issue. That issue is called being laid off. This should definitely be something that is not permitted to happen especially in their case they just got engaged and they need all the money they can get to survive and start a family. This is something that they maybe have no control over but morally they really need to think about peoples situations before they just snatch a job away.

Harold Fraser
Shakita Calhoun
Maria Cruz

Literature Log for Chapter 9
Chapter nine is a chapter in which a lot of the meat packing plants hidden practices are revealed. The chapter started off with Jurgis wanting to learn English. This was a result of him going to the union meetings. He also learns about democracies and elections.
This was one of the best chapters in the book because of the depth the Upton Sinclair goes into while describing what goes on in the meat packing factories.
First he describes “Bubbly Creek.” “Bubbly Creek is an arm of the Chicago River and all of the drainage from the packing houses empties into it. He says that what it really is is “a great open sewer a hundred or two feet wide.” Sinclair goes on to describe the gasses that rise from it and the “grease and filth” that occupy its boundaries. The words that he chooses to use are so descriptive that the reader feels as if he can see and smell the creek.
After describing the creek, Sinclair goes onto the factory. This is where it gets really interesting. When reading the first eight chapters one thinks that the packing houses are just operations that aren’t kept up condition wise by the owners. However, upon reading the ninth chapter, the reader can see that there is really a criminal-like genius behind the whole operation.
The one hundred and sixty meat inspectors that were working were appointed by the packers and were paid by the United States to keep all of the diseased meat in the state. The majority of the steers that were brought into the building had some sort of problem. Some of them were covered in boils, some had tuberculosis, and some of the meat that was sold had been sitting in cellars for years! As bad as that is, it gets worse. The men that worked in the pickle room had to be extremely careful as to what they touched because if they so much as pricked their finger, there was a great possibility that they would lose their life because of the amount of germs that infested that room. The beef boners and trimmers were in even worse shape. Most of them didn't have thumbs and all of them had a multitude of cuts and slashes mapping their hands. Fingernails were a scarcity because most of them had been worn off pulling hides. The wool pluckers could only keep a job for a limited amount of time because the wool that they were supposed pick off was painted with acid so that it would come off easier and that would eat through the worker's hands until there was nothing left. The list goes on and by the time one finishes the chapter, they have a new found respect for the people living back in those days. The reader can see that the hardships came from every single direction and that there was barely any time to enjoy the "great" world that the characters thought they were going to be living in.

Maria V. Cruz
Shakita Calhoun
Harold Frasier

Lit Log (Chapter 10)

The thing that I found most important in this chapter was the fact that Ona had a baby boy. Although having a baby should be a joyous event, to me it seemed depressing. The family did not have enough money to support a baby and what is even worse, Ona and Jurgis did not have enough time for the baby. They were so worried about providing for the baby that they absolutely had to go to work everyday because, they did not want the baby to go through the same hardships, as they had to go through.

I find it even sadder that Ona had “womb trouble”. Having a baby should be a happy and joyous time, and it seems to me as if Jurgis and Ona are depressed. Don’t get me wrong I know that they love their child but, I understand that they want nothing but the best or their child. I think that it is very unfair that they cannot even take off from work to spend time with there newborn. Jurgis does not even hardly get to look at his baby. He wakes up goes to work and then comes back really late. This is truly sad.

I truly hope that things will work out for the better for Jurgis and Ona. I feel that their situation is way too difficult and that the definitely deserve much better. I think that eventually things will work out for the best and that the dark and long road that Jurgis and Ona have been on will definitely lead to a brighter pathway in the future.

Maria V. Cruz
Shakita Calhoun
Harold Frasier

Lit Log Chapter 11

The one thing that I really decided to focus on in this chapter is that two of Teta Elzbietas children have to work. I find it very sad that children that are not even teenagers yet have to go into the work force and be taken out of school. I understand the situation that was going on during those times, but I found it depressing that children this young would never be able to truly enjoy there childhood.

These poor children are learning about life the hard way. They have to face the harsh and cruel world at such an early age. I hope that the situation for the family gets better but, so far it does not seem to be making any progress. I feel that this family deserves so much more and that they are a very strong family.

I find it so sad that a family that has left their country to come to America has found nothing but pure misery. I know that the family was expecting so much more when they moved to America. So far, poor Ona is having bad health trouble, Jurgis has ripped a tendon in his ankle, and Marija has to be delayed from getting married and true happiness. I hope that Jurgis will be well enough to go back to work. I also hope that they will finally be treated fairly and paid a decent salary because, they work way too hard for the salary they make.