Chapter 23

In chapter 23 of the Jungle Jurgis went to Chicago again in search of work.  He left with only fifteen dollars hidden away in his shoe.  What he feared most was being out of work in the city in the wintertime.  Jugris went to Chicago by railroad along with many other men who were hiding in the freight charts.  When he reached his destination it was cold and he paided ten cents for lodging.  He could not keep up with being clean because there was no place for him to wash up.  Along with not being able to bath he also wanted to remain single.  He was a single man who wanted to keep any money that he made to hi self.  After searching for over a month he found a newspaper ad calling for a hundred laborers.  He found a line of men waiting to be interviewed for the same job.  After an hour or two he was interviewed and got the job.  It paid only fifteen cents an hour but it was work.  Within a half an hour he had begun to work.  It was in a newly opened tunnel that Jugris worked, and so he knew that he had an all winter job.  Even though many men were killed daily working in the same tunnel.  But by Christmas he was in the hospital and it was from there he lost his job.  He became homeless and with no money to get a dissent meal.

Chapter 24

In this chapter Jurgis is full of bitterness and dispair.  There was no place for him anywhere, every direction he turned to his gaze this fact was forced upon him.  He couldn't work because he had a broken arm. He had no place to live and no money in his pocket. This cause Jurgis to start begging.  Then he met Master Freddie.  He was so generous that he gave him one hundred dollars.  Jurgis was trembling with excitement .  But Jurgis was concen about taking Master Freddie roll of bills.  Master Freddie took him to his house.  But Jurgis thought it looked more like a castle.  Jurgis was so excited as he walk in, seeing the inside of the so called castle.

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" The place where he stood was dimly lighted; but he could see a vast hall, with pillars fading into the darkness above, and a great staircase opening at the far end of it.  The florr was of tesselated marble, smooth as glass, and form the walls strange shape loomed out, woven into huge potieres in rich, harmonious colors, , or gleaming from painting, wonderful and mysterious looking in the half-light , purple and red and gloden, like sunset glimmers in a shawdory forest."

While they were getting ready to eat Jurgis is very concern with what's going on around him.  As he was eating Master Freddie was leaning back in a big chair gazing at him.  As Master Freddie was telling Jurgis about his life he started falling asleep.  the bulter walks in and throws Jurgis out to the street.  My opinion is that the bulter shouldn't throw Jurgis out the house.  He was so rude by doing that.  The least that he could do was let him spend the night so he can start fresh in the morning.

Chapter 25

In this chapter Jurgis find himself stealing form a rich, drunk man only ot go and be robbed by a corrupted bartender.  The bartender seems to have connections as Sinclair tells us, "...poor Jurgis could not know that the owner of the saloon  paid five dollars each week to the policemen  alone for Sunday privileges and general favors- nor that the pugilist bartender was one of the most trusted henchmen of the Democratic leader of the district, and had helped only a few months before to hustle out a record breaking vote as a testimonial to the magistrate, who had been made the target of odious kid-gloved reformers."  (p.245)

After being sent to jail he finds his friends and mentor, Jack Duane.  Duane teaches him to survive by stealing from the rich men, lying and making connections with the high class criminal world.  There is still a lot that Jurgis has to learn.  In a way he is this ignorant because in reality he is an honest man.  He can't understand that men can be so
devious. "The city, which was owned by an oligarchy of business men, being nominally ruled by the people, a huge army of graft was necessary for the purpose for effecting the transfer of power...  The leaders and organizers were maintained by the business men directly- aldermen and legislators by means of bribes, party officials out of the
campaign funds, lobbyists and corporation lawyers in the form of salaries, contractors by means of jobs, labor union leaders by subsidies and newspaper proprietors and editors by advertisements." (p. 249-250)

"All of these agencies of  corruption were banded together, and leagued in blood brotherhood with the politician and the police; more often than not they were one and the same person- the police captain would own the brothel he pretended ot raid, and the politician would open his headquarters in his saloon." (p. 250)

Jurgis then makes friends with Buck Halloran, a Democratic political "worker".   Jurgis begins to see how people like him can get good paying jobs though not honestly.  As a workingman with a family he had to beg for work.  As a "political worker" he could ask for his own wage and earn some spending cash.  He could even ask to get taken out of jail whenever he landed there.

Chapter 26

Jackie
Jurgis wanted to be a politician, Halloran advised him against it.  The problem was that all politicians were corrupt, Halloran knew Jurgis wouldn't last.  Besides he was making enough money around election time when they would fix the votes.  Capitalism was nearly nonexistent. There was a strike among the packers who wanted   a union.  Jurgis didn't care about the union.  He only wanted to earn some money after his friends failed to come through for
him.  He had beaten up Conner, the boss who had raped his wife. Conner was even too powerful for Jurgis' friends to do anything about it.  So Jurgis went to work as a packer while the factories where desperately looking for men and paying high wages for them.

Alicia
Jugris stayed in Packingtown after the election ad kept his job.  Things were stilling the same wit the police protection of criminals.  Jugris had three hundred dollars in the bank, an easy job, and a place to live.  He also enjoyed cheap theaters and music and music halls.  In this chapter Jurgis seems to have a rash of good luck.  All the packing houses in the city were talking about going on strike and after a couple of months the finally did go on strike calling it the "Beef Strike".  Jugris became one of the few "American Heroes", a man whose merited comparison with those of the martyrs of Lexington and Valley Forge.

Ysaura
Jurgis stayed in Packington.  He kept the job he had.  Jurigs want to get into politics but Halloran told him that he shouldn't do it.  He was making enough money so he can supports himself.    When he parkers went on strike because they wanted to form a union.  But Jurgis didn't care because he had a job and he was in a stable condition. Later on he went up to the man who raped his wife, Conner, and beat him. But his friends were afraid to join in because Conner was a powerful man. Jurgis was so happy with his good luck.. he even had one hundred dollars in the bank. Finally Jurgis decide to go on strike calling it the "Beef Strike".

Chapter 27

Jackie
After the fight with Conner,  Jurgis nearly escapes being beaten by the strikers outside the yards.  He is left again without a job.  Luckily, he runs into a friend who tell s him where Marija is.  He is led to a whorehouse where he finds Marija as a prostitute, addicted to Morphine and dependent on the Madame.  Her money goes towards
Morphine and board, the rest to Teta  who is keeping the kids in school while she works. While Jurgis is there, the police raid the whorehouse and he is arrested along with the other men an the pros.  They are later sent away after a hearing and Marija sends Jurgis to see Teta for a place to stay.  Jurgis is filled with guilt for having left them before.  He wanders around Packington instead. Sinclair want us to see this mans dilemma.  He is always the target, always in the wrong place.

Alicia
By this chapter Jurgis became an outcast and a tramp once more.  He could no longer command a job when he wanted and he had to also hide himself.  His friends began to betray him.  Then he had to acquire about new living arrangements because he was out of work, and he had lost everything he was use to having and now he had to live without.  Jurgis became one more a besieger of factory gates.  But never since he had been in Chicago had he stood less chance of getting a job.  Everybody was out of work because of the strike and everybody was looking for work at the same time.  Jurgis began to think that he would be better off in jail instead of beginning caught out side in the winter.  Jurgis went from $300 in one day to a few pennies in 10 days.  He got a job but then lost it because his boss said he was to weak to work.

Ysaura
As soon as Jurgis starts having good luck he lucks turn to bad.  After having a fight Conner and escape the beaten of the strikers he has the luck of bing without a job.. So everything starts all over.  He goes to this whore hore to visit his friend Marija.  She is a prosititute.  All the money that she makes she uses it to buy drugs.  she is addicted to morrphine.  Then come the cops and arrested everyone including Jurgis.  Later he came across Conner again this time beaten him real bad.

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" The woman began screaming, and people came rushing in.  The lantern had been upset and extinguished, and it was so dark they could not see a thing; but they could hear Jurgis panting, and hear the thumping of his victim/s skull and they rushed there and tried to pull him off.  Precisely as before, Jurgis came away with a piece of his enemy's flesh between his teeth; and as before, he went on fighting with those who has interfered with him, until a policeman had come and beaten him into insensibility".

Even though Jurgis didn't kill Conner he hurt him really bad.