ipl-logo

Jurgis Rudkus Character Analysis

680 Words3 Pages

Analyzation of Jurgis Rudkus Indeed, characterization in literature is a crucial matter, bringing even more depth and purpose. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair discusses the corruption of the meat-packing industry, specifically focusing on a man with a Lithuanian family. The book discusses the life of Jurgis Rudkus, during which he completely evolves as a man. With characterization Sinclair brought this book to life, and began a revolution in the meat-packing industry. Jurgis Rudkus’ personality and attitude go through major changes as he goes through all of the hardships he experiences. This makes him both a major and dynamic character. Major, because most of the events in the book are revolved around him specifically. Dynamic, because of …show more content…

For instance, in the beginning of The Jungle, Jurgis is very much the hard-working “manly” man, but a moment of weakness is seen during his wedding ceremony. “Jurgis could take up a two-hundred-and-fifty-pound quarter of beef and carry it into a car without a stagger, or even a thought; and now he stood in a far corner, frightened as a hunted animal, and obliged to moisten his lips with his tongue each time before he could answer the congratulations of his friends” (Sinclair 8). Jurgis, the typical strong man, shows a sense of sensitivity because of his wedding. This sensitivity is seen throughout the entire book, mainly as Sinclair writes the story of Jurgis’ son Antanas and his wife, which plays part in the aspect that he is driven by his family. He does everything, and anything that could bring a better life to his family. By way of example, Jurgis’ actions after Ona reveals that she has been raped. “To Jurgis this man’s whole presence reeked of the crime he had committed; […] Jurgis was so bent upon his task that he knew nothing of this, and scarcely realized that people were trying to interfere with him; […] In a flash, he had bent down and sunk his teeth into the man’s cheek; […]” (Sinclair 153). Jurgis sees no consequence when it comes to protecting the ones that he loves, this greatly contributes to his overall credibility as a complex character, with many different characteristics. Jurgis’ “roundness” packs on to the significance of Sinclair’s The Jungle. Characterization is what makes a character believable, Jurgis Rudkus is a perfect example. He is a major, dynamic, and round character that brings a sense of reality to The Jungle. With all of the circumstances that he is put under he molds into a new man, making an already revolutionary tale even

Show More
Related

  • The Meatpacking Industry In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle

    360 Words  | 2 Pages

    Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" is a novel that depicts the lives of Lithuanian immigrants working in the meatpacking industry in Chicago at the turn of the 20th century. The jungle refers to the harsh and unforgiving environment of the meatpacking district, where workers are subjected to dangerous working conditions, unsanitary living quarters, and exploitation by powerful meatpacking companies. The book opens with Jurgis Rudkus, a strong and proud Lithuanian immigrant, arriving in Chicago with his family. They quickly find work in the meatpacking district, but soon discover that the reality of their new life is far harsher than they had imagined.

    Read More

  • Jurgis In The Jungle

    188 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Jungle is a novel about the journey of Jurgis and his family after immigrating from Lithuanian to Packingtown, Chicago. Jurgis finds a job working in the meat-packing industry, and the family finds a house to buy. Although Jurgis did not want Ona or the children going to work, times get hard and the whole family ends up getting a job. While at work, Jurgis injures his ankle; this causes him to be out of work for a few months. To keep the family from losing their jobs, Ona sleeps with her boss, Conner.

    Read More

  • The Immigrant Family In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle

    1442 Words  | 6 Pages

    Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle” tells the story of Jurgis Rudkus and his immigrant family. In his homeland of Lithuania, Jurgis meets his love, Ona. However, he is denied marriage to her Sometime later, Jurgis tries again to seek her hand, but fins out Ona’s father has died and her family is in debt. Along with his father, Antanas, and Ona’s family: Teta Elzbieta, Marija, Jonas, and six children, Jurgis moves to America to start a new life. They arrive in New York, and soon travel to Chicago.

    Read More

  • How Does Upton Sinclair Present Socialism In The Jungle

    855 Words  | 4 Pages

    The story describes the disgusting conditions and detail of the meatpacking facilities which was one of the main reasons for writing this novel. Sinclair describes how the animals were packed in the stockyards and slaughtered in unsanitary conditions. Jurgis faces the chance of death each day he arrives at work. The family is hit by debt, illness and bad weather throughout the story but still have to trudge on to pay off the debt created by the wedding. The families lose and gain unsteady jobs as the story goes on but never anything

    Read More

  • Future Resolutions In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle

    900 Words  | 4 Pages

    All over the world, individuals would want to alter something in their past for a more enriched life. One’s precedent actions will inevitably bear an impact on future resolutions. In Upton Sinclair’s novel, The Jungle, the main character, Jurgis Rudkus, departed Lithuania, with his beloved and her family, for a more prosperous life in America, but after countless of trials, ended up destitute. His decisions throughout the tribulations will determine the outcome in a world full of adversity. However, how Jurgis acted on one of his ordeals engendered a great burden that he still bears in the present, and that this link into the past depicts Sinclair’s theme of corruption.

    Read More

  • The Meatpacking Industry In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle

    976 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Jungle is a novel that is famous for its depiction of the inhumane conditions in the meatpacking industry. Sinclair’s use of graphic descriptions of the working and living conditions of the workers in the industry, particularly the immigrants, was a significant factor in the book’s popularity. For example, Sinclair wrote, “They worked

    Read More

  • Jurgis Rudkus In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle

    710 Words  | 3 Pages

    Jurgis gains a new perspective of everything around him and everything that has happened. The main character Jurgis Rudkus is an immigrant coming to America. He searches for a job to provide money for his wife and parents. In the article Schema Criticism by Mark Bracher, he emphasizes that, “Jurgis is the prototypical image of autonomy. He is powerful, exuberant, striking figure who towers above the other workers” (32).

    Read More

  • The Rudkus Family In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle

    1118 Words  | 5 Pages

    Throughout Upton Sinclair’s magnum opus, The Jungle, we see the Rudkus family and their struggles as they live through the hard times before the Great Depression. While the title of the novel represents a more animalistic idea, the novel never tells of anything that relates to the title, unless you look at the story from another perspective. In this novel we clearly see the Social Darwinist idea, which is the theory that only the strong will survive, in full effect because in The Jungle we see a literal jungle in the form of the lives of Jurgis and the Rudkus family. Through the chapters we see the attempt of the Rudkus family to move higher up in the “animal kingdom” yet they never seem to exceed. This is the story of a non native species

    Read More

  • Justice System In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle

    832 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Living And Dying In Packingtown Chicago Analysis

    446 Words  | 2 Pages

    Living and Dying in Packingtown, Chicago In 1904, Upton Sinclair viewed/took after the modern town of Packingtown, Chicago. In view of what he saw of industry and its specialists, he composed The Jungle. Sinclair's motivation for The Jungle was "to show Americans how insidious the business - and by expansion, (a framework where individuals claim cash and profitable things)- had got to be" (pg. 72) and to (achieve or pick up with exertion) better working conditions. He composed of Lithuanian individual (who enters a nation)

    Read More

  • The Economic Tension In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle

    1899 Words  | 8 Pages

    Upton Sinclair portrays the economic tension in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries through his novel “The Jungle”. He used the story of a Lithuanian immigrant, Jurgis Rudkus, to show the harsh situation that immigrants had to face in the United States, the unsanitary and unsafe working conditions in the meatpacking plants, as well as the tension between the capitalism and socialism in the United States during the early 1900s. In the late 19th century and early 20th centuries, there were massive immigrants move into the United States, and most of them were from Europe. The protagonist, Jurgis Rudkus, like many other immigrants, have the “America Dream” which they believe America is heaven to them, where they can

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Knowledge In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle

    1021 Words  | 5 Pages

    When Upton Sinclair, a progressive era muckraker, wrote The Jungle in 1906, he was attempting to bring knowledge of the horrific conditions in Packingtown to the average citizen. His revelations on the terrors of Packingtown helped to slowly improve the lives of the immigrants. Sinclair’s pursuit of knowledge relates to the slowly growing knowledge of the characters in The Jungle. Throughout the story the characters find themselves in many tragic circumstances that could have been more easily avoided if they had been more aware of their surroundings. The immigrants are full of a false hope for success that disillusions the reality of their life.

    Read More

  • Socialism In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle

    778 Words  | 4 Pages

    In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, Jurgis and his family attempt to survive in a malicious society. In this jungle of a town, rotten meat is being packaged in order to save money. Throughout the novel, the immigrants are faced with greedy capitalists who take advantage of the family’s ignorance and naivety in order to make money. The symbols of corruption, a jungle-like setting, and the tension between family and a work-based lifestyle transparently contribute to the unifying theme of anti-capitalism. In other words, this book is not art; this book is propaganda.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle

    1433 Words  | 6 Pages

    The Jungle In the literary work, The Jungle, the author, Upton Sinclair makes a commentary on the deceitful and dark truth of the American dream. This was achieved by using the canned meat that was produced in Packingtown as a symbol to represent the dream that all the immigrants had about their new lives in America. As the story progresses, the reader, along with the protagonist, Jurgis will discover that the American dream lies cloaked behind a shroud of beautiful lies that masks the vile truths that are the American dream and the canned “beef” processed by the corrupt meat business in Packingtown.

    Read More

  • Meatpacking Workers In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle

    1060 Words  | 5 Pages

    Thus, Sinclair’s purpose of writing The Jungle failed to bring readers to advocate for the rights of workers trapped in the low wages, unsafe working conditions, and long hours of meatpacking factories, but rather, succeeded in opening the country’s eyes to the meatpacking practices that went on behind closed doors and the establishment administrations to protect the public from these unscrupulous

    Read More

More about Jurgis Rudkus Character Analysis

Open Document