Chapters 7-20 Reaction

Chapters 7-20 were rough. Winter came and hit everyone like a ton of bricks. Illness was very common because of the unsanitary conditions at the factories. With winter brings untold death throughout Packingtown because of no heaters. I thought that those high up people were cheap and ruthless because they didn’t even keep their workers warm. Jurgis and Ona are $100 in debt because of their wedding. Then Marija fell in love with Tamoszius, the musician, and begin wedding plans. Marija lost her job at the canning factory and has to put off her wedding plans. Later, Jurgis find out that there were hidden expenses that they didn’t know about. I thought it was good for Marija to find love, and thought it was really stupid how that agent didn’t entail all the expenses; I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I were the agent. Jurgis sprains his ankle when a stampede happens, and couldn’t go back to work for three months. I thought that it was bad since he was a major part of income. He then looked for weeks for a new job, and got one in a fertilizer mill. I felt very bad for him for he had to work in a place that smelled horrible. Ona isn’t able to come home on some nights because of the horrible snow, but in reality because of another man. When Jurgis finds out what the foreman did to Ona, he runs to find him and almost killed him. I thought it ought to teach him a lesson on not messing with his wife, and also believed he deserved it since he did it and was totally wrong. Jurgis ends up in jail for thirty three days (3 extra day since he couldn’t afford his trial, original was 30), and while he was in jail, the family ends up losing the house and moving back to the boarding house where they were first. I thought it was very sad because they needed that house. When Jurgis gets out, he has to go 20 miles to find that his house is no longer his. He finds out that the family moved back to the boarding house and goes there. I thought that he had a lot of guts to run 20 miles to find that his house wasn’t his. I would have completely lost control if I had to move to back to a home I had before and lost all my money in a house that was mine! When Jurgis arrives, he hears Ona screaming and feels horrible. He asked everyone for a donation and runs to find a doctor. I thought it was seriously great how he ran so far for family, I would of ran across the continent to get my family if I had to. Jurgis bring a doctor who will work for 1.50 instead of the usual 25. Jurgis is urged to leave and wait till morning. The doctor, on the other hand, goes to help Ona. Jurgis returns in the morning to find that the baby died and Ona is dying. I tought this was horrible because she was his love for all his life and she died. I felt bad for everyone else because she was the finance director for the family. Overall, these were very rough chapters.