The Jungle

1. Why do Jurgis and Ona go ahead with an expensive wedding feast when they can barely afford it?

2. What does the wedding feast represent to the Lithuanian community beyond just celebration?

3. Why does Jurgis dismiss the warnings from older workers about the harsh realities of factory work?

4. How do the bosses benefit from having eager, optimistic workers like Jurgis who are willing to 'run to assignments'?

5. Why is Jurgis so excited about getting the job, and what does his reaction tell us about his situation?

6. What warning signs does Jokubas hint at during the tour, and why doesn't Jurgis seem to hear them?

7. Why does Jurgis feel euphoric about his horrible job sweeping entrails, and what does this tell us about his situation?

8. How do the house sellers use the family's hope and excitement against them during the sales process?

9. What specific compromises does each family member have to make to survive in Packingtown, and how do they justify these choices to themselves?

10. Why does the meatpacking system deliberately keep workers desperate and competing against each other rather than working together?

11. What did Grandmother Majauszkiene reveal about the Rudkus family's house that they didn't know when they signed the contract?

12. Why do you think the company deliberately hid the interest charges from families like the Rudkus? What does this tell us about their business model?

13. How does the wedding debt trap work, and why can't the family just refuse to pay it?

14. Why does every system in Packingtown seem designed to extract money from workers rather than help them succeed?

15. What different sources of security did Marija and Jurgis rely on in this chapter, and what happened to each one?