Throughout history, weddings have been a time of love, extravagance, and togetherness. In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, the wedding scene of Jurgis and Ona exhibits the sense of community and family that was present among immigrants in America during the first quarter of the 20th century.
The Jungle opens with this wedding scene, immediately creating a heavy emphasis on tradition and alliance within the Lithuanian community in Chicago. Song and dance, food and drink are all authentic of what would appear in Lithuania. Many of the men present are reminiscing about their home country, and that is when the reader realizes that this party is an escape for many of the revelers. The event is costing the young couple a majority of their thin savings, but it is tradition, and as a foreigner to America, one of the few things they have left is there traditions. These traditions, and the celebration thereof, allow that immigrant community to keep their country alive, even if it's only for a night in some bar in Chicago.
After the opening wedding scene of The Jungle, the Great Depression ensues, and its effects on the new family are clearly illustrated. While the hardships the family endures are incredible, Jurgis stands by his firm values that mandate he do everything in his power to support his family. However the impossible odds against him and his family, including injury and blacklisting in the Chicago stockyards, lead to his failure and the death of his wife and son. It is then we see him depart from his ethics and leave the city.
The strong traditions and values that are represented in the first scene of The Jungle can also be seen throughout the entire book. These traditions are presented as essential to the survival of the Lithuanian immigrant culture in early 20th century America.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your analysis of the wedding! Tradition really is all immigrants have left in America, and to keep their traditions is important.
However, I felt like the second paragraph wasn't exactly relevant to the point of the thesis. In the thesis, it was implied that you would be talking about the wedding only, since that's the only scene of the book you mentioned. However, you go on to talk about events that happened after the wedding. i think that it would have helped to stay on topic just a tad more.
Also, your conclusion is a bit different from your introduction. The conclusion is more all-inclusive of the entire novel while the introduction singles out a specific scene. I think it'd be better if you stuck to just one of these.
Great job!
Erin Q.