"The Jungle" portrays the lower ranks of the industrial world as the scene of a naked struggle for survival. Where workers not only are forced to compete with each other but, if they falter, are hard pressed to keep starvation from their door and a roof over their heads. With unions weak and cheap labor plentiful, a social Darwinist state of "the survival of the fittest" exists. The real story revolves around the integration and eventual disintegration of Jurgis Rudkis and his family, Lithuanian immigrants who move to the Chicago stockyards in hopes of a better life. Unfortunately, their hopes quickly disintegrate; like thousands of other unskilled immigrants at the turn of the century, financial necessity …show more content…
In her essay, "Am I Blue," Alice Walker points out that she was unprepared for the expression in Blue's eyes. Blue was lonely and bored, and this could be seen by just looking into his eyes. In Vicki Hearne's essay, "What's Wrong With Animal Rights," she notes the expression of creature comforts. The author points out that when animals, such as dogs, are at their happiest, they are experiencing creature comforts. Anyone who has been around animals knows the difference between when the animal is happy versus when it is upset. Wild animals are happiest when they are in their natural habitat. Today, many animals are in captivity, due to the fact that they are becoming extinct or due to some other factor. I agree with the idea in the Melissa Greene essay. In her essay, "No Rms, Jungle Vu," Melissa Greene explains how people created a zoo that was very close to the animal's natural environment. This made the animals much happier and also allowed the visitors to the zoo to observe the animals at their natural behavior. "No Rms, Jungle," points out that gorillas live in large groups in the wild, but most zoos put them in pairs. This showed an example how the gorillas act differently toward breeding and pointed out that successful breeding among the captive gorillas didn't begin until they were housed in large family groups. These are just a few examples of how we can see the different emotions of …show more content…
In today's world, animals are constantly being used for testing. We use animals for testing such things as cosmetics, the effects of household items, and different drugs and vaccines for disease prevention. Testing animals for the use of cosmetics or for testing household items, I do not agree with. Testing animals for the purpose of creating cures for diseases is a touchy subject. Animals are being killed every day as a result of this testing, and I do not agree with this, but at the same time, if testing a mouse's reaction to a certain medication could lead to the cure of certain cancers, this would be positive. Where do we draw the line? Some people believe it is okay to test a mouse or a rabbit, but not okay to perform testing on a monkey or a dog. We need to have restrictions in place that draw this line. Illustrating the different areas where animal rights may come into play, hopefully allows people to better understand the purpose of animal