Summary Of Packingtown

Our story begins with the union of Ona Lukoszaite and Jurgis Rudkus, two Lithuanian immigrants that moved to Chicago. The wedding seemed to be going good until many of the guests begin taking advantage of the couple. The people leave the wedding without contributing money; they just eat all the food and drink. The bar men also claim that the guests had more alcohol than they really did so the costs of the wedding began to add up to much more than Ona and Jurgis had bargained for. Jurgis promises to make money by getting a job and working hard. The family takes a tour of their new home, Packingtown. Jurgis becomes puzzled by the suffering of animals that happens every day. He is also disgusted to learn that the health inspector lets some carcasses
go unchecked for diseases. Jurgis begins his new job and at first is very happy to at least be earning money. Many good things happen for the family at this point, Jonas gets a job, and Marija also gets a job. Jurgis wants the children to go to school and forbids them to work. Dede Antanas cannot find a job because of his old age. The family soon sees an ad for a home with four rooms at a decent price. The down payment was only three hundred dollars and the monthly fee was twelve. Ona and the other women were convinced by the salesman that they must move fast to get the house if they really want it. The whole family goes to look at the house and is somewhat disappointed because it did not match the descriptions. The house is put down as a rental which upsets Jurgis because then it will be easier for the people to evict them if the monthly payments are not made. Even though the family was upset that the house was a scam, they happily settled in and purchased new things for the house. Jurgis is fine with working in the slaughterhouse, but is confused when he learns that everyone else despises the work and the bosses. Jurgis is asked to join a union and declines. A man tells Antanas that he will give him a job for one-third of his wages. Soon he learns that the offer is just proof of the corruption found in Packingtown. People are always taking advantage of one another and now this lesson is learned. Antanas, even knowing that the offer was not fair, took the job. It is soon found out that many of the family’s jobs had horrible working conditions. Antanas has to pack filthy meat, Marija only got the job because the person before her was fired for being too old, and Jonas got his job because the person before him was killed, and Jurgis sees that not all of the meat is fit to be eaten but is packed anyways. Grandmother Majauszkiene, the neighbor, explains that the houses are a scam.
She was lucky enough to make the full payment, but most people never do. The houses were built with the cheapest materials and were not at all what they were made out to be. Ona now got a job to help pay off the debt that Jurgis and she are in. Winter comes and makes things very hard. Many deaths occur in Packingtown and Antanas dies. Jurgis continues to work hard to support his family. Marija begins to have an interest in a musician, Tamoszius, and he helps to bring cheer back to the family. The couple never marries for they cannot afford
it. Marija’s factory closes and she no longer has a job. Jurgis is very depressed and decides to join a union and he finds out more about the corruption going on in the city of Packingtown. Jurgis tries to fit in more and begins learning English. Marija gets her job back but then is fired for complaining about cheated out of pay. Ona becomes pregnant and her job is too difficult. Ona has a boy and is named Antanas, and seven days after having the baby she had to return to work. Jurgis sprains his ankle, Kristoforas dies, and then when Jurgis heals the factory refuses to give him his job back.
Jonas is stressed so he leaves the family and never says a word. Jurgis is forced to take a job at a fertilizer plant, which happens to be the worst place in all of Packingtown. Jurgis begins drinking to numb the pain of the life he is living. Ona becomes pregnant again and then starts not returning home after work. Jurgis learns that her boss is keeping Ona after work and forcing her to sleep with him. Jurgis attacks her boss and soon after is thrown into jail. Jurgis is given an unfair trial; they didn’t ask him many questions at all. He is sentenced to a month in jail. The family is barely getting by. Jurgis befriends a man in prison named Jack
Duane. Jurgis is released and discovers that his family had been evicted from their home and they are living in a rundown boarding house in Chicago. When Jurgis arrives, he finds Ona in premature labor. She gives birth to a still born baby and dies very soon after. Jurgis begins drinking the pain away once again. Jurgis gets himself together and finds a new job at the steel mill and commits himself to supporting his family. He is once again torn apart when Antanas dies. He wanders the country side and returns to Chicago in the winter. He gets a job digging freight train tunnels. He is injured and has to spend some time in the hospital. He is given one hundred dollars by a man and then when he asked a bartender to give him change, he tries to trick Jurgis and then Jurgis attacks him and is sent to jail again. Jurgis reunites with Jack Duane and when they are released they commit many crimes together. Jurgis after that returns to work for his original boss, Mike Scully. Jurgis sees Phil Connor again and attacks him again, sending him back yet again to prison. Jurgis lost touch with his family, but soon learns that Marija is a prostitute and is addicted to morphine. Jurgis one night goes to a rally and joins the socialist party. Jurgis finds a job at a socialist hotel and finds Teta Elzbieta. Jurgis now is at peace with his new found beliefs. He now has hope and will continue to fight for his rights and to make Chicago a less corrupt place.