Chapter 27
Jurgis is back at his tramp lifestyle once more but this time he is an alcoholic. Competition for work on the road is fierce and the threat of starvation is grave. "There is one kind of prison where the man is behind bars, and everything that he desires is outside; and there is another kind where things are behind bars, and the man is outside." Chapter 27, pg. 337
Back in Chicago, Jurgis runs into Alena Jasaityle, a guest at Jurgis' wedding feast. She gives him Marija's address and when Jurgis arrives at the house, he realizes it is a whorehouse.
At that moment, the police raid and chaos ensues. When Jurgis sees Marija, she looks gaunt and sick. At the police station, she tells him that Stanislovas had died a horrific death, devoured by rats at his workplace when he'd fallen asleep. She also tells him that the family is not bitter that Jurgis had abandoned them and that he should go see them. Marija says to Jurgis: "When people are starving and they have anything with a price, I guess you ought to sell it, I say. I guess you realize it now when it's too late." Chapter 27, pg. 348
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