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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who gets a horrible case of frostbite?

2. Where does Jurgis have to go after his first day back at work?

3. What is another name for Chicago?

4. What does Jurgis become a part of in response to the action in #40?

5. What barrier does not stand in the way of Jurgis getting a job?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Stanislovas afraid to go out into the snow?

2. Why does Jurgis decline to be in the union at first?

3. What happens at Marija's job at the beef trimming factory?

4. Who wanted Ona and Jurgis to have a lavish wedding, even though they would have been fine with something simpler?

5. What is one of the ways the slaughterhouse bosses cheat the men out of money?

6. What holiday occurs during the time that Jurgis is in jail?

7. Who is the narrator of the novel?

8. What does Jurgis think about his act of beating up Conner?

9. What does Elzbieta's factory do?

10. What does Jurgis begin to do in order to deal with the horrors of his situation?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The narrator of the story is Sinclair himself, which gives the story a different tone than most other novels. That said, how do you think Sinclair's narration has affected the story? What does this story say about Sinclair? Do you think the story could have been told more truthfully by Jurgis? What would have happened if the story had been told from the meat packer manager's point of view?

Essay Topic 2

Sinclair is also quick to point out how horrible the system of capitalism really is. In what ways does capitalism not work for the characters in the story? Are there any benefits to the capitalist way? How does Jurgis specifically become hurt by the capitalist system? Do you think Sinclair is right? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

Jurgis has a motto of "I will work harder." Does this attitude ever help Jurgis? Describe how. List at least two situations in which this positive attitude does not help Jurgis? Do you think this is a good motto to live by? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 618 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample