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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. What does the family find out about their home?

2. Who is working at the sausage factory?

3. What are men at the slaughterhouses dying of due to the weather?

4. Why does Jurgis sell his vote?

5. Who falls in love with the violin player?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the suspected cause of Elzbieta's child's death?

2. What does Jurgis decide to sign in order to give him more power in his new country?

3. What begins to happen to Ona in this chapter?

4. Why are the sausages the family eats not helping their nutrition?

5. What happened to those who had a sore on their hand and they then got pickling brine on it?

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

7. Who is Jurgis overcome with worry over?

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

9. Which character could be described as young, strong, and full of optimism?

10. Who is the narrator of the novel?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In the end, Jurgis is left with no one. What does this say about the American dream? What do you think will happen to Jurgis next? Do you think his future will be a happy one? Why or why not? Do you think the ending is a happy one? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Jurgis could be seen as a mythical tragic hero of the story. However, as with all heroes, he has flaws. What are some of Jurgis' flaws? What are some of his strengths? Do you think he is a hero in the end of the story? Why or why not? How does he affect others? Or is his battle an internal one?

Essay Topic 3

The idea of the union seems to be a good one for the workers, but does it ever help the workers? How? Why do you think the union fails in some of their efforts? Why do you think Jurgis ignores the call to strike? In today's world, unions seem to do more good, but do you think they are helpful to workers? Why or why not? In what ways can they harm the working environment?

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This section contains 676 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample