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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. How much further does Jurgis have to walk to get to the boarding house?

2. Who does Jurgis meet that floods him with memories?

3. Where does Jurgis eventually get a job, only to lose it once he finds out who Jurgis is?

4. Who has cut their hand and can not work?

5. What is the term socialists use for each other?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Jurgis decide to do when he can not find any work?

2. How is the midwife described to the reader?

3. Is Jurgis successful in getting the rest of the family converted to socialism?

4. Why was Jurgis released from prison later than he thought would be?

5. What is the first crime Jack Duane and Jurgis commit?

6. What does Jurgis do as soon as he gets his new job?

7. When Jurgis gets out of the hospital, what does he do?

8. What is the stroke of luck that Jurgis happens upon?

9. What caused little Antanas' death?

10. Why doesn't Ona come to the courtroom during Jurgis' sentencing?

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

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

Survival of the fittest seems to be an overarching theme of this novel. Those who struggle to survive are often doomed to fail, while those who persevere still don't get all they want. Choose three character from the story and describe how they struggled to survive. What was the outcome? Who were the fittest in the story? Why did you choose these characters?

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This section contains 577 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample