Chapter+Number+23+(Jeff)

After coming back to Chicago, Jurgis finds a job making 15 cents an hour working to dig tunnels under Chicago for phone lines. At the end of his shift one day, he got hurt because "an engine and a loaded car dashed round one of the innumerable right-angle branches and struck him upon the shoulder, hurling him against the concrete wall and knocking him senseless." This broke his arm. He ended up in a hospital for two weeks before he was released. After this, he realizes that he has very little money from not working, and because he is injured he will be unable to work. He collects all of his belongs, sells his tools, and becomes a bum. He goes around, hanging out at pubs until he eventually ends up at a church. After seeking shelter at the church, he spends his last dime in a lodge, and then turns back to begging so he can stay in the saloons (he can stay in them if he buys something, which is why he needs the nickels from begging.) Jurgis Pg 230 - "At the end of six days every cent of Jurgis' money was gone; and then he went out on the streets to beg for his life." Not having enough money is an issue that remains constant throughout this entire book. This passage emphasizes the importance of money, and what happens when somebody does not have money.
 * Chapter Number 23 (Jeff)**
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Pg 226 - "[The fact] That he was utterly helpless, and had no means of keeping himself alive in the meantime, was something which did not concern the hospital authorities, nor any one else in the city." This passage put into perspective how alone and solitary Jurgis really was, and how many relationships he has lost compared to the beginning of the book.