Ch.+10

Chapter 10 Summary

At the beginning of the winter Jurgis and his family has no problem meeting the payment and they even have enough money to pay off some of their debts. However they kept having to pay for things that were unforeseen like a pipe bursting. The contract that they had signed included many payments that they did not know about such as insurance and different types of taxes. As the summer neared conditions in the slaughterhouses worsened because of the heat. The canning factory that Marija worked at opened up again, but she soon lost her job after she complained about being paid the wrong amount. The family starts having some trouble meeting the payments because not only is Marija not working, but Ona is about to have a baby. Several weeks later Marija finds a job as a beef trimmer. Ona only takes one week off because she does not want to lose her job. Miss Henderson, Ona’s boss, does not like her because she is a married woman. Jurgis and Ona name their boy Antanas. Jurgis and Ona do not have enough time to take care of the baby, so the job is left to Teta Elzbieta. Jurgis does not like not being able to spend any time with his baby except on Sundays.

Marija- She loses her job of painting cans and becomes a beef trimmer. Jurgis Ona Teta Elzbieta Miss Henderson- Boss of Ona Antanas- Ona’s baby

“They could only go on and make the fight and win-for defeat was a thing that could not even be thought of. (101)”

“When they were at work they could not even wipe off their faces-they were as helpless as newly born babes in that respect; and it may seem like a small matter, but when the sweat began to run down their necks and tickle them, or a fly to bother them, it was a torture like being burned alive. (101-102)”

“She was shut up in one of the rooms where the people seldom saw the daylight; beneath her were the chilling rooms, where the meat was frozen, and above her were the cooking rooms; and so she stood on an ice-cold floor, while her head was often so hot that she could scarcely breathe. (104-105)”