Similarities Between The Jungle And Cinderella Man

What is the difference between a boxer and a Lithuanian immigrant? No, I do not have a punch line to finish that joke, but rather a comparative essay over a novel and a movie. In the two stories, The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair and Cinderella Man, both of the main characters struggle to provide for both themselves, and their families. Jurgis Rudkus is a Lithuanian immigrant who moved to America with his family in search of a better life, and James Braddock is a boxer who lives in America and struggles after the start of the Great Depression. Although James and Jurgis have many similarities, in that they go through tough times, I feel that they handle their situations differently, and only one of them is able to maintain everything important

to them. These differences appear in the physical traits, family traits, and values of each character.
To start, the physical traits for each character show a few similarities, but also many differences that initially set the characters apart. One example of a similarity would be that both characters are in great shape at the beginning of their respective stories, and even though both characters have different setbacks, they both make recoveries. The early similarities, however, end there, and one example is the builds of both men. In the beginning of The Jungle Jurgis is described as a large man, “he with the mighty shoulders, and the giant hands” (Sinclair 8). This shows that Jurgis is very large, strong, and bulky. This could also apply to Braddock, except he would have to be smaller than Jurgis in order to box so he could remain light on his feet and agile. While the struggles become more compounded, both men must go to work to provide for their family, Braddock however is better able to do so. Even with a broken hand, he can find work at the docks. At this point in The Jungle, Jurgis is beginning to wear down, losing his strength, “The poor fellow looked like a homeless ghost, with his cheeks sunken in, and his black hair straggling into his eyes” (Sinclair 122). Jurgis also suffers injuries that prevent him from getting any work and his family must struggle to try to keep up. Towards the end, James Braddock is back into fighting shape and doing well, however he has another injury to deal with, broken ribs, and he is also getting older. Jurgis, on the other hand, is finally getting back to his old self. Sinclair explains that his health returns when he leaves for the country, “Then, too, his health came back to him, all his lost youthful vigor, his joy and power that he had mourned and forgotten!” (215). These physical differences change how each character can handle the work they need to do in order to provide for their family. However, even though Jurgis got his health back, it was too late to help his family and that is why James fared better.
Secondly, even though the physical differences had a large part in the different stories, the family values for each character may have had a larger impact on their fate.

James and Jurgis both had to care for their families. However, James’ family was relatively small, and they already had a good foundation at the beginning of the movie. Jurgis’ family, however, was very large and had struggled from the start, “he found an unexpected state of affairs– for the girl’s father had died… There was Elzbieta Luokszaite, Teta, or Aunt, as they called her, Ona’s stepmother, and there were her six children, of all ages” (Sinclair 27). Jurgis was left with a larger burden at the beginning and could not keep up. The struggles for Jurgis do not stop either. Sinclair shows how the family is struggling by explaining how Antanas, although very sick and hungry, he is the best off in the family, “Yet all this was not really as cruel as it sounds, for, sick as he was, little Antanas was the least unfortunate member of the family” (140). This shows that, unlike James’ story, where the kids’ becoming ill was one of the lowest points, the whole family is suffering just trying to survive. Jim does struggle in his story as well. Mae, his wife sends away the kids because she fears they cannot provide for them and James had to sink to begging and felt lowly, “Jim had never understood how a proud man could sink so low. Now, with the money in his pocket to get his children back, Jim knew. He finally

understood.” (Longman et al 26). James was able to overcome this obstacle, when Jurgis simply could not overcome his. Towards the end of both stories, the main characters must overcome yet another obstacle, however they face two very different situations, and must get through for very different reasons. James is lined up to fight against Max Baer, a heavyweight who has already killed men in the ring and makes many worry for Jim. This can be seen when Jim comes home, “He returned to a house that was empty except for Mae. She stood silently, looking at the newspaper: “WORLD CHAMPION FIGHT TONIGHT MANY WORRY FOR BRADDOCK'S LIFE” (Longman et al 56). He continues with the fight because he feels he owes it to the people, as well as he feels he can provide for his family again. Jurgis returns from the country and after getting himself acquainted with criminal life finds Marija once again, “and he had seen a great deal of the world since he left home, and was not easy to shock– and yet it gave him a painful start that Marija should do this” (Sinclair 285). He was shocked because Marija, who had such strong values, had been reduced to such a low standard. These family differences gave Jurgis a disadvantage when it came to caring for his family, and caused many of them to pass throughout the book. This is one more factor that enabled James to come out better off than Jurgis.
One last variable between the two characters was their values.

While they were both hardworking, honest men, James and Jurgis both had different views on how to handle the struggles they faced. James’ values, I believe, left him better suited to face the hardships coming his way from the beginning. If I had to think of a defining quote for James, it would be, “It is not how many times you get knocked down, but how many times you get back up.” This is because James was able to overcome everything thrown at him, even when things were at their worst. Jurgis’ quote would probably have to be, “I will work harder” because he believes if he works hard he can be successful. When Jurgis realizes that he is not able to work his way out he seemingly gives up on doing what he used to believe in. These are the two main values I believe separate James and Jurgis. James’ quote shows in the beginning with show how he fights, in the middle with how hard he works to recover, and in the end to show why he went through with the fight against Baer. In the beginning he fought and provided for his family, “He made a lot of money in the 1920s as a successful boxer, and he and his family had everything they wanted” (Longman et al vi). Towards the middle, he worked to return the money he borrowed, “This great country of ours helps a man when he's in trouble. I've had some good luck, so I thought I'd return the money” (Longman et al 49).Finally, After the last fight, he was able to return home, “He

listened to the crowd's shouts, but his heart was in another place. It was in a little New Jersey apartment, where his wife and three children would soon be waiting for him to come home” (Longman et al 69). Jurgis’ values do not seem to hold up as well as James’. As his defining quote can be seen in the beginning when he says, “leave it to me; leave it to me. I will earn more money– I will work harder” (Sinclair 25). However, they are lost soon after he faces many struggles he cannot overcome by simply “working harder” therefore he fails to overcome everything that is thrown at him. He continues to love his family throughout the book even in a time of great difficulty, “This was not always his mood, of course; he still loved his family. But just now was a time of trial” (Sinclair 140). Unfortunately, many of his family members die, and he loses that stability too. When Jurgis returns to Marija, he realizes that he has lost most of his values just like her, “But then he laughed at himself for a fool. What was he, to be pretending to decency!” (Sinclair 286). This doomed Jurgis to fail as he had not been able to retain his values, much like he had lost his physical strength and much of his family. James’ values, in my opinion are what led him to succeed, and are the greatest difference between him and Jurgis.
With all the similarities in the struggles that Jurgis and James face, I feel that James was better able to get through the tough times he was faced with. While Jurgis did everything he could, James ended up better off than him at the end. Examples of James succeeding in ways Jurgis could not are evident in the characters’ physical traits, family traits, and values. James was able to keep himself going and keep his family alive. He also maintained the values he had at the start of the movie. Whereas Jurgis lost his good health, many in his family did not survive, and he became somewhat corrupted in the end, just so he could survive.