Exploring Class Struggles in The Jungle and The Great Gatsby

“They use everything about the hog except the squeal.”- The Jungle. This is a very thought provoking quote. It shows that people had to use everything they could get from an animal because that was all they had, that’s all they could get. On the other hand, there is this, “I hope she'll be a fool -- that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.” –The Great Gatsby. This is one of my favorite quotes in The Great Gatsby. It shows that they didn’t want the women to know of any troubles, the wanted them to blissfully ignorant in the 20’s. In the twenties there were people in one extreme or the other there wasn’t a lot of in between.
The Jungle was the harsh reality of how a lot of people lived in the early twenties in the lower class. It was really difficult to get jobs, and it was harder to keep them. The people that were working they were usually working in terrible conditions. Some people had to move away from home like Jurgis and Ona. Some people had to do unmoral things to keep the jobs they had. In The Jungle Ona’s

boss tells her that she must give him sexually favors or she will lose her jobs, which she couldn’t afford. When Jurgis found out, he confronted Connor; Connor had Jurgis put in jail, which put the family in tougher times. In the end after Ona has died, Jurgis moves back home and he picks up a drinking habit, he thinks that will solve all of his problems. He walks into a conference and his life turns completely around. Jurgis returns to help Ona’s family.
The Great Gatsby was the ignorant bliss of how people lived in the middle class in the later twenties.

They worked in easy business jobs. They drank and had parties every night. It was like no one had a care in the world. They did what they wanted, when they wanted, especially the men. In the great Gatsby Tom has been having an affair and has been for a while. Yet when he finds out that Daisy is having one he flips out; Tom confronts Gatsby. Gatsby and daisy leave and end up killing Tom’s mistress on accident. The mistress’s husbands, George, finds the car that killed Myrtle, he assumed it was Gatsby. George goes to Gatsby’s house and kills Gatsby and himself.
These books have several differences, but they are also a lot alike. They are about a family and how they go through life, rough times and easy times. Both families have someone they care about die. Both books don’t end as you expected due to unplanned

events.