How do you handle tough times? This essay will include two different ways to react to rough patches in life. Upton Sinclair, the author of The Jungle, demonstrates that when Jurgis Rudkus goes through the toughest time in his life, he breaks under all of the hardships. On the other hand, Cliff Hollingsworth- the author of Cinderella Man- portrays James Braddock, who literally fights through obstacles he encounters. James and Jurgis both cared about their family, but James keeps his morals much better than Jurgis; they have many differences and many similarities in their physical traits, family dynamics, and values. During both of their stories, they go through similar physical trait changes. “Ona was blue-eyed and fair, while Jurgis had great black eyes with beetling brows, and thick black hair that …show more content…
curled in waves about his hair…” (Sinclair 8).
The way he looked paved the way for most of the jobs that he would end up working at because of the fact he was an immigrant and he did not have to be paid as much. Throughout the middle Jurgis started the real rough patch he would go through. “He was no longer the finest looking man in the throng, and the bosses no longer made for him; he was thin and haggard, and his clothes were seedy, and he looked miserable” (Sinclair 125). He fell on hard times and was not fed properly, making him look thin. Jurgis also did not have money to buy new clothes nor anywhere to bathe. By the end, Jurgis had regained some of his health, yet it did not endure forever. “Then, too, his health came back to him, all of his lost youthful vigor, his joy and power that had mourned and forgotten” (Sinclair 215). He started to relish life again after he took to the rails and started to live as a tramp. “He would walk, begging for work, until he was exhausted; he could not remain still-he would wander on, gaunt and haggard, gazing about him with
restless eyes” (Sinclair 278). He was struggling finding work and him looking so thin and insalubrious just made it that much harder for him to find any. When he did find jobs they were short lived because he could not keep up for long. James’ health was longer lived than Jurgis’. In the beginning, James is an elite level boxer in respectable physical shape. He has black hair, brown eyes, and wears nice clothing, which he pays for with the wealth he earns winning fights. Through the middle, he is struggling with injuries and money. He has to downgrade from his original luxurious wardrobe to clothing that is more practical. Other than his hand, he has put on some fat due to not training for competitions anymore. By the end of his career in boxing, he was successful and was winning numerous fights. He was the champion in his weight class for a long period, therefore showing that he was still in good shape even though he was older. Although they cared about their own wellbeing, they still had others they cared about more. Jurgis and James show some of the same family dynamics for a portion of the story, except one of them will slowly drift from their loved ones. “There were twelve in all in the party, five adults and six children-and Ona, who was a little of both” (Sinclair 28). They had a large family that would slowly dwindle over the trials they would have to endure. During the middle of the book, Jurgis starts to go through the roughest time in his life. “Dede Antanas continued to believe it, while three more hemorrhages came, and then at last one morning they found him stiff and cold” (Sinclair 81). “But perhaps the worst of the consequences of the long siege was that they lost another member of their family; brother Jonas disappeared” (Sinclair 122). “But it was all in vain-she faded from him, she slipped back and was gone” (Sinclair 189). The family was going through a lot and they were losing family members quickly. During this time, life is testing Jurgis’ breaking point. The beginning starts with James being happy to be around his family and is in love with his wife. He enjoys being around his kids and they are the most important part of his life. James also has tough times, although probably not as tough as Jurgis. Even though he is struggling with finding work and injuries, he still loves his family dearly. When Mae sends the kids to their aunts, he is distraught and does everything he can to get them back. He is able to pull his family out of poverty once he starts to win fights. James keeps winning for a long stretch, which makes him more money. Braddock keeps his family close like he has his whole life, during grievances or while he is healthy. It is perceivable to, at this point; see that they contain a similar perspective as far as personal values are concerned. Through the duration of their lives, they show similar, yet different sets of personal values. At the beginning, they may seem to both love and enjoy their family’s companionship, but the love only stays with one of them. “This was a critical time in Jurgis’ life, and if he had been a weaker man he would have gone the way the rest did” (Sinclair 125). He values his family so much that he will do anything to guard them and to continue working so that he can provide for them, even when his family is going through tough times. It does not always stay so straightforward with Jurgis though. “He started down the track, and when he was past the gate-keeper’s shanty he sprang forward and swung himself on to one of the cars” (Sinclair 210). Every person has a breaking point, and Antanas’ death was Jurgis’ breaking point. After the death of him, he broke down and acted rashly. He valued Antanas’ life so much that he could not mentally handle it when he passed. Antanas (his son) was the only reason Jurgis was still working and trying to give his family a decent life and after he lost him, there was no point in his mind to keep working so hard. Once Jurgis gets back to Chicago he becomes involved with the city and the politics, and finds reason for his life again. “One of the other porters at Hinds’s was a sharp little Irishman, who knew everything that Jurgis wanted to know; and while they were busy he would explain to him the geography of America, and its history, its constitution and its laws; also he gave him an idea of the business system of the country, the great railroads and corporations, and who owned them, and the labor unions, and the big strikes, and the men who had led them” (Sinclair 320). Jurgis was curious about America and wanted to know how everything worked in this country. Although Jurgis went through a thoughtless rough patch in his life, James keeps strong even when he gets down. At the beginning, he valued the work he was getting whether it was boxing or working on the docks. Now the biggest thing keeping him going is his family. He is having a tough time trying to find work, but he will do anything to keep his loved ones safe. Once James becomes healthy and gets a fight he delivers. He goes back to direct relief and gives back every cent he had to borrow, which shows a lot about his character and that he wants to be an independent person and not have to count on others to provide his living for him. While showing numerous differences in their physical traits, family dynamics, and values, they also show several similarities, although it is proven that James sticks to his original beliefs better than Jurgis. These books, The Jungle and Cinderella man, show the skirmishes of the early 1900’s and how far the United States has come since then.
Often in works of literature, a character struggles against powerful forces or obstacles, and these have a significant effect on the character. In the fictional novel Deathwatch by Robb White, the protagonist Ben is an example of a character who has to struggle against powerful forces or obstacles. Ben is a college student who wants to be a geologist. He was given an opportunity to earn some extra cash to help pay for college. The only thing he had to do was to guide a big game hunter named Madec in the desert to the location where Bighorn Sheep would be found. It sounded easy but he later ran into problems with Madec. He first had to fight through the hardships that was experienced for survival. Then he had to manage to undertake mother nature.
In two differing stories of departure, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck and The Road by Cormac McCarthy, Steinbeck’s standard for a writer is met by the raw human emotions exhibited in the main characters’ success and defeat.
Ona was a beautiful women that was able to maintain Jurgis’s humanity in check. Ona wanted to help Jurgis once they arrived to the states. She first served as errand girl along with her stepmother Teta Elzbieta. Their first major assignment was finding a place to call their home, as well as determine if the cost is doable for the members in the family. After discussing the selection of an ideal home, their next assignment was preparing the contract and payment of the house. Both women were skeptical of the agreements, and lacked the knowledge and even the language to defend themselves. The translator and their lawyer were not helping them in their decision, but they end up purchasing and agreeing to the terms of the contract (Sinclair, “The Jungle”, 37)*. Later, she discovers that their original plan was not going to work out, since they failed to realize hidden details of the house agreement; such as taxes, water fees, insurance fees, and city fees. This led to other members of the family including Little Ona to have a job. She managed to get a job sewing covers on hams at a cellar. Though it was not an ideal job, beggars can’t be choosers, and Jurigs had to accept. Moreover, Ona became pregnant and had her first child, Antanas. Even though the child was healthy, Ona had to return to work immediately. This led her health to decline, since she couldn’t fully recuperate after
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