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The Jungle

Characters:

Jurgis Rudkus - A Lithuanian immigrant who comes to America with his wife, Ona. Jurgis is a strong and determined with a faith in the American Dream of self-betterment. However, his health, family, and hopes are slowly brought down by the bad working and living conditions in Packingtown. Jurgis slowly changes from believing in capitalism to socialism.

Ona Lukoszaite - Teta Elzbieta's stepdaughter and Jurgis's wife. A kind, lovely, and optimistic girl, Ona is ruined by the forces of capitalism that work against the family, particularly after she is raped by her boss, Phil Connor.

Teta Elzbieta Lukoszaite - Ona's stepmother and the mother of six others. A resilient, strong-willed old woman, Teta Elzbieta is one of the strongest and most important characters in The Jungle. Sinclair uses her to represent the redemptive power of family, home, and tradition.

Marija Berczynskas - Ona's cousin, who travels to America with the rest of the family because her employer in the old country is unkind to her. Marija is a large, strong woman, capable of standing up for herself; because she first tries to fight back against the corrupt bosses, she represents a spirit of defiance among the immigrants that is slowly crushed.

Phil Connor - Ona's boss, who sexually harasses her at the factory where she works. A bullying, depraved man, Connor represents the moral corruption of power in Chicago as well as the complicated relationship between politics, crime, and business.

Dede Antanas Rudku - Jurgis's father, who travels to America with the rest of the family. A proud man, Dede Antanas is prevented by his old age from obtaining a job normally. He has to pay a man a third of his wages in return for a job, whose unsanitary and unsafe working conditions destroy his health.

Antanas Rudkus - Ona and Jurgis's son. Antanas is a strong, sturdy little boy, but he drowns in the mud in the street while Jurgis is at work.

Grandmother Majauszkiene - The family's...