Inevitable Tomb Of Chicago Character Analysis

The Inevitable Trap Jurgis is trapped with no way to escape, destined to a life of misery and distress. His ignorance and lack of critical Chicago street skills blend together to construct an impeccable tomb of agony. His naivety and his illiteracy in finance pave the path to poverty. He is extremely gullible, believing the lively salesmen who guarantee the happiness of any customer. He believes the house advertisement which shows thousands of happy customers and the low monthly payments. His ignorance of financial matters leads him to deplete his assets and eventually forces Ona to go to work as well as some of the children. The tragedies to come were unforeseen, but he must expect the unexpected in constantly changing Chicago. One example …show more content…
Everyone and everything is an antagonist, an overwhelming force that goes against them. Chicago controls the mind, and forces it into a working mentality, day in and day out .It slowly takes over and after that there is no more Jurgis can do, he’s trapped. He’s confined to Chicago for life because of his ignorance, the overpopulation, and Chicago’s overpowering corruption. His ignorance leads him to make unwise decisions which drive him to poverty. Every cost to them is unexpected, and they are forced to use up their meager savings to cover the cost. The overwhelming amount of expenses over a short amount of time drives Jurgis and his family into debt that they do not have the funds to pay off. Then overpopulation lowers his wages because of the overabundance of workers, and corruption steals his money and makes him sick. All which prevent him from leaving, and he is tied to Chicago for support and can’t buy a ticket out. A lack of government support leaves Jurgis open to scandals and fraud. There is also no government help in the form of unemployment and social security checks because there is a constant supply of unemployed adults. Wealth redistribution is almost nonexistent in Chicago, company CEOs are amassing fortunes while there are thousands of penniless people who are dying from starvation. The rich continue to squeeze money from the pauper’s pockets, money that they don't even need, while the beggar is left to slowly wilt away. If smaller businesses existed instead of the dominating monopolies there would be more competition, which lowers the prices. The wealth would be spread out more evenly because of the lower income of the companies, and more jobs would be available because of the number of companies. If there was a smaller population, the workforce would be limited, increasing the value of a worker. Companies could no longer