View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Jurgis already know about Ona?

2. Who wanted the wedding to be lavish?

3. What is used in the sausages at the factory?

4. What is the name of the place where the pigs are killed?

5. Who finds Jurgis his first job?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Stanislovas afraid to go out into the snow?

2. Why does Jurgis beat up Conner?

3. Who is the narrator of the novel?

4. What does Jurgis think about his act of beating up Conner?

5. What holiday occurs during the time that Jurgis is in jail?

6. Who wanted Ona and Jurgis to have a lavish wedding, even though they would have been fine with something simpler?

7. After Jonas deserts the family, what does the family have to do in order to bring in more money?

8. Why does Jurgis get his job back at Brown's?

9. What is one of the ways the slaughterhouse bosses cheat the men out of money?

10. Why does Jurgis decline to be in the union at first?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The idea of love is one that seems to peek out of the story at times, causing the reader to realize the humanity of the story as well. Why do you think Ona and Jurgis love each other? How do they show their love to each other? In the case of Marija and Tamoszius, why were they included in the story? What purpose do they serve? What is Sinclair saying about love?

Essay Topic 2

The narrator of the story is Sinclair himself, which gives the story a different tone than most other novels. That said, how do you think Sinclair's narration has affected the story? What does this story say about Sinclair? Do you think the story could have been told more truthfully by Jurgis? What would have happened if the story had been told from the meat packer manager's point of view?

Essay Topic 3

If you were in Jurgis and Ona's financial position, would you have still held a veselija? Why or why not? Why do you think they still had this traditional reception even though they couldn't afford it? Do you think it was fair for them to have to go into debt for this gathering? Why or why not? Was this the beginning of their troubles?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 653 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample