Summary

Elzbieta’s youngest child dies of an apparent bout of food poisoning by eating sausages made in the local packing houses. Elzbieta is beyond herself with grief and insists that he have a proper burial even though there is not enough money for it. Elzbieta earns the money by begging the neighbors for help. Jurgis continues to search for work. Finally, he finds himself forced to apply at the fertilizer plant, the one place most men would rather starve than work at. The smell is so bad that no one wants to be near it. The stench is impossible to wash it off. The summer slowly passes. Elzbieta is forced to get a job as well.

As Elzbieta works in the sausage factory, she learns of the spoiled meat, trash, and rats that are used to make it. This job makes Elzbieta begin...