GROUP 10 Chapter XX, pg. 184-85Perhaps he ought to have meditated upon the hunger of the children, and upon his own baseness; but he thoughtonly of Ona, he gave himself up again to the luxury of grief. He shed no tears, being ashamed to make a sound; hesat motionless and shuddering with his anguish. He had never dreamed how much he loved Ona, until now that shewas gone; until now that he sat here, knowing that on the morrow they would take her away, and that he wouldnever lay eyes upon her again--never all the days of his life. His old love, which had been starved to death, beaten todeath, awoke in him again; the floodgates of memory were lifted--he saw all their life together, saw her as he hadseen her in Lithuania, the first day at the fair, beautiful as the flowers, singing like a bird. He saw her as he hadmarried her, with all her tenderness, with her heart of wonder; the very words she had spoken seemed to ring nowin his ears, the tears she had shed to be wet upon his cheek. The long, cruel battle with misery and hunger hadhardened and embittered him, but it had not changed her-- she had been the same hungry soul to the end, stretchingout her arms to him, pleading with him, begging him for love and tenderness. And she had suffered--so cruelly shehad suffered, such agonies, such infamies--ah, God, the memory of them was not to be borne. What a monster ofwickedness, of heartlessness, he had been! Every angry word that he had ever spoken came back to him and cut himlike a knife; every selfish act that he had done--with what torments he paid for them nowGROUP 11 Chapter XX, pg. 185-86[Elzbieta] labored to impress upon Jurgis, pleading with him with tears in her eyes. Ona was dead, but the otherswere left and they must be saved. She did not ask for her own children. She and Marija could care for themsomehow, but there was Antanas, his own son. Ona had given Antanas to him--the little fellow was the onlyremembrance of her that he had; he must treasure it and protect it, he must show himself a man. He knew what Onawould have had him do, what she would ask of him at this moment, if she could speak to him. It was a terrible thingthat she should have died as she had; but the life had been too hard for her, and she had to go. It was terrible thatthey were not able to bury her, that he could not even have a day to mourn her--but so it was. Their fate waspressing; they had not a cent, and the children would perish--some money must be had. Could he not be a man forOna's sake, and pull himself together? In a little while they would be out of danger--now that they had given up thehouse they could live more cheaply, and with all the children working they could get along, if only he would not goto pieces. So Elzbieta went on, with feverish intensity. It was a struggle for life with her; she was not afraid thatJurgis would go on drinking, for he had no money for that, but she was wild with dread at the thought that he mightdesert them, might take to the road, as Jonas had done.72
The Jungle chapters XXI-XXIVDIRECTIONS: Reread the passage assigned to your group, and then answer thefollowing questions about your passage(s):3. What is happening here? What does the passage literally mean?4. Why is this passage significant to the novel?Later, you will be asked to share your answers with the class.GROUP 1 Chapter XX1, pg. 198every Saturday night he went home--bedding and all--and took the greater part of his money to the family. Elzbietawas sorry for this arrangement, for she feared that it would get him into the habit of living without them, and once aweek was not very often for him to see his baby; but there was no other way of arranging it.ANDChapter XXI, pg. 200-01They could save money again, and when another winter came they would have a comfortable place; and thechildren would be off the streets and in school again, and they might set to work to nurse back into life their habitsof decency and kindness. So once more Jurgis began to make plans and dream dreams.GROUP 2 Chapter XXII, pg. 203, second paragraphHe was fighting for his life…. He had been a fool, a fool! He had wasted his life, he had wrecked himself, with hisaccursed weakness; and now he was done with it--he would tear it out of him, root and branch! There should be nomore tears and no more tenderness; he had had enough of them--they had sold him into slavery! Now he was goingto be free, to tear off his shackles, to rise up and fight. He was glad that the end had come--it had to come sometime, and it was just as well now. This was no world for women and children, and the sooner they got out of it thebetter for them. Whatever Antanas might suffer where he was, he could suffer no more than he would have had hestayed upon earth.73