Chapter 23

Prompt 1

      Once Jurgis gets back to Chicago, he starts walking around the city in search for a job. After about a month, he finally got a job digging tunnels underground for telephones. This job was going fairly well for Jurgis at first, but as one might imagine, it has some possible dangers to it. Premature explosions, falling rocks, and crushed supports are some of the things they had to look out for. Unfortunately, Jurgis became victim of an explosion which sent him to the hospital with a broken left arm.

      After getting out of the hospital, he very little money and a broken arm, so he couldn't work. This lead to him going around and begging for money while being unsuccessful most of the time. He says in this chapter at one point that he feels like a "wounded animal in the forest". Which really was true for him. He was a helpless, wounded, man barely scraping by and surviving.