# Chapter XXV explained — The Jungle

> Chapter companion for The Jungle by Upton Sinclair.

## What happens

Jurgis, now a hardened criminal, is introduced to the corrupt political underworld of Chicago by Jack Duane. He participates in voter fraud by collecting pay for fictitious workers and later attempts to change a stolen hundred-dollar bill in a saloon, only to be cheated by the bartender. After a violent confrontation, he continues to learn about graft and political corruption, eventually meeting Bush Harper, who offers him a paid position in Packingtown to work for Mike Scully's political machine.

## Themes in this chapter

### Corruption and Injustice

The chapter extensively details the systemic corruption linking business, politics, police, and crime, where graft is the mechanism for transferring power and maintaining control.

### Poverty and Survival

Jurgis's desperate attempt to change the stolen hundred-dollar bill and his resort to crime and political scheming illustrate the extreme measures taken to survive in a brutal economic system.

### Immigrant Struggle

Immigrants like the newly landed Italians are exploited as pawns in vote-buying schemes, highlighting their vulnerability and manipulation within the political machine.

## Character check-ins

### Jurgis Rudkus

Jurgis is introduced to the criminal and political underworld, participates in voter fraud, and is cheated while trying to change a stolen hundred-dollar bill.

### Jack Duane

Duane introduces Jurgis to saloons and sporting-houses where criminals and political operatives gather, and later escapes capture after being caught burglarizing a store.

### Buck Halloran

Halloran is a political worker who employs Jurgis to collect pay for fictitious workers and later discusses vote-buying schemes with Jurgis.

### Harper

Bush Harper, the former nightwatchman at Brown's, is now a union man secretly paid by the packers to report on union activities; he offers Jurgis a paid position in Packingtown.

### Mike Scully

Scully is the Democratic boss of the stockyards who orchestrates a corrupt election deal involving a rich brewer and a Republican candidate.

### Master Freddie

Freddie Jones is mentioned as the likely victim of Jurgis's theft, who will discover his loss and cause a hunt for Jurgis.

## Key lines

> The city, which was owned by an oligarchy of business men, being nominally ruled by the people, a huge army of graft was necessary for the purpose of effecting the transfer of power.

Chicago was effectively controlled by a small group of wealthy businessmen, and since the city was supposedly democratic, a vast network of bribery and corruption was needed to maintain their control.

_This passage summarizes the systemic corruption that underpins the political and economic structure of the city._

> For this work he received five dollars, and was told that

Jurgis was paid five dollars for his role in the fraudulent scheme, and was given further instructions.

_This incomplete sentence marks Jurgis's entry into the world of political graft, where he earns money by impersonating nonexistent workers._

> He might go to some hotel or railroad-depot and ask to have it changed; but what would they think, seeing a 'bum' like him with a hundred dollars? He would probably be arrested if he tried it; and what story could he tell?

Jurgis realized that as a ragged tramp, trying to change a large bill at a respectable establishment would arouse suspicion and likely lead to his arrest.

_This highlights Jurgis's social marginalization and the impossibility of escaping his circumstances through legitimate means._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_jungle_se/chapters/xxv
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_jungle_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_jungle_se/chapters