Question

On paper, you will write a 3 paragraph creative write about being in Jurgis' shoes, working at the meatpacking plant; Durham Leaf and seeing all of this on your first day of being there. In your creative write, I want you to talk about how you would feel walking into the plant on your first day and seeing the conditions in which you're expected to perform your duties/tasks. Include in your response, 2 reasons as to why someone might want to/might not want to make a living working there and explain your reasonings. Make sure to cite 2 jobs/duties mentioned from the story in your responses 😊



***This assignment will be formatted in MLA format on paper. Your name, my name, class period, date, last name and page number, and a title. Your paper must also include between 5-6 sentences for each paragraph 😊***

Answer 1

The first morning I walk into Durham Leaf my stomach twists like the ropes that hold the carcasses, and the air hits me full of metal and old blood. The building is a hive of steam and clatter, men moving like machines and the foremen barking orders that cut through the noise. My hands sweat even before I’m given my apron; everything here smells of iron and something that will not wash out of my clothes. I try to steady my breath and my steps, knowing this is the work that will be expected of me each day, that my family’s hope is tied to whatever I can earn between these walls. The thought is heavy but steadying, because leaving without a wage is not an option.

On the floor I see men at the killing-beds cutting up carcasses, blood running along the boards, and farther down the line others packing meat into boxes for shipment (Sinclair). The work looks precise and brutal at once: knives flashing, belts whirring, and everyone timed to the same merciless tempo. I’m assigned to a station where the floor is slick and the lamps barely warm the air; every small mistake could cost a finger or worse. The sights and sounds burn into me — the hiss of scalding water, the dull thud of heavy hooks, the old men cursing as they scrape fat from machines. I try to imagine performing these duties day after day, my hands learning the same motions until my body forgets how to rest.

There are reasons someone might want to make a living here: first, the work is steady and the pay, however small, is reliable enough to keep a family fed and roofed in a new country, and learning a trade like packing or cutting can offer a foothold for future stability (Sinclair). Second, there is a rough camaraderie among the workers; strangers become allies when the day is long and dangerous, and that solidarity can be a comfort. On the other hand, many would avoid it because the conditions are hazardous and unsanitary — the risk of injury and disease is constant when men are expected to perform dangerous chores without proper care. Also, the labor is dehumanizing: treated as parts of the machine rather than people, a worker’s hours and health are sacrificed for the company’s profit, which makes me wonder how long anyone could bear it without breaking.