The Jungle: Chapters 19-22

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

As you read in the previous lesson, found under Related Lessons in the right-hand sidebar, Jurgis returns home from jail while his wife Ona is in the midst of labor with their second child.

Briefly describe to your parent or teacher Jurgis's reaction to discovering his wife's condition.

• Do you think Jurgis is right to be scared about the process since he didn't witness it during the birth of their first child, Antanas? Why or why not?

Childbirth in the early 1900s was different from modern childbirth. To learn more about the conditions Ona is facing, read the following article. As you read, answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper:

• In what location did most mothers give birth in the early 1900s?
• Who typically assisted at births in the early twentieth century?
• What were two reasons why women typically preferred to give birth at home in the early 1900s?
• What were the three most common causes of maternal death during or shortly after childbirth?
• What invention eventually convinced women to start giving birth more often in hospitals?
• What was the infant mortality rate per 10,000 births in the early 1900s?
• What was the maternal mortality rate per 100,000 births in the early 1900s?

Read What it was like to be pregnant in 1915, and why it's much better (but not perfect) now, by Anita Manning for America's Health Rankings on Vox Creative, and answer the questions. Once you've completed the questions, discuss your findings with your parent or teacher.

Now, take a few minutes to reflect on the following questions:

• Where do you think Ona should give birth, based on the information you just read?
• How do you think the conditions of childbirth differ for women who are members of the working poor versus middle- or upper-class women in the early 1900s?
• What are the similarities in the childbirth experience for women of all social classes in the early twentieth century?

After you've discussed these issues with your parent or teacher, read the next section of the novel to find out the results of Ona's labor.

• What you do think will happen?

Make a prediction based on what Jurgis heard and saw when he returned home from prison at the end of Chapter 18. Then, read Chapters 19–22 in the novel. You can use a print copy of the novel or read an online version of The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, from Project Gutenberg. Take notes on the childbirth process and the family's reaction to it. Write down at least six examples or direct quotations that show the process of labor and the family's role in the experience as you read.

After reading the chapters and taking your notes, move on to the Got It? section to explore the results of childbirth in the novel, and Jurgis's reaction to the situation.