Young Shaver
The Jungle follows the immigration of the Rudkus family to Chicago and their subsequent downfall. In Chicago, every family member capable of working is forced to work. Just like the boy pictured in Indianapolis selling papers, Elzbieta's sons are forced by necessity to sell newspapers to bring in an income. Also, like the boy pictured, Elzbieta's boys left school at a young age thereby limiting their options of progress. Forcing the children to work is one example of the Rudkus family having to do desperate things to just scrape a living in Chicago. Starting at 6 years old, children were sent out to find work. These children consequently do not get an education or learn an indispensable skill; both of which would likely provide a steady income, enabling them to save as they worked and eventually escape Packingtown. This poor boy, pictured above, has probably been forced by his family's circumstances to begin working on the streets to supplement the family income. The boy pictured probably never got the chance to go to school. There is no chance for him to earn higher wages, a promotion, or any kind of benefits from his job. Additionally, the income from a newspaper-boy was incredibly low and while it did help the family, the benefits of having a child that young working outside the house were minimal at best. By the time this boy turns 18, he will have already worked at least 12 years at 10 or 12 hours a day. This young boy from Indianapolis, and the children from The Jungle, exemplify how children were taken advantage of and the minimal benefit gained thereof. It is likely that this boy's income did very little to supplement the family income, but was still forced by desperation to earn any money possible. Sinclair shows in The Jungle how difficult it was for children to survive their childhood healthily and mature into adults.