{"id":81,"date":"2025-04-23T15:03:01","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T15:03:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zuzevich.digital.uic.edu\/?page_id=81"},"modified":"2025-05-02T21:37:29","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T21:37:29","slug":"the-project","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/zuzevich.digital.uic.edu\/?page_id=81","title":{"rendered":"About The Project"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The protagonists in The Jungle<\/em> are not Polish. They\u2019re also not a general placeholder to convey the idea of the Eastern European immigrant in Chicago during this time. They are Lithuanian. However, they often get confused for immigrants from surrounding countries. Sinclair did a great job of capturing Lithuanians in Chicago during the turn of the century, but still\u2014like many readers\u2014found himself confusing cultures, languages, and traditions with that of Poland, Russia, or any other obscure Eastern European countries.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learning about the Lithuanian culture described in the text is important. Understanding the nuance of languages and tradition makes the hardships of these characters singular, prompting discussion of how this novel operates as a story of cultural resilience in the face of an unforgiving America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Jungle <\/em>allows for multiple readings concerning Chicago, Lithuania, the meatpacking industry, federal law, the press, muckraking, socialism, and the working class. That can be a lot to unpack in the classroom, or even in a personal re-read. It can be overwhelming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This project puts all the information needed to understand The Jungle\u2019s <\/em>notable impact on American history while contextualizing the Lithuanian culture present throughout the chapter in one place. To create an immersive experience in the classroom, a sensory tab collects music, videos, and recipes relevant to the time period. Additionally, a timeline with President Theodore Roosevelt\u2019s actual letters conveys just how important Sinclair was in the creation of the FDA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Proper Lithuanian pronunciation, spelling, and translations are provided to help readers better understand the singularity of the language and Lithuanian culture. It is a common misconception that if you know Lithuanian, you know some Polish or some other Eastern European language. This thinking can lead one to think the same is true of Eastern European culture and tradition. One might begin to think this culture is one monolithic thing used as a backdrop throughout this novel. However, the tension between retaining Lithuanian tradition and assimilating to American culture is one of the most important themes of The Jungle. <\/em>Understanding what is referenced in the first chapter helps readers understand the stakes of these characters, creating a sense of urgency similar to that felt by immigrants in this time period. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This project aims to be a guide for high school students engaging with The Jungle <\/em>for the first time. Students can explore Lithuanian culture and understand the impact of the novel on American history. With hyperlinks, songs, videos, definitions, recipes, and original documents, this site aims to create an immersive, exciting reading of The Jungle <\/em>in the classroom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image of meatpacking in Chicago courtesy of tataandhoward.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The protagonists in The Jungle are not Polish. They\u2019re also not a general placeholder to convey the idea of the Eastern European immigrant in Chicago during this time. They are Lithuanian. However, they often get confused for immigrants from surrounding countries. Sinclair did a great job of capturing Lithuanians in Chicago during the turn of … <\/p>\n

Read more “About The Project”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":142,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inspiro_hide_title":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-81","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zuzevich.digital.uic.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/81","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zuzevich.digital.uic.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zuzevich.digital.uic.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zuzevich.digital.uic.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zuzevich.digital.uic.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=81"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/zuzevich.digital.uic.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/81\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":350,"href":"https:\/\/zuzevich.digital.uic.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/81\/revisions\/350"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zuzevich.digital.uic.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zuzevich.digital.uic.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=81"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}