The Jungle

Explain the irony of Sinclair calling Jurgis and his workers like him "American Heroes."

chapter 26.

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These "heroes" are actually union busters who work against the interests of the majority of workers. Jurgis then goes back to the packinghouse and tells them that he wants a job. They eagerly put him to work for three dollars a day and Jurgis becomes one of the new “American heroes” who shows the virtues “of the martyrs of Lexington and Valley Forge” since he broke the strike lines. One night, he goes out for a beer with some of his fellow strikebreakers, and a gang of union men confronts them. A fight breaks out and the next day, millions of people read of the violence in Chicago over the strikes.

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http://www.gradesaver.com/the-jungle/study-guide/section9/