How does the atmosphere change as the family gets closer to Chicago? What types of imagery does Sinclair use to convey the change? What future problem(s) do you think Sinclair is foreshadowing?

This power of the American dream is evident in the family’s trek to America. They immediately meet difficult circumstances. Their money is stolen, and they are extorted by being held captive. In addition, they find that while wages are higher in America, prices are also higher, which partly extinguishes a hope for riches, but the dream remains alive through the story of Jonas’s friend in Chicago who has made a fortune.The imagery isn't light and hopeful but rather dark and brooding. The party notices a change in the atmosphere as they enter the city: the dingy color of the landscape, the thickening smoke, and a “strange, pungent odor.” The group cannot quite describe the odor. It is “an elemental odor, raw and crude...rich, almost rancid, sensual, and strong.”