the jungle book thesis

The Jungle Book

Rudyard kipling, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

The Laws of Nature

In several of the stories in The Jungle Book , Kipling emphasizes the various laws that govern the ecosystems where humans and animals live. This theme appears most prominently in the stories about Mowgli , especially the story “Kaa’s Hunting,” in which Baloo the Bear teaches Mowgli the Law of the Jungle and gets angry when Mowgli is uninterested in his lessons. Essentially, the Law of the Jungle is a list of rules that most…

Human and Animal Relationships

Every story in The Jungle Book prominently features a relationship—or several relationships—between humans and animals. In some of these stories, the relationships are mutually beneficial. For instance, in “Rikki-tikki-tavi,” Teddy , Teddy’s family, and Rikki-tikki-tavi (a mongoose) help one another survive. Teddy saves Rikki-tikki-tavi after his burrow floods and nurses him back to good health. Meanwhile, Rikki-tikki-tavi saves Teddy and his family from the vicious cobras nesting in their garden. However, other relationships between humans…

Throughout The Jungle Book, Kipling’s stories reflect the importance of loyalty, especially among families. Family, in the book’s understanding of it, can be both biological and non-biological. For instance, in the Mowgli stories, Mowgli and his wolf brothers pledge their loyalty to one another even though they are not the same species. Similarly, in “Rikki-tikki-tavi,” after Teddy and his family take in Rikki-tikki-tavi , the eponymous mongoose, Rikki-tikki-tavi becomes loyal to him and his family…

British Imperialism

Kipling’s support for the British Empire is clear throughout the stories of The Jungle Book . In the Mowgli stories, Kipling’s imperialist messaging largely hides beneath the surface. He does not directly address the relationships between Indian and British people. Instead, the stories are morality tales akin to Aesop’s Fables where Mowgli represents the “savage” Indian, while the animals who instruct him, such as Baloo and Bagheera , represent the British imperial order. This parallel…

Coming of Age

Many of the stories in The Jungle Book feature a character’s coming-of-age journey. Mowgli is the most prominent example because he is the main character in several of the book’s stories, each of which mark a different milestone in his maturation process. Mowgli begins his narrative arc as an infant who cannot care for himself or even speak. Over the course of the stories, he grows into a young man who is psychologically complex and…

Introduction to The Jungle

The Jungle written by Upton Sinclair is an American novel that was published in 1906. It became a masterpiece of those times when the American landscape was witnessing a sea of changes in its economic and social structure on account of the inundation of immigrants from different parts of the world. The introduction of the assembly-line industrial setup attracted immigrants around the globe, leading to rugged and harsh working conditions. The novel was set in the United States in the suburbs of Chicago where the meatpacking industry boomed at that time. The story presents Jurgis, a Lithuanian immigrant, who arrives in the United States to materialize his American Dream.

Summary of The Jungle

The novel presents the story of Jurgis Rudkus who arrives in America from Lithuania with his new bride Ona Lukoszaite and his extended family for a better future and freedom. They fall into enormous debt because of the lavish wedding. Now ,  struggling to find some work in the Chicago suburbs. Not knowing English and living in the stockyards in the suburb of Chicago rather become their drawbacks in that they are unable to find respectable work except laboring in the meatpacking industry. While working in the slaughterhouse of Mr. Brown, Jurgis thinks that his dream of working with freedom in the United States has rather crashed on the ground, for his better half, too, is struggling with him to make both ends meet. Soon she becomes a victim of con men, while both waste their money in their efforts to purchase a house. It becomes inevitable for everyone in the family to work since the house they have leased comes with additional expenses which they have to pay everything month or face eviction.

Physical strength and morality soon leave them, making catastrophes hitting them through accidents and other problems. The first such catastrophe is the father of Jurgis who becomes the victim of the dirty conditions in the meatpacking industry and dies due to the lung infection. Kristoforas, son of Elzbieta and stepbrother of Ona is another victim who dies of food poisoning, while Jonas, brother of Elzbieta disappears from the scene leaving the family in a vulnerable condition. Soon Jurgis also finds himself sacked, as he was left jobless because of the injury he faced at the workplace. Instead of compensating, the company lays him off and doesn’t rehire him.

Ona has become a victim of workplace harassment at the hands of her boss Connor who blackmails to fire her if she doesn’t sleep with him. Jurgis becomes aware of his wife’s behavior and when he comes to know this betrayal in the family, he injures Connor, the exploiting boss of Ona, but faces arrest and is thrown behind the bars for this criminal act. However, when he wins his release, he finds his family on the roads after their eviction from the house. Soon the family finds itself in a boarding house with Ona having another child on the way which takes the life of both, the mother as well as the child. Jurgis feels disenchanted on account of his financial inability to save his wife and child and takes to drinking when visiting rural America .

Seeing the farmers using the workers to their ends, he comes back to Chicago and joins the scammers to pass his days. He was sent to jail again when he involves in a fight with a bartender who tricks him by taking his hundred dollars which he has received from the rich son of the packing industry. In the prison, he befriends Jack Duane and falls into the underworld crime. He becomes a vote fixer for Mike Scully and runs in Connor again. He gets into a fight with him and learns that Scully and Connor are friends. Now, he uses all his money to escape prison.

However, he finds Marija, the cousin of his better half, who is also passing her time working as a prostitute to feed the rest of the family. He is shocked to know that she, too, is addicted to heroin and even more shocked to know that the oldest child, Stanislovas, has died when locked at work because the rats eat him when he was passed out from alcohol. It happens that he finds a socialist demagogue who gives him hope and energy to support his family again by working at a hotel run by the Socialist party. The book ends on rather a happy note about the political victories of the socialists and Jurgis dedicates his life to the cause of socialism.

Major Themes in The Jungle

• Capitalism: The novel sheds light on the ravages of capitalism at the beginning of the 20 th century in the United States when big meatpacking industries were growing in the suburbs of Chicago, absorbing and swallowing up the immigrants’ disregard of the wages and living conditions provided to the manual laborers. The conditions in which Jurgis finds himself, including his family members, show that capitalism’s priority is building their companies and only think about the profits to maintain their big industries and their production. They don’t care about the people who help build their organization. The elite class gets the lion’s share, leaving only a few morsels for the people like Jurgis. Also, the propagation of socialism could only be executed through the denigration of capitalism, the major intention of the writer.
• Flawed American Dream: The author meaningfully denigrates the idea of the American dream through the capitalistic brutalities, which have ravaged the lives of the immigrants like that of Ona and Jurgis. The extended family takes to the United States and reaches Chicago with the idea that they would have a lot of work to do to improve their standard of life. However, what they see and come face to face is to work very hard and get a meager income in return that is barely enough to keep their bodies continue breathing and working. Jurgis’s on and off work problems, Marija’s hard-working and the prostitution of the female members of the family that Jurgis sees, in the end, is enough to show this wrong idea of the American dream that Sinclair has meekly condemned through this novel.
• Problems of Migration: Although migration brings betterment in life, the search for the green pasture of Jurigs ends in disenchantment, for he thought of having a better lifestyle, but finds himself in a dilemma where he cannot help out his wife against the bullying boss and other women against the threatening hunger. This problem of migration becomes even more acute when it takes the root of anti-acculturation as the Lithuanian individuals take too much time to integrate with the locals due to having no time to understand the culture. The non-conformity of Tera to the funeral rites and the death of the father of Jurgis are some instances where this cultural problem seems acute.
• Politics: The politics of capitalism takes its toll on the class, the reason that the working class always sees socialism as the solution. Phill Connor and Mike Scully, together, confirm it that they sit at the top in Packingtown and exploit workers for their benefit as well as domination in the social structure. Their shamefacedness in the domination of the institutional hierarchy also continues in that they take advantage of every person they employ and even do not hesitate in crushing or abusing the rebels as it happens in the case of Ona and Jurgis, and Jurgis sees that even law takes their side and do not offer justice to the exploited.
• Familial Ties: The novel outlines familial relationships and the importance of blending together in a new country as immigrants. Although Jurgis fails to settle and support the members of his extended family, yet he decides to assist Marija when he sees that she is struggling to make both ends meet. Despite the fact that his father has breathed his last as well as his wife and the newborn, who could not be hospitalized due to his unstable financial condition, die. Yet, family ties support all of the Lithuanians during these trying times in Chicago.
• Gender Abuse: The novel shows gender abuse in the shape of Ona who undergoes the worst treatment, including offering sexual favors to Connor to win a job. Marija, too, faces the same thing and finally falls into prostitution when she sees things not coming easily to her.
• Poverty : The novel shows that poverty is not a prevalent condition. It is evident that is brought on or forced due to the exploitation within the hierarchical system led by capitalism, Jurgis and other family members face poverty because they could not cope with the industrial exploitation. They reach the United States on the expectations that the economic system there would be based on justice and fair play , little knowing that the same elite class is ruling there and that human nature of exploiting the vulnerable strata stay the same disregard of the place and space. He sees his wife dying in his hands during childbirth, other relatives dying of harsh conditions, and Marija suffering and exploited all because of poverty.
• Slaved Labor: The appalling conditions prevalent in the meatpacking industry and ranches and the exploitation of all the poor disregard of gender show that slaved labor is a condition that could emerge anywhere in the world. It was happening in the American city of Chicago that the immigrants like Jurgis and his extended family members are facing exploitation to work at lower wages and yet they cannot do anything.
• Socialism: Socialism emerges in the novel when Jurgis finds nothing else to support him and comes to a point where an orator is telling them the benefits of socialism. Finally, he comes to learn that it is a mass welfare system where he would be earning as much as he would be working.
• Journalistic Trend: The author tries to point out appalling working conditions at the beginning of the 20th century. He also provideS a journalistic view, through the fictional stories by unearthing injustice and evil-mindedness of human beings which pervades even the best-organized societies. The story of Jurgis is just a network to uncover the barbarism and cruelty of the upper class.  

Major Characters in The Jungle

• Jurgis Rudkus: A Lithuanian immigrant, Jurgis Rudkus is the protagonist of the novel. He is also the author’s mouthpiece as he critiques American capitalism and the American dream. Upton Sinclair outlines his main argument of anti-capitalism through his and his family’s plight in the meatpacking industry of Chicago. Despite his initial optimism and dedication to his family, Jurgis soon comes to know the machinations of the capitalistic class when he finds Ona being exploited by her boss, Connor, and himself in jail for assaulting him on this injustice. Finally, he comes to the point that his penury and inability to save his daughter and wife could not materialize his American dream for which the whole family has moved to this new land. After Antanas’s sad demise, he leaves the family but finally comes to know that even his alcoholism would not resolve his issues except his leanings toward the socialistic ideology.
• Ona Lukoszaite Rudkus: Although Ona is an educated and talented lady, her talent in the replenishing familial pursuit of the American dream comes to nothing when she becomes the victim and is severely exploited by her boss, Connor, during their stay in Packingtown. Despite her weaker conditions on account of her pregnancy, she takes the initiative of working hard to help out Jurgis whom she seems always engaged in some labor to pull the family out of penury. Her worsening situation does not discourage her, nor it dissuades her from doing her part of the job. She even does not complain and inform her husband about her exploitation and dies after she gives birth to a daughter. She proves that despite human efforts, natural and social forces prove an anathema in the way of realizing their dreams .
• Marija Berczynskas: Marija is another female member of the family who becomes a victim of exploitation and even violence. She still displays the courage to get revenge from the perpetrators. She also demonstrates this courage when she thrashes her employer before their migrating to Chicago. Her idea of settling in the United States and realizing her American dream, however, loses its steam when she comes to Chicago during the depression and loses her chance of marrying Tamoszius Kuszlekia, her co-worker. Her injury during her beef trimming jobs leads to her disability after the amputation of her hand, forcing her into prostitution from which she refuses to pull herself out despite the best efforts of Jurgis.
• Teta Elzbieta: A thoroughgoing pragmatist, Teta, Ona’s mother, is the matriarch of the family who knows the reality of their American dream deep down in her heart. That is why when Jurgis decides to join the socialist movement, she does not discourage him from this despite knowing that it would also come to nothing like their previous efforts. Despite living in the United States, her heart stays in Lithuania and she insists on the traditional Lithuanian marriage ceremony of Jurgis and Ona and tries to bet money in her stubbornness to stick to the traditions.
• Phil Connor: In his supervisory role of the loading crew in the factory in Chicago, Phil Connor represents the white color workers, a symbol of capitalism. Invested with great powers as the head of the department, he has formed relationships with political figures of the area to hide his abusive treatment toward the workers, the reason that he is involved in the sexual exploitation of Ona and yet gets arrested Jurgis when the latter assaults him for this crime. His way of making people silent with threats comes to light in the case of Ona and Marija. He even exploits the judiciary to come clean of his criminal behavior. His character is the representation of the rising elite class that works for the prevalence of the status quo for its interests.
• Mike Scully: A symbol of the democratic figure backing capitalism, Skully is an influential figure in Chicago’s Packingtown area, who keeps things working behind the scenes and does not let the commoners know her real personality. That is why Jurgis, despite working for him, does not know anything about his relationship with Connor and even is oblivious to his hands in the death of his family members.
• Antanas Rudkus: As the patriarch of the Rudkus, Antanas shows his responsible character when he tries his best to make his family succeed in the capitalistic environment of Packingtown. However, he comes to know the worth of the old people shortly after he lands in Chicago and dies during work in the factory.
• Nicholas Schliemann: Nicholas is a significant character in the novel. He seems to be a remedy or has an elixir of the ills the factory workers are suffering from. He represents a new breed of the proponents of socialism in the United States, working hard on giving voice to the poor.
• Antanas Rudkus: Antanas is the only son of the couple. The expectations the family has attached with him dash to the ground when he dies after he slips.

Writing Style of The Jungle

Upton Sinclair adopted a unique writing style in The Jungle as he narrates the story by weaving a fictional character and yet reporting the facts. The author highlights the conditions in the meatpacking industry, and how the workers remained poor, working in unhygienic conditions, and under appalling labor conditions. As far as the sentences and style are concerned, they are neither long nor short; just having enough length that shows the characters and the situations in which they are trapped. The diction is appropriate to the time and the characters. Sometimes, the readers notice wordy but that is the demand of the text such as in the case of speeches delivered by Jurgis.

Analysis of the Literary Devices in The Jungle

• Action: The main action of the novel comprises the immigration of Jurgis Rudkus and his family to Chicago, their struggle to survive the appalling conditions, and Jurgis’ final decision to join the socialist movement. The rising action occurs when Ona finds herself sexually molested by Connor, while the falling action occurs when Jurgis goes back to his old job but does not find it waiting for him.
• Anaphora : The novel shows examples of anaphora . For example, i. She has not taken a drop, but every one else there is literally burning alcohol, as the lamps are burning oil; some of the men who are sound asleep in their chairs or on the floor are reeking of it so that you cannot go near them. (Chapter-I) ii. For he is an inspired man. Every inch of him is inspired—you might almost say inspired separately. (Chapter-1) iii. His whole soul was dancing with joy—he was at work at last! He was at work and earning money! (Chapter-4) The examples show the repetitious use of “burning”, “inspired” and “he was at work.”
• Allusion : The novel shows good use of different allusions as given in the below examples, i. For fear that the significance of all this should be lost, there was a label, in Polish, Lithuanian, and German—” Dom. Namai. Heim. ” “Why pay rent?” the linguistic circular went on to demand. “Why not own your own home? (Chapter-4) ii. Jurgis had had enough to eat in the jail, and the work had been the least trying of any that he had done since he came to Chicago; but even so, he had not grown strong—the fear and grief that had preyed upon his mind had worn him thin. (Chapter-18) iii. “Wait,” he said. “He has something to say to me.” And then he looked into Jurgis’s face. “You want to know more about Socialism?” he asked. (Chapter-29) The first two examples show references to places, while the last one shows alluding to the political theory of socialism.
• Antagonist : Phil Connor is the antagonist of the novel as he appears to have tried his best to obstruct all avenues for Jurgis and his relatives not to work freely.
• Conflict : The novel shows both external and internal conflicts. The external conflict is going on between Jurgis, Connor, and other capitalists about wages and profits. The internal conflict is going on in the mind of Jurgis that he is unable to support the females of his family and even the family itself.
• Characters: The novel shows both static as well as dynamic characters. Jurgis is a dynamic character as she shows a considerable transformation in his behavior and conduct by the end of the novel. However, all other characters are static as they do not show or witness any transformation Ona, Marija, Elzbieta, and Connor.
• Climax : The climax in the novel occurs when Jurgis comes to know about the rape of Ona when exploited by Connor, her boss. In rage, he attacks him and is arrested for the crime.
• Foreshadowing : The novel shows many instances of foreshadows as given in the below examples, i. It was four o’clock when the ceremony was over and the carriages began to arrive. There had been a crowd following all the way, owing to the exuberance of Marija Berczynskas. (Chapter-1) ii. Jurgis talked lightly about work, because he was young. They told him stories about the breaking down of men, there in the stockyards of Chicago, and of what had happened to them afterward—stories to make your flesh creep , but Jurgis would only laugh. (Chapter-2) The mention of happiness and work shows the something sinister is going to happen and make the readers sense it.
• Hyperbole : The novel shows various examples of hyperboles given below, i. There had been a heavy snow , and now a thaw had set in; fine sleety rain was falling, driven by a wind that pierced Jurgis to the bone. (Chapter-18) ii. Jurgis, who by this time would cheerfully have cracked the heads of all the gamblers in Chicago, inquired what would be coming to him. (Chapter-25) Both of these examples exaggerate things such as snow and the cracking of heads.
• Imagery : Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. For example, i. She stood in the doorway, shepherded by Cousin Marija, breathless from pushing through the crowd, and in her happiness painful to look upon. There was a light of wonder in her eyes and her lids trembled, and her otherwise wan little face was flushed. She wore a muslin dress, conspicuously white, and a stiff little veil coming to her shoulders. (Chapter-I) ii. On the uneven floor it was a task for a man to start one of these trucks, unless he was a giant; and when it was once started he naturally tried his best to keep it going. There was always the boss prowling about, and if there was a second’s delay he would fall to cursing; Lithuanians and Slovaks and such, who could not understand what was said to them, the bosses were wont to kick about the place like so many dogs. (Chapter-5) These two examples show images of color, sound, and feelings.
• Metaphor : The Jungle shows excellent use of various metaphors as given in the below examples, i. Suddenly some of the steam begins to advance, and, peering through it, you discern Aunt Elizabeth, Ona’s stepmother—Teta Elzbieta, as they call her— bearing aloft a great platter of stewed duck. (Chapter-I) ii. So, after all, there was a crack in the fine structure of Jurgis’ faith in things as they are. The crack was wide while Dede Antanas was hunting a job—and it was yet wider when he finally got it. (Chapter-6) iii. All this while that he was seeking for work, there was a dark shadow hanging over Jurgis; as if a savage beast were lurking somewhere in the pathway of his life, and he knew it, and yet could not help approaching the place. (Chapter-14) These examples show that several things have been compared directly in the novel as the first shows the comparison of steam with a train or something like that, the second shows the difference as cracks and the third shows the job or work as a shadow.
• Mood : The novel shows various moods; it starts with a happy and jovial mood but suddenly turns to tragic when a child dies in the family and then vacillates between good, bad, and sometimes simmering.
• Motif : Most important motifs of the novel, The Jungle, are weathers, power , family, corruption, and traditions.
• Narrator : The novel is narrated in the third-person point of view , who is the author.
• Personification : The novel shows examples of personifications as given in the examples below, i. Suddenly some of the steam begins to advance, and, peering through it, you discern Aunt Elizabeth, Ona’s stepmother—Teta Elzbieta, as they call her— bearing aloft a great platter of stewed duck. (Chapter-I) ii. Sometimes, in desperate hours, he would find himself wishing that she might learn what it was, so that he need not be ashamed in her presence. (Chapter-14) These examples show as if the steam and hours have life and emotions of their own.
• Protagonist : Jurgis is the protagonist of the novel. The novel starts with his entry on the scene and moves forward as he works and fails and then joins the socialists.
• Rhetorical Questions : The novel shows good use of rhetorical questions at several places as given in the below examples, i. There was poor old ponas Jokubas, for instance—he had already given five dollars, and did not every one know that Jokubas Szedvilas had just mortgaged his delicatessen store for two hundred dollars to meet several months’ overdue rent? (Chapter-I) ii. So this grim old women went on with her tale of horrors . How much of it was exaggeration —who could tell? It was only too plausible . There was that about consumption, for instance. (Chapter-6) This example shows the use of rhetorical questions posed but different characters not to elicit answers but to stress upon the underlined idea.
• Setting : The setting of the novel is Packingtown, the suburb of Chicago.
• Simile : The novel shows good use of various similes as given in the below examples, i. The sweat starts out on his forehead, and he bends over like a cyclist on the last lap of a race. His body shakes and throbs like a runaway steam engine, and the ear cannot follow the flying showers of notes—there is a pale blue mist where you look to see his bowing arm. (Chapter-1) ii. It was the week before Christmas that the first storm came, and then the soul of Jurgis rose up within him like a sleeping lion. (Chapter-11) iii. The word rang through him like the sound of a bell, echoing in the far depths of him, making forgotten chords to vibrate, old shadowy fears to stir—fears of the dark, fears of the void, fears of annihilation. (Chapter-19) These are similes as the use of the word “like” shows the comparison between different things.

Related posts:

• The Jungle Characters
• The Jungle Themes
• The Jungle Quotes

Post navigation

Jurgis and His Family in “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair Thesis

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

Upon Sinclair’s book The Jungle is as a powerful piece of literature. It dwells on the lives of Northern Europe immigrants who moved to Chicago in search of greener pastures. Specifically, the novel is based on daily life experiences by Jurgus Rudkus and his family. The author paints a dark picture of exploitation, poverty, and corruption on the lives of these immigrants in Chicago.

Thus, this reflective treatise attempts to explicitly analyze the reasons why Jurgis and his family initially had optimism of better position in Chicago meat packing district. Besides, the paper attempts to address efforts taken by Jurgis and his family to achieve economic stability in Chicago. In addition, the treatise discusses factors which directly contributed to the destruction of the family’s economic gains.

In chapter one, Jurgis and his family are living in poverty and are prisoners of economic hardship. As expected, weeding ceremonies are meant to bring joy and happiness to a family. However, cost of a weeding is the key determinant of its success. Most young men are described as stingy including Jurgis.

They are surrounded by anguish, sorrow, emotional overwrought and fearful mental strain as a result of poverty 1 . The nights are described as their only source of pleasure since the following day is marked by hard labor. The struggle is impractical to maintain humanity amidst dehumanization.

From the stories of friends who had made it in Chicago, Jurgis’ optimism rejuvenates. He epitomizes internal strength and an indomitable spirit to work hard and liberate his family economically. Jurgis’ physical strength and peasant mind drives him to move to Chicago with the hope of better opportunities for him and his family 2 .

Fortunately, once in America, Jurgis gets employment in the meatpacking without much struggle and he is able to fend for the family comfortably. Therefore, Jurgis was overjoyed by the prospects of getting a reliable job and he is convinced of making a descent living. In fact, they were able buy a small and rickety house with their little earnings. The optimism was as a result of enthusiasm and strong possibility of living the American dream.

Notwithstanding the poverty back in Northern Europe, Jurgus and his family did several things overcome absolute penury and liberate themselves economically. To begin with, they migrated from Northern Europe to escape poverty and move to America following stories of success from a fellow villager called Jokubus.

The family makes a journey of faith in search of greener pasture instead of staying and acceptinh poverty as a fate in Europe. Once in America, Jurgis makes contact with the established and ‘rich’ Jokubus and he is directed to the local stock pack house in Chicago 2 . Jurgis finds a stable job in the meat house within hours. Jurgis is overjoyed and inspired by the success of his fellow village mate Jokubus, who is a very successful ‘delicatessen’ owner.

In spite of the fact that Jurgis got a job within moments due to his strong physique, other members of the family endeavor to graciously accept job positions offered indiscriminately notwithstanding the unfriendly and inhuman stipulations surrounding work conditions 3 . At the end of the day, each member of the family would earn some income. Due to constant and reliable flow of little income, the family makes a bold step to locate an affordable house and purchase the same.

Owning a house is a major stride towards achieving the American dream that was deep in the heart of Jargis. Each member of this family endeavored to achieve the dream of owning a house by pulling resources together to purchase one.

Notwithstanding the tricks played by fraudsters during the process of purchasing the house, members of this family graciously continue to pay the exorbitant rates in form of insurance fees 3 . Besides the high insurance fees, the family has to squeeze their budget further to accommodate high monthly mortgage charges until the house fully becomes theirs.

To maintain income flow, Sinclair describes the inhuman and horrendous conditions of each member of the family have to endure. “From the nature of disease affecting a laborer, it was easy for Jurgis to tell the occupation and section of employment of the victim.” 3 Despite this, Jurgis continues to work under these pathetic conditions in order to fend for the family and keep the American dream in progress. As a matter of fact, Jurgis even loses his father to an illness associated with his place of work at the cellar as described in chapter 14 3 .

After losing his job position to a younger and stronger man, Jurgis is disillusioned to the lowest ranked fertilizing plant job with even more worse working conditions. The same happens to other family members who regardless of the unbearable conditions, continue to provide labor in the market. In summary, the family believed in provision of labor through employment as means for economic liberation. In spite of earning peanuts as income, they managed to own a house and endure the inhuman work conditions.

Factors which were responsible for destruction of the hard won economic gains in the Jurgis family are fraud, selfishness, underemployment, diseases, and paltry payment against excessive work. The family managed to buy a house and only realized later that the whole process of changing ownership was a fraud. The family was tricked by the selfish sellers to buy an old house repainted as new. Besides, the family had to cope up with unrealistic insurance charges because the house was located over a land fill.

In addition, the mortgage charges per month were not directly proportional to the quality and estate value of their small and rickety house 4 . They are described as exorbitant and carry along erroneous rates with them. The family merely struggles to offset these bills besides buying second hand goods at unreasonable price. Reportedly, prices of food stuff are beyond their means and they are forced to stretch this small budget further and neglect most of their basic needs.

Notwithstanding the fact that members of this family had unreliable jobs, a part from Jurgis, they had to squeeze the budget further to accommodate treatment which was not catered for by their employers though these illnesses were associated with place of work. Diseases played a big role towards the dwindling rates of the family’s income. After Ona gave birth to a son; named after the late Jurgis’ father, she is forced to resume work only a week after delivery 4 .

The winter weather becomes unbearable to her and she fades away from productive life. Moreover, Jurgis lost his father to illness. This translated to loss of income from his father’s contribution to the family. Besides, Ona’s income contribution also ‘faded off’ when she lost her ability to engage in productive labor and she is forced to engage in prostitution.

As described in chapter 10, Sinclair states that, “Here was a population, low-class and mostly foreign, hanging always on the verge of starvation, and dependent for its opportunities of life upon the whim of men every bit as brutal and unscrupulous as the old-time slave drivers” 5 . Unfortunately, Jurgis’ income was also cut during the three month period out of labor market as a result of illness and depression.

Regardless of having tried to hide pain originating from the fracture on his leg, the doctor recommended him to stay out of productive employment for three months to recover. These three months formed the worst part of financial meltdown in the family as Jurgis lacked income for the same period.

Upon recovery, he is demoted to a lower income earning job in the fertilizing plant since his position had been taken by a man described as younger and stronger. Unfortunately, Jargis failed ‘to pull himself back’ to productive employment and he was wasted away by depression, prison life, and alcoholism. Out of ignorance, the family completely lost its control of financial arms since none belonged to the workers’ union.

Bibliography

Sinclair, Upton. The Jungle. Chicago and Princeton: New Jersey, 1906.

1 Upton Sinclair, The Jungle, ( Chicago and Princeton: New Jersey, 1906), chapter 1-20.

2 Upton Sinclair, The Jungle, ( Chicago and Princeton: New Jersey, 1906), chapter 1-20.

3 Upton Sinclair, The Jungle, ( Chicago and Princeton: New Jersey, 1906), chapter 1-20.

4 Upton Sinclair, The Jungle, ( Chicago and Princeton: New Jersey, 1906), chapter 1-20.

5 Upton Sinclair, The Jungle, ( Chicago and Princeton: New Jersey, 1906), chapter 1-20.

• Role of Upton Sinclair in Society
• "The Jungle" by Uptown Sinclair
• Upton Sinclair’s “Living and Dying in Packingtown, Chicago”
• Analysis of ‘Rule of the Bone’ by Russell Banks
• Sonny Terry and His Harmonica: Teaching People to Laugh Again
• California in the Eyes of Steinbeck and Babb: Time to Pick the Grapes
• The Wind of the Prairies: Dust Bowl and the Economical Disaster of the 30ies
• The Role of Animality in Constructing Frederick Douglass’s Identity and the Issues of Liminality in “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave” by Frederick Douglass
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2019, June 30). Jurgis and His Family in "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-jungle-by-upton-sinclair/

"Jurgis and His Family in "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair." IvyPanda , 30 June 2019, ivypanda.com/essays/the-jungle-by-upton-sinclair/.

IvyPanda . (2019) 'Jurgis and His Family in "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair'. 30 June.

IvyPanda . 2019. "Jurgis and His Family in "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair." June 30, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-jungle-by-upton-sinclair/.

1. IvyPanda . "Jurgis and His Family in "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair." June 30, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-jungle-by-upton-sinclair/.

IvyPanda . "Jurgis and His Family in "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair." June 30, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-jungle-by-upton-sinclair/.

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

Wednesday, march 2, 2011, thesis evolution, no comments:, post a comment.

• Bibliography
• More Referencing guides Blog Automated transliteration Relevant bibliographies by topics
• Automated transliteration
• Relevant bibliographies by topics
• Referencing guides

Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'The Jungle Book'

Create a spot-on reference in apa, mla, chicago, harvard, and other styles.

Consult the top 16 dissertations / theses for your research on the topic 'The Jungle Book.'

Next to every source in the list of references, there is an 'Add to bibliography' button. Press on it, and we will generate automatically the bibliographic reference to the chosen work in the citation style you need: APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, Vancouver, etc.

You can also download the full text of the academic publication as pdf and read online its abstract whenever available in the metadata.

Browse dissertations / theses on a wide variety of disciplines and organise your bibliography correctly.

Threadgold, Jocelyn Marie. "Rudyard Kipling and the Empire : responses to The Jungle books and Kim /." Title page, contents and conclusion only, 2002. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09AR/09art5311.pdf.

Dahmer, Cornelia [Verfasser]. "Conduct books für junge Damen des achtzehnten Jahrhunderts : Aufrichtigkeit und Frauenrolle / Cornelia Dahmer." Frankfurt a.M. : Peter Lang GmbH, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften, 2017. http://d-nb.info/1156019214/34.

Bock, Norman [Verfasser]. "Zwischen Verdrängung und Verklärung : Die "junge Welt" in der Auseinandersetzung mit der Geschichte des europäischen Kommunismus / Norman Bock." Baden-Baden : Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, 2014. http://d-nb.info/1107612128/34.

Mårtenson, Marcus. "Finns det spår av en spontan bildterapi i Jungs Röda Bok?" Thesis, Högskolan i Gävle, Avdelningen för humaniora, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-19050.

Hayes, Katherine Jeanne. "Making meaning of madness: An integrated narrative approach to interpreting The Red Book." Miami University Honors Theses / OhioLINK, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=muhonors1272091953.

Müller, Thomas. "Vertriebswegswahl junger, innovativer Unternehmen Einflussfaktoren und Erfolgsauswirkungen /." Wiesbaden : Gabler, 2009. http://sfx.metabib.ch:9003/sfx_locater?sid=ALEPH:DSV01&genre=book&isbn=978-3-8349-1306-7&id=doi:10.1007/978-3-8349-8162-2.

Zhu, Han, and Han Zhu. ""Using the Peak of the Five Elders as a Brush": A Calligraphic Screen by Jung Hyun-bok (1909-1973)." Thesis, University of Oregon, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1794/12314.

Johansson, Marie. "C.G. Jung och Leo Perdue om Jobs bok : En jämförande receptionsstudie." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Teologiska institutionen, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-421130.

Terrana, Alec M. "(De)psychologizing Shangri-La: Recognizing and Reconsidering C.G. Jung's Role in the Construction of Tibetan Buddhism in the Western Imagination." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2014. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/pomona_theses/117.

Engelen, Andreas. "Marktorientierung junger Unternehmen : Einflussgrößen und Wirkung im interkulturellen Vergleich zwischen Deutschland, Thailand und Indonesien /." Wiesbaden : Deutscher Universitäts-Verlag, 2007. http://sfx.metabib.ch:9003/sfx_locater?sid=ALEPH:DSV01&genre=book&isbn=978-3-8350-0956-1&id=doi:10.1007/978-3-8350-5544-5.

Governatori, Luca. "Les "Nuits" de C.G. JUNG : origine et fondements d'une psychologie cosmique." Thesis, Lyon, 2017. http://www.theses.fr/2017LYSE3076.

Schaller, Quentin. "Discours de la folie, discours sur la folie dans le "Liber Novus" de C.G. JUNG (1875-1961) : savoirs psychologiques, ésotériques et littéraires autour de 1900." Thesis, Strasbourg, 2020. http://www.theses.fr/2020STRAC014.

Picón, Bruno Daniela. "Recepción de William Blake : desde su público contemporáneo hasta el Surrealismo." Doctoral thesis, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/285267.

Chen, Yi-yin, and 陳怡吟. "The Animal Formation and Implication of Kipling's Jungle Book." Thesis, 2007. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/5z3k7h.

Jiang, Zhangwei. "Fengci and Korean aesthetic- political analysis : Jung Yak - yong’s Commentary on The Book of Odes." Thesis, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2152/ETD-UT-2012-05-5178.

Landman, Mario. "Dream of a thousand heroes: the archetypal hero in contemporary mythology, with reference to The sandman by Neil Gaiman." Diss., 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/2444.

The Jungle Book

By rudyard kipling, the jungle book character list.

Mowgli is the main character in the book. Taken from his village by Shere Khan the tiger, he escapes and runs into a cave where a wolf family live. They treat him as their own and he is raised like a wolf cub. His wolf mother names him Mowgli which means "Little Frog." He is a happy-go-lucky boy who considers himself a wolf. He is brave and spunky as a young child and as he gets older his skills come to match his spunk. He is lithe and athletic, more animal in movement than human, and visually striking to look at. He is wily and smart and able to strategize well. Occasionally his imagination runs away with itself and he is brought back to reality by Bagheera or Baloo. He deeply loves his wolf family as his own. Mowgli is a good, strong leader who honors the Jungle Law and respects the jungle traditions. He is eager to fight and defend his pack whenever he feels they are threatened.

Shere Khan is a tiger who has a pronounced limp due to once being shackled. He is aggressive and extremely predatory, disrespectful of the Jungle Laws regarding killing, and an innate troublemaker. He stole Mowgli from a village on the outskirts of the jungle and never stops trying to hunt and kill him. He is also very political, forging alliances against Mowgli and turning pack members against him. Shere Khan is more brawn than brains and eventually gets trapped by Mowgli, who kills and skins him.

Bagheera is a black panther the color of ink, who most in the jungle are in awe of, and also a little afraid of. He joins the Council at Circle Rock whilst they are discussing Mowgli and trades his vote and a newly-killed boar for Mowgli's acceptance into the pack. He is one of Mowgli's main teachers, the other being Baloo, and is a great guide and example to him. He loves the man-cub dearly and the two spend much time together.

Baloo is a large brown bear who is the only non-wolf to be allowed at Council Rock. He is Mowgli's "sponsor" into the pack and also his primary teacher, teaching him Jungle Law, greetings, and how to stay safe and protected. He is fairly lazy physically because of his substantial weight. He loves to open honey combs by hitting them against the rocks until they break so that he can devour all of the honey within them. Baloo is one of the few characters still living by the time Mowgli leaves to find man again.

Kaa is a giant python blessed with beautiful, polished skin that he regularly sheds. He and Mowgli are great friends and Mowgli likes to lie on him as if a pillow. Kaa saved Mowgli's life when he was taken by monkeys, and was also instrumental in killing the red dogs by transporting Mowgli in silence to the other side of the water. Although he does not like to associate with the wolves, he has great affection for their man cub.

Akela is a gray lone wolf and the leader of the Pack. He is wise and fair, making decisions and keeping the Pack working and strong from the top of Council Rock. He went out of his way to protect Mowgli as a cub and this debt is repaid when Mowgli saves the jungle from the red dogs. Akela is a source of great knowledge and inspires great respect from the rest of the Pack.

Mother Wolf

Mother Wolf is very protective of Mowgli and raises him as her own. She attends the Council the night of the looking over of cubs, fully prepared to die in order to protect him. She is strong and brave and when angered the fiercest wolf in the Pack.

Father Wolf

Father Wolf is also very protective of his new human cub and fully supports his wife in wanting to keep him. He is instrumental in helping Mowgli free the humans who helped him.

Gray Brother

Gray Brother is the oldest of Mowgli's four wolf brothers. He and Mowgli are extremely close, never losing touch even when Mowgli leaves the jungle. He is loyal and dependable, always the first to support Mowgli's battle plans.

Chil is a kite, a very majestic bird of prey who feeds off the carcasses of any kill. He is on friendly terms with Mowgli and often carries messages for him, even to the wolves, with whom he would rather not communicate.

Hathi the elephant is King of the Jungle and a wise, inspiring leader. He is the voice of authority in the jungle, for example, calling the water truce during the drought, and leading his sons to help Mowgli drive the humans out of the village. There is no force in the jungle as destructive as Hathi when injured or angry.

The Warden of the King's Treasure

The Warden is an old white cobra who has lived under the ground for so long that he does not realize the Emperor has left and the jungle grown over where his palace used to be. He is cunning and keen to kill but too old to do so, as the venom in his fangs has long since dried up.

One of the few humans with a name in the book, Buldeo is the village chief who unwittingly sees Mowgli fighting alongside the wolves to kill Shere Khan. He is intent upon taking advantage of Mowgli and absolutely furious when he is not able to. He is a decent hunter but no match for the jungle. He is given to exaggeration and told his village that Mowgli changed from human to wolf to boy again before his very eyes.

Messua is Mowgli's human mother who recognizes her son when he returns at eleven years old and again at seventeen. She is loving and protective, nursing Mowgli back to health after his Spring Running. It is suggested that Mowgli returns to live with her when he leaves the jungle.

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi

Rikki-tikki-tavi is a mongoose who is the protagonist of the last tale in the book. He was washed away from his parents and ends up in a house with a young family, which is the goal of every well-raised mongoose. He is protective of the family and extremely bold and courageous. He rescues the family from certain death by cobra bite no less than three times and is adept at thinking of ways in which to kill the snakes. He lives a happy life with the family diligently making sure the backyard is in good order and totally free from snakes.

Nag and Nagaina

Nag and Nagaina are married cobras who live under the bungalow where Rikki-tikki-tavi lives with his human family. They want nothing more than to kill the humans so that they may have the bungalow and garden to themselves for when their children are born. Both snakes are aggressive and calculating but neither is a match for the mongoose, who kills them both.

He is a white seal born to Sea Catch and Matkah. He decides he must prevent man's killing of young seals by finding a fabled island where man cannot come. Once he succeeds in this, he brings the thousands of seals from his homeland there.

An old, strong, and scarred seal, he is the father of Kotick.

She is Sea Catch's wife and Kotick's mother.

Kerick Booterin

An Aleut and chief of the seal-hunters on the island, he thinks Kotick is a bad omen.

He is Booterin's son.

Darzee and Darzee's Wife

They are two birds who live in the garden where Rikki-tikki comes to reside. Darzee is a little silly, but Darzee's wife is clever and helps Rikki-tikki get rid of the snakes.

Kala Nag's Indian driver and father of Little Toomai, he prefers the quiet and peace of camp life as opposed to hunting life. Although he loves his son and is teaching him the ways of the elephants in the same manner as he was taught, he is easily irritated at his son's courageous but foolhardy behavior.

Little Toomai

A bright and courageous young boy, he is the son of Big Toomai and his even more famous driver-grandfather. Kala Nag loves him and takes him with him to the elephants' dance. This raises his standing among the men and especially Peterson Sahib, the white leader of the Indian Government's elephant department and a man whom Little Toomai greatly admires. He will one day be the greatest of all the drivers.

The strong, old, and respected elephant in service of the Indian Government. His driver is Big Toomai, whom he loves, but he really feels affection for Little Toomai and takes the boy to see the elephants' dance.

Peterson Sahib

The white man who heads the Indian Government's Keddah operations and who knows more about elephants than anyone. Little Toomai looks up to him, especially when Peterson Sahib notices him, gives him a bit of money, and tells him he can go into the Keddah where he sees the elephant-dance.

The Narrator of "Her Majesty's Servants"

He is a white man who is privy to the conversations of the animals the night before the military review for the Amir of Aghanistan.

Little Vixen

Little Vixen is the white man's little dog.

He is an older, gruff mule in the Indian Army.

Young Recruit

A younger mule in the service of the Indian Army, he is nervous and easily frightened.

The Troop-Horse

The troop-horse is a horse in the service of the Indian Army.

The Bullocks

They are two large and implacable creatures in the service of the Indian Army.

The camel is one of the easily spooked animals in the Amir's army.

He is the elephant in the service of the Indian Army. The other animals respect him a lot.

Tha is the wise and stately First of the Elephants and Master of the Jungle.

The First of the Tigers

The First Tiger is appointed judge of the Jungle People's disputes but errs and brings Death into the jungle when he kills a buck. He then thinks he can alleviate Fear (in the form of Man) by killing him, but this backfires and more Men come. He gains his stripes by violating the laws and feels shame and fear, but maintains one night a year where he goes among men and they fear him.

He is a Brahmin, educated at Bombay University in the ways of the West, and Prime Minister of a semi-independent Indian state. Purun Dass respects and desires to emulate the ways of the English and thus earns their commendation and a Knighthood. After a time, though, he steps down from his post to seek out peace and fulfillment. He travels very far to the Himalayas and becomes a holy man for a small village. His time there is exactly what he desires and he befriends all of the wild animals, but he perishes leading his villagers out of danger when torrential rains bring the mountain down.

The Adjutant ("The Undertakers")

A crane who lives near the river, he is tall and thin and the villagers do not bother him.

The Jackal ("The Undertakers")

A small, mangy creature, he is friends with the Mugger and the Adjutant.

The Mugger of Mugger-Ghaut

An extremely old and weathered twenty-four-foot crocodile who lives in the river, he is feared and respected by the villagers, though not by the white man. He recounts stories of the past, particularly the Mutiny. A white man whom the crocodile once tried to eat when he was a child shoots the crocodile at the end.

Kotuku ("Quiquern")

He is a young Inuit man who, with the girl and his dogs, travels to find seals to feed his starving village.

Kadlu ("Quiquern"

He is an Inuit and father of Kotuku.

The Girl ("Quiquern")

A young girl who loses her father and brother, she comes to stay with Kotuku's family and travels with him to find seals.

The Jungle Book Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for The Jungle Book is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Who was purun Dass

I think he's from the second Jungle Book. Purun Dass .was a high caste Brahmin, whose father had been an important official in an old-fashioned Hindu Court.

The jungle book

What chapter are you referring to?

Briefly explain why "growing up involves facing tough situations" is a good theme for the story.

Mowgli becomes a young man as the book progresses, and the reader watches him grow from an impulsive and earnest man-cub into a leader. Like most adolescents, he believes he is not allowed to do as much as he wants to do, but readers see him grow...

Study Guide for The Jungle Book

The Jungle Book study guide contains a biography of Rudyard Kipling, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About The Jungle Book
• The Jungle Book Summary
• Character List

Essays for The Jungle Book

The Jungle Book essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling.

• War and Womanhood in Rudyard Kipling’s Mary Postgate (1915)
• Loyalty in “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi”

Lesson Plan for The Jungle Book

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to The Jungle Book
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• The Jungle Book Bibliography

Advertisement

Supported by

30 Shows to Watch This Summer

Returning favorites include “The Bear,” “House of the Dragon” and “Only Murders in the Building.” Among the new arrivals? Jake Gyllenhaal and Natalie Portman.

• Share full article

By Mike Hale

It’s dangerous to draw conclusions before all the evidence is in, but a long look at the roster of new and returning series this summer might convince you of the primacy of what my colleague James Poniewozik has identified as “mid TV.” A lot of pleasure, in the form of audience-tested favorites and star-studded new shows. Not a lot of adventure or experimentation or risk.

Of course, TV has never had much of those qualities — we’re talking marginal differences here — so don’t feel guilty strapping in for something that sounds comfortable. Here are 30 possibilities over the next three months, in chronological order; all dates are subject to change.

‘Presumed Innocent’

David E. Kelley’s new adaptation of the Scott Turow legal thriller — following the 1990 film — has an enticing cast: Jake Gyllenhaal as the prosecutor suspected of murder, played originally by Harrison Ford; Ruth Negga and Bill Camp as his wife and his boss; as well as Elizabeth Marvel, Lily Rabe and Peter Sarsgaard. The victim, originally Greta Scacchi, is played by the Norwegian actress Renate Reinsve, star of Joachim Trier’s “The Worst Person in the World.” (Apple TV+, Wednesday)

The popular anti-superhero action-fantasy returns; Season 4 reunites the showrunner, Eric Kripke, with one of his “Supernatural” stars, Jeffrey Dean Morgan. (Amazon Prime Video, Thursday)

‘House of the Dragon’

HBO executives heaved a dragon-sized sigh of relief in 2022 when the network’s “Game of Thrones” prequel was a big success (averaging 29 million viewers across all platforms in its first season). Now they just have to do it again. (HBO, June 16)

‘Cult Massacre: One Day in Jonestown’

This new account of the mass death of members of the Peoples Temple cult, a three-part documentary from National Geographic, focuses on the last days in the Guyana jungle in 1978. People caught up in the tragedy, including the cult leader Jim Jones’s son Stephan and the former congresswoman Jackie Speier, reflect on the stupefying chain of events. (Hulu, June 17)

‘Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution’

A three-part history of disco allies the music with the battles for inclusion by gay, Black, Latino and other minority communities in the 1970s. (PBS, June 18)

‘Orphan Black: Echoes’

Keeley Hawes plays Kira Manning, the young daughter of a clone from the sleeper-hit science-fiction thriller “Orphan Black” (where she was played by Skyler Wexler) who is now a grown-up scientist in this spinoff set four decades later. Krysten Ritter stars as a woman with amnesia who needs Manning’s help. (AMC and BBC America, June 23)

‘Babylon Berlin’

The fourth season of this hugely entertaining German Weimar-noir, broadcast in Europe two years ago, finally makes it to American screens on the boutique international streamer MHz Choice. Springing for a subscription will give you access to other top-flight European shows like “Spiral,” “The Killing” and “Paris Police 1900.” (MHz Choice, June 25)

‘Land of Women’

Eva Longoria stars in this woman-whose-husband-loses-all-their-money comic thriller as a New Yorker forced to relocate to a small Spanish wine town. The real drawing card, though, is the great Spanish actress Carmen Maura (“Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown”), who plays the grandmother in her first American series. (Apple TV+, June 26)

The “Yes, chef” restaurant dramedy won the Emmy for comedy series for its first season and is the favorite to win again for its second. In the meantime, FX will release the third. With the revelation of Carmy’s mother (played by Jamie Lee Curtis) having been a public-relations bonanza last time around, will we meet his father in Season 3? (Hulu, June 27)

‘My Lady Jane’

Lady Jane Grey, the short-lived (in every sense) 16th-century English queen, gets the sassy-alt-history treatment. Emily Bader plays a very contemporary Jane, with an interesting supporting cast that includes Anna Chancellor, Jim Broadbent, Rob Brydon, Dominic Cooper and Máiréad Tyers. (Amazon Prime Video, June 27)

A 16-year-old girl raised by a robot in an underground bunker is forced to the surface in an animated adventure series, based on books by Tony DiTerlizzi. (Apple TV+, June 28)

From 2018 to 2021, everyone’s favorite talking Australian dogs appeared like clockwork: 130 episodes in just over three years. Since then the pace has slowed, down to just three new episodes so far in 2024. While desperate parents wait to see if there will be a fourth season, they and their children will have to content themselves with a set of mini-sodes — one to three minutes — that will be parceled out into next year. (Disney Jr., Disney+, July 3)

‘Down in the Valley’

Nicco Annan, who plays the fabulous strip-club proprietor Uncle Clifford on “P-Valley,” tours the South in this documentary series; a publicity release promises visits to “sex workshops, rap performances, and ancient hoodoo rituals.” (Starz, July 5)

‘The Boyfriend’

Nine Japanese men live together at the beach — and run a coffee truck — in what promises to be an unusually quiet and polite reality dating show. (Netflix, July 9)

Rashida Jones plays an American woman living in Japan whose husband and son are apparently killed in a plane crash; to ease her pain, she’s given a robot domestic, Sunny, who eventually helps her investigate what really happened to her family. As a dark-comic techno-mystery on Apple TV+, it calls to mind “Severance,” though “Sunny” is a production of the bulk genre purveyor A24. (Apple TV+, July 10)

‘Sausage Party: Foodtopia’

Seth Rogen (sausage), Michael Cera (sausage), Kristen Wiig (bun), Edward Norton (bagel) and David Krumholtz (lavash) reprise their roles in this sequel series to the amusing, smutty 2016 animated feature about talking produce. (Amazon Prime Video, July 11)

‘The Serpent Queen’

Samantha Morton, with her velvet ruthlessness, headlines a second season of this bloody, satirical fantasia on the life of Catherine de’ Medici. (Starz, July 12)

‘The Fortress’

In the 2030s, Norway responds to the various crises facing the planet by walling itself off from the rest of the world. What could go wrong! Russell Tovey, most recently seen in “Feud,” plays a British interloper in this dystopian Norwegian drama. (Viaplay, July 16)

‘UnPrisoned’

If you’ve been wondering where to see Kerry Washington, the answer is the second season of this under-the-radar half-hour dramedy, created by Tracy McMillan, in which Washington plays a therapist and social-media star whose father (Delroy Lindo) is released from prison after 17 years. (Hulu, July 17)

‘Cobra Kai’

Ralph Macchio, William Zabka and Netflix squeeze one last season (the sixth) out of the internecine struggles at a San Fernando Valley karate dojo. (Netflix, July 18)

‘Those About to Die’

This Roman-gladiator drama from maker-of-blockbusters Roland Emmerich, set “at the explosive intersection of sports, politics and dynasties,” sets off the cheese alarm. But for as long as Anthony Hopkins lasts as the emperor Vespasian, there will be that. (Peacock, July 18)

‘Betty la Fea, the Story Continues’

Ana Maria Orozco and Jorge Enrique Abello, stars of the landmark Colombian telenovela “Yo Soy Betty, la Fea” — inspiration for the American remake “Ugly Betty” — reunite two decades later for the continued romantic adventures of Beatriz and Armando. (Amazon Prime Video, July 19)

‘Lady in the Lake’

Leading a TV series for the first time (there’s a phrase we don’t use as much as we used to), Natalie Portman plays a Baltimore journalist investigating two unsolved murders. Alma Har’el (“Honey Boy”) created and directed the series based on the novel of the same name by Laura Lippman. (Apple TV+, July 19)

‘Time Bandits’

Jemaine Clement, Iain Morris and Taika Waititi, collaborators on “What We Do in the Shadows,” are behind this reboot of Terry Gilliam’s 1981 film about, well, a band of time-traveling bandits. This time around, the crew is led, in a very promising development, by Lisa Kudrow. (Apple TV+, July 24)

‘Olympic Highlights With Kevin Hart and Kenan Thompson’

The two comedians will be doing something — satirizing? celebrating? rehashing? — as part of NBC Universal’s package from the Paris Games. Anything that takes the Olympics less than reverently would be welcome. (Peacock, July 26)

‘Batman: Caped Crusader’

Scrapped by HBO Max in 2022, this animated series from the executive producers J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves (director of “The Batman”) resurfaces at a rival streamer. (Amazon Prime Video, Aug. 1)

If “Succession” appealed to you more for its corner-office ruthlessness than its pitiless family warfare, then this British drama about the jockeying among young traders at a London investment bank, entering its third season, might scratch the same itch. (HBO, Aug. 11)

‘Bad Monkey’

Carl Hiaasen’s coolly farcical novels about people doing strange and bloody things in Florida have been adapted for the screen far too few times: a couple of movies, including “Striptease,” and a failed pilot. This series, developed by Bill Lawrence from a 2013 Hiaasen novel, is a major attempt to correct that, starring Vince Vaughn as a disgraced detective turned restaurant inspector who gets a chance to redeem himself. (Apple TV+, Aug. 14)

‘Only Murders in the Building’

Four seasons? Did anyone besides Steve Martin see that coming? In Season 4 the crime-solving work of the Upper West Side podcasters played by Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez is complicated by a Hollywood studio’s plan to make a movie based on their show. (Hulu, Aug. 27)

‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’

The second season of Amazon’s expansive, expensive prequel series makes room for a beloved “LotR” character who has been left out of previous screen adaptations: the forest-dwelling rescuer of Hobbits, Tom Bombadil, played by Rory Kinnear. (Amazon Prime Video, Aug. 29)

Other returning shows: “Criminal Minds: Evolution” (Paramount+, Thursday); “Power Book II: Ghost” (Starz, Friday); “Transformers: Earthspark” (Paramount+, Friday); “The Lazarus Project” (TNT, Sunday); “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman” (Netflix, Wednesday); “Blue Lights” (BritBox, June 13); “D.I. Ray,” “Grantchester,” “Professor T” (PBS, June 16); “My Life Is Murder” (Acorn, June 17); “Shoresy” (Hulu, June 21); “That ’90s Show” (Netflix, June 27); “All American: Homecoming” (CW, July 8); “The Responder” (BritBox, July 11); “Hit-Monkey” (Hulu, July 15); “The Ark” (Syfy, July 17); “Snowpiercer” (AMC, July 21); “61st Street” (CW, July 22); “Cobra: Rebellion” (PBS, July 25); “Hotel Portofino” (PBS, July 28); “Futurama” (Hulu, July 29); “Unstable” (Netflix, Aug. 1); “The Umbrella Academy” (Netflix, Aug. 8); “Solar Opposites” (Hulu, Aug. 12); “Bel-Air” (Peacock, Aug. 15); “Emily in Paris” (Netflix, Aug. 15); “Reasonable Doubt” (Hulu, Aug. 22); “Pachinko” (Apple TV+, Aug. 23).

Mike Hale is a television critic for The Times. He also writes about online video, film and media. More about Mike Hale

Explore More in TV and Movies

Not sure what to watch next we can help..

The director Pablo Berger broke down how he brought a New York street scene to life  in “Robot Dreams,” his Oscar-nominated animated film about the friendship between a dog and a robot.

Cleopatra Coleman’s versatility has allowed the actor to stay relatively anonymous, but that may change with “Clipped,”  her new docudrama about an N.B.A. scandal.

The documentary “Jim Henson Idea Man,” directed by Ron Howard, doesn’t ignore the Muppet mastermind’s faults, but the tribute has a lot to teach creators everywhere .

If you are overwhelmed by the endless options, don’t despair — we put together the best offerings   on Netflix , Max , Disney+ , Amazon Prime  and Hulu  to make choosing your next binge a little easier.

Sign up for our Watching newsletter  to get recommendations on the best films and TV shows to stream and watch, delivered to your inbox.