When the group of Lithuanian immigrants—including Jurgis and his family—initially arrive at Packingtown, they observe a strange and new series of weather patterns and architectural shapes. The narrator employs foreshadowing, hyperbolic language, and the sensory language of sight to create a vivid and ominous atmosphere in this scene. The group sees:
[...] half a dozen chimneys, tall as the tallest of buildings, touching the very sky—and leaping from them half a dozen columns of smoke, thick, oily, and black as night. It might have come from the center of the world, this smoke, where the fires of the ages still smolder [...] driving all before it, a perpetual explosion. It was inexhaustible; one stared, waiting to see it stop, but still the great streams rolled out. They spread in vast clouds overhead, writhing, curling; then, uniting in one giant river, they streamed away down the sky, stretching a black pall as far as the eye could reach.
The author uses visual imagery to paint a bleak picture of the family’s new home. Before they even get out of the train, they note that the landscape is getting "hideous and bare." Thick columns of dark, oily smoke rise from the stockyards and towers, casting an eerie pall over the surroundings. This visual imagery evokes a sense of darkness and destruction, setting the stage for the difficulties that lie ahead. Descriptions such as "tall as the tallest of buildings" and "stretching a black pall as far as the eye could reach" create an impression of immense proportions.
The chimneys of the stockyards and the processing plant are hyperbolically described as towering structures that seem to touch the “very sky.” These exaggerated statements underscore the overwhelming nature of the industrial landscape and the daunting obstacles faced by Jurgis and his family. Of course, these buildings aren’t really touching the sky, and the smoke isn’t “inexhaustible,” but they seem that way to Jurgis and his companions. Having never seen anything like Chicago's bulk and sprawl before, they are overwhelmed by its scale.
Foreshadowing is present here too, subtly hinting at the troubles that await Jurgis and his family. The foreboding nature of this first view of the factoryscape suggests that it will bring hardship and adversity. The reader is left with a sense of unease, suspecting that the stockyards will present significant challenges for the characters. The reader is transported into the grim reality of the meat factory and its "jungle" of indentured workers. Packingtown is a place where dark smoke fills the air, and the challenges faced by its immigrant communities loom large.
Early in the book, experienced workers from the stockyards share grim stories with Jurgis about the hardships they have faced. These stories foreshadow his own upcoming troubles:
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. He had only been there four months, and he was young, and a giant besides. There was too much health in him. He could not even imagine how it would feel to be beaten.
The unpleasant descriptions of “the breaking down of men” suggest that Jurgis's youthful optimism will eventually be tested and his flesh will "creep," even if it doesn't at first. Although Jurgis laughs off the scary stories in the moment, the narrator points to the fact that his perspective will change after he spends some time in Packingtown.
This foreshadowing builds anticipation and creates a sense of foreboding. It’s preparing the reader for the eventual transformation of Jurgis's perceptions of everything in his working life. As the story progresses, Jurgis's initial laughter is quickly replaced by a sickeningly clear understanding of the physical and emotional toll that the stockyards extract. The juxtaposition between Jurgis's current state of youthful strength and his rapid deterioration certainly does “make the flesh creep.”
This phrase is used again, much later in the book, when Jurgis first attends a socialist rally. It also refers to a change in his outlook in this second instance. However, this time it foreshadows a positive development. Rather than the “breaking down of men,” the “creeping” of his flesh at the enthusiastic reaction people have to a socialist organizer signals a new era of purpose and resolve for Jurgis.
In this excerpt, Jokubas Szedvilas foreshadows the impending ruin of Jurgis's family and warns against purchasing property from deceitful sellers. His words of caution foreshadow the disaster about to come, as he explains his views on Packingtown property sellers to the confused Teta Elzbeita, Marija, and Ona:
Szedvilas had no use for property owning. He told them cruel stories of people who had been done to death in this 'buying a home' swindle. They would be almost sure to get into a tight place and lose all their money; and there was no end of expense that one could never foresee; and the house might be good-for-nothing from top to bottom—how was a poor man to know? Then, too, they would swindle you with the contract—and how was a poor man to understand anything about a contract? It was all nothing but robbery, and there was no safety but in keeping out of it.
Szedvilas's words of warning serve as foreshadowing, as the next events in the novel align with his predictions of swindling and ruin. However, Jurgis and his family, driven by optimism, fail to heed these cautionary tales. This amplifies the bitterness of their eventual downfall.
Sinclair aims to convey the message that the poor—especially new Americans like Jurgis's family—are often taken advantage of in property transactions. By characterizing the act of "buying a home" as a "swindle" and a robbery, Szedvilas emphasizes the risks and lack of safety involved. He knows more about their situation than Jurgis, Marija, Ona, and Elzbieta do, but they are so hopeful of improving things and so inexperienced that they take on the contract for the house regardless.
In this conversation with Grandmother Majauszkiene, the author foreshadows the upcoming losses that Jurgis and his family will experience. The older woman reveals the disastrous history of the house they have bought, implying they will be the next victims of its exploitative terms:
Cheap as the houses were, they were sold with the idea that the people who bought them would not be able to pay for them. When they failed—if it were only by a single month—they would lose the house and all that they had paid on it, and then the company would sell it over again.
This foreshadowing is not subtle, as Grandmother Majauszkiene explicitly explains to the reader and to Jurgis what will happen if the family are unable to make payments. The impending doom of the Lithuanian family is clearly outlined, setting the stage for their inevitable downfall. It turns out that they are one of several families to have "bought" the house they live in, and that Grandmother Majauskeine was only able to keep hers because of a run of very good luck.
This conversation leaves no doubt for the reader that Jurgis and his family are doomed from the start of the novel. They think they have found an opportunity to beat the system of paying rent. However, buying this house has actually made them victims of a system designed to perpetuate their poverty.
