Upton Sinclair actually wrote The Jungle to promote socialism, being a lifelong socialist himself, but what really caught the public's attention was this are the few pages of descriptions about the horrors of the meatpacking industry. He could not have been very happy that the book became famous for a different reason, but it nevertheless gained significant fame and conveyed to the general public that the message of socialism is better than communism. There are a lot of different characters in The Jungle, and they all have some importance in their roles. These characters vary greatly in many aspects, including: occupations, social status, and economic status. The main character of the novel is Jurgis Rudkus, a Lithuanian immigrant. His wife is Ona Lukoszaite, also from Lithuania. Their son is named Antanas, but he dies shortly after, which is truly a turning point for Jurgis. Phil Jack Duane is an experienced and educated criminal who is also "politically connected." Connor is a foreman in Packingtown, politically connected through Scully, and a man who causes Jurgis a lot of trouble. Mike Scully is a powerful political leader in Packingtown. There are also Ona's family members, each of whom plays a smaller role in the story. The story begins with Jurgis and Ona's wedding celebration in America, but soon travels back to the time before they left Lithuania. Jurgis met Ona at a horse fair and fell in love with her. Unfortunately, they were too poor to marry, since Ona's father had just died..