# Antanas Rudkus — The Jungle character guide

> Antanas Rudkus in The Jungle by Upton Sinclair.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Dede Antanas, old Antanas, Old Antanas

**First appearance:** 0002-i

## Snapshot

Jurgis's aged father, who follows his son to Chicago and takes any yard work he can get, though his body is long past it.

## Who they are

Dede Antanas left a small cleared farm in the Imperial Forest to make the journey with Jurgis, and in Packingtown he is the household's most vulnerable member — old, slow, and desperate to contribute. He scrapes for work in the yards, and his decline is one of the first signs that the city's promises do not extend to men like him. His presence forces Jurgis to see that strength and will are not the only things the yards consume.

## In the story

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jungle_se/chapters/ii)

Jurgis's father; a peasant who lived in the Imperial Forest and decided to go with his son to America.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jungle_se/chapters/v)

Desperate for work, he bribes a boss for a job in the pickle-room, where he is assigned to clean out filthy traps, becoming embittered.

### [Chapter VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jungle_se/chapters/vii)

Dies from tuberculosis and hemorrhages after a long illness; the family struggles to afford a proper funeral.

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jungle_se/chapters/ix)

Old Antanas is mentioned as having died from working in the pickle-rooms.

### [Chapter X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jungle_se/chapters/x)

Mentioned as the newborn son of Jurgis and Ona; Jurgis is proud of him but has little time to see him.

### [Chapter XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jungle_se/chapters/xiv)

Mentioned as having died from a cough similar to Ona's.

### [Chapter XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jungle_se/chapters/xviii)

Mentioned in Jurgis's thoughts as having died from the struggle to earn money for the house.

### [Chapter XXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jungle_se/chapters/xxi)

Now over a year and a half old, he is a lively, talkative child who brings Jurgis his only joy; loves looking at comic pictures in the Sunday paper and learning animal names.

### [XXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jungle_se/chapters/xxii)

Jurgis thinks of little Antanas, whom he will never see again.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jungle_se/characters/antanas_rudkus_senior
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jungle_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jungle_se/characters