From the very beginning of The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, we meet the novel’s main characters, Ona Lukoszaite and Jurgis Rudkus. To introduce us to the characters, the author shows us the contrast between them. Describing Ona, he emphasizes how small she is, saying, “she was so young – not quite sixteen – and small for her age, a mere child.”(chapter 1). To describe Jurgis author uses illustration rather than the actual description, “Jurgis could take up to a two-hundred-and-fifty-pound quarter of beef and carry it into a car without a stagger, or even a thought.” (chapter 1). Yes, we learn that he has “broad shoulders and giant hands” (chapter 1), but this kind of description does not provide enough image of Jurgis and of what he is capable.
Based on the description given to us as readers on the very first pages of the novel, Henry Cavill will fit perfectly for the Role of Jurgis since he is in the perfect physical shape to illustrate the strength and health of the character on the screen. For the role of Ona, I would like to see Mckenna Grace, who is the same age as the character, so that she can demonstrate the character’s youth and innocence on the screen.
I would stick to the close adaptation of the novel since the detailed description of the time and circumstances of the life of the characters is crucial for this novel. It was the author’s main purpose to bring readers’ attention to every single tiniest detail of both the living conditions and work environment of the people so the reader could “see” on the book pages what they will never see in their real life.