In what ways is the description of killing the hogs in chapter 3 an allegory for the lives of unskilled laborers in the stockyards, and, in the author's view, for America at this time in history?

The irony of the chapter is best summed up in Jurgis’s line: “But I’m glad I’m not a hog!” In fact, the process of killing and breaking down animals is a similar process to the ways in which Jurgis himself will be broken down by the conditions of the city. This is not just a metaphorical breaking down, either, as a physical process of cutting and wounding is a primary cause of demise in the packing plants.