Jurgis is described as being "dismayed" because his fellow workers hate their work. For what reasons does Jurgis, after learning about his father's new job, begin to understand that the capitalist system he admires is imperfect?

Jurgis is also bothered by the fact that his father Dede Antanas cannot find work. One day, a man approaches Antanas and offers to give him a job if Antanas will give him part of his pay. Jurgis asks his friend Tamoszius Kuszleika about such arrangements, and Tamoszius tells him that some of the bosses make such deals in order to put more money into their pockets. When the bosses’ supervisors find out, they make the bosses give part of their pay in order to stay out of trouble, and the whole scam moves up the chain of command.