Character Analysis
Vilimas is Teta Elzbieta's second oldest son; Nikolajus is third in line. Like Stanislovas, they go to public school until the family can't afford to live without their potential wages anymore. After Jonas abandons the family and Antanas dies, Vilimas and Nikolajus have to get jobs. At this point, Vilimas is eleven and Nikolajus is ten. They start going downtown to sell newspapers. Because downtown Chicago is so far away from Packingtown, Vilimas and his younger brother Nikolajus get into the habit of staying in the city at night, especially if it is cold. They also start to pick up bad habits. They become really familiar with bars and Chicago's criminal underworld, and they use lots of slang that Jurgis does not like. They basically become unmanageable thanks to neglect by their family (which is too poor and busy to deal with all of these kids).