He believes while he is being fed and sheltered in prison (while not the best place to be), his family are the real prisoners. Jurgis is scared that being in prison will lead to the eviction and starvation of his family because his income is not supporting them. The rhetorical question at the end of the quote speaks to the cold and unsympathetic nature of capitalism: if the women and children cannot earn the means to survive, it is because they aren't productive enough as laborers. Sinclair puts capitalism as the primary evil. The struggle ("Survival of the fittest") and uncertainty of survival Jurgis and his family had to face everyday led to an exploitation of the corrupt capitalist society that was "The Jungle": a place that is portrayed to outsiders as the future of America under capitalistic rule, but in actuality is the epitome of a living nightmare for those who fought for survival and succumb to the cruelty of being part of the lower working class. .
While survival was the goal for many lower class people each day, Sinclair also exposed the unsanitary food products being shipped and processed during this time period. Throughout the novel, Jurgis learns things that exposed the cruelties of society. When he talks to Jokubus at the beginning of the novel, Jokubus explains in a whisper, " 'visitors did not see any more than the packers wanted them to.'" (p.74). Jokubus reveals to Jurgis that the packers do not want people to see what is actually happening behind closed doors. He was implying that the meat being packaged was not of good quality and probably expired. These actions by the meat packers revealed the corruption done by workers whose only motive was probably the will to live to the next day and keep an income. Even the government inspector passes over spoiled carcasses and rotten meat. Sinclair was trying to portray the idea that everyone was for himself or herself.