Summary Of The Jungle By Upton Sinclair
During the late 19th century, Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle where he romanticized the notion of American culture. This exaggeration enticed immigrants to travel to America in an effort to start a new life as exemplified by Jurgis Rudkus and his family. Immigrants traveled due to their high hopes and expectations for finding more opportunities and climbing up the socioeconomic ladder. They allowed unrestrained capitalism to take advantage of them which ultimately led to inhumane living and working conditions. With its abuse of the immigrant workers, the system of capitalism was a major downfall in society. One can argue, however, that in addition to the corruption of the system, the workers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries put themselves in the situation of endless strife. This was due to their naivety with regards to misconceptions of the American Dream and system, unfamiliarity with the English language, nonexistent awareness of classism, political motives, and greed. Through the illustration of the hardships new immigrant workers faced, Sinclair used the life of Jurgis Rudkus to advance his argument for the movement towards socialism in the Gilded Age. Originating from a rural area in Lithuania, Jurgis tried to seize any opportunity he could in order to better life for himself and his posterity. Before conducting any form …show more content…
Szedvilas, Delicatessen: the delicatessen owned by the man Jonas said had made it in America. It was at his shop that Jurgis realized that not everything was as easily accessible as he had initially thought. He was unaware how expensive items were in America in comparison to back home in Lithuania. “What had made the discovery all the more painful was that they were spending, at American prices, money which they had earned at home rates of wages—and so were really being cheated by the world! The last two days they had all but starved themselves… (Sinclair,
Chapter Summary Of Packingtown
1385 Words | 6 PagesThis move was inspired by Jonas who knew someone who made his fortune after moving to America. However, when Jonas arrives to Chicago, he finds out these claims were untrue, and that he was struggling financially. Using the rest of their savings, Jurgis and Ona’s family move into a rundown boardinghouse in a very impoverished part of Chicago, known as Packingtown, which is where most of the meatpackers worked. After moving in, Jurgis looks for work at Brown’s, a
Impact Of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle On The Meat Factories During The Progressive Age
1317 Words | 6 PagesHe wanted others to see poor conditions these workers had to indur to gain a very little amount of money. “ "I aimed at the public's heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach," he spoke. What Upton Sinclair described better than the working conditions or obstacles that millions of immigrants faced to produce money was, the meat that was being shipped out from Chicago to the people who were sitting and reading the book. Sinclair did not begin to write about socialism out of the blue though. He struggled to publish his books and thought about writing about socialism.
Summary Of The Jungle By Upton Sinclair
558 Words | 3 PagesWhile challengers to Upton Sinclair’s radical methods for reform label him a socialist foe of American values, Sinclair’s efforts where truly aimed towards publicizing the plight of the average citizen in America. Sinclair helped Californians and citizens throughout the nation realized that their voice and their vote were a powerful political tool. Sinclair’s so called radical policies established a set of Democratic values within California that is still present today. California, The Golden State, was known as the land of milk and honey. It was the home of the gold rush, and industries such as oil, agricultural, and Hollywood flourished.
How Does The Jungle And Alger Convey Alternative Realities Of The American Dream
1745 Words | 7 PagesThis greatly affected many of his novels, as well as The Jungle. A said before, Sinclair's background as an active socialist and writer gave him insight in the mistreatment of the unprivileged. Granted that, he has witnessed these disgusting and horrific happenings in his own life and attempts to expose them through his fictional writing. Sinclair has the background and connection to people life Jurgis and Ona. Contrary, Horatio Alger proudly displays his believe in the American dream in Ragged Dick through Dick’s transformation from a bootblack into a businessman who “sits at a desk”..
Summary Of The Jungle By Upton Sinclair
1741 Words | 7 Pages“To Jurgis the packers had been equivalent to fate; Ostrinski showed him that they were the Beef Trust. They were a gigantic combination of capital, which had crushed all opposition, and overthrown the laws of the land, and was preying upon the people.” This quote describes the effect that the adoption of socialism had on Jurgis. He previously considers the capitalists “equivalent to fate,” believing them to be all-powerful, inhuman forces that have total control over the lives of workers. However, Ostrinski convinces him that the capitalists are merely corrupt human beings who immorally oppress those they see as being less important than themselves.
A Constant Theme Of Destruction In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle
1248 Words | 5 PagesIn the book The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, the main characters are Jurgis, Elzbieta, Marija, little Stanislovas, Ona, old Antanas and baby Antanas. Throughout the book, there is a constant theme of destruction due to the family moving to America from Lithuania. This shaped their fate, actions, and characteristics. The family was trapped in the American Jungle having no control in what happened to them and demolished their lives; history repeating itself. Historical events prove the suffering America brings.
Progressive Era Dbq
786 Words | 4 PagesDuring the late 1800s and early 1900s, Progressive reformers worked to improve the social, political, and economic problems in American society. Throughout this time, muckrakers helped reformers by revealing injustices to Americans through journalism, books, campaigns, photographs, and political cartoons. Poor working conditions, low quality of consumer products, and inferior democracy were present in American life during the Progressive Era; reforms such as state actions, the Meat Inspection Act, and Direct Primary helped to eliminate these corruptions. An issue society faced during the Progressive Era was poor working conditions. In Upton Sinclair’s book, The Jungle, he writes that if a person found anyone who uses knives in this factory,
Jurgis Rudkus In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle
710 Words | 3 PagesIn the novel, “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair, Jurgis Rudkus plays an important role. Jurgis goes on a journey with his wife to a new country looking for a job and ends up losing more than he ever thought he could lose. The character, Jurgis Rudkus, is a strong willed man who faces many difficult situations on his journey to find a job and to reunite with his in laws.
The Flint Water Crisis
1766 Words | 8 PagesIt is about the harsh environment of the meat packing industry and the immigrants who worked in it. This book follows the story of Jurgis Rudkus. He had moved to the United States from Lithuania in search of a better life, but they were soon taken advantage of because they have a lack of education and money. Jurgis and his family moved into an area in Chicago called Packingtown. It was the center of Chicago’s meat packing industry.
The Importance Of Socialism In Upton Sinclair
2412 Words | 10 PagesLiterature is where one could go to explore the highest and lowest points of human society, find the absolute truth, and support it using personal experiences and knowledge. Such is the case with writer Upton Sinclair, who grew up experiencing both sides of wealth and class divisions. By reflecting on his experiences with class division, Upton Sinclair’s exposé not only sheds light on the fight for workers rights but also incorporates a Socialist philosophy. Upton Sinclair was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on September 20, 1878. From birth Sinclair was exposed to dichotomies that would have an effect on his young mind and his thinking in later life (“Upton”).
The Progressive Era Dbq Analysis
350 Words | 2 PagesJournalists and authors, such as Upton Sinclair from document 2, can be credited with exposing the corruption during the gilded age. Sinclair was know as a muckraker and his purpose in writing books such as The Jungle was bring light to what was happening in these factories. His work played a key role in the progressive era by holding these business men accountable. The Progressive Party also played a key role in the progressive era. Based on their platform, it is shown that their purpose is to benefit the working class by laws and
The Economic Tension In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle
1899 Words | 8 PagesThere are many other traps around America that deceive the immigrants because their weakness of not knowing English and the desire of getting a great life in America which lead them unpreparedly get fooled by the businessmen. These traps prevented the immigrants from leaving America, because of the significant amount of debt that they have to pay each month, which forced them to keep working and become the slave of this capitalistic society in America. Unfortunately, even they work very hard, in most of the time they will not get anything in return, such that Jurgis’s family cannot even keep the house at the of the book and many of family members’ health destroyed by the harsh working conditions in the
The Jungle By Upton Sinclair Impact On Immigration
175 Words | 1 PagesThe Jungle by Upton Sinclair In the Jungle, it is shown that there were many factors that made the lives of immigrants miserable. In the early 1800’s the American life was wanted by many new immigrants. In The Jungle, the life of Lithuanian immigrants was made miserable by alcoholism, poverty, and people in higher authority. Upton Sinclair’s book, The Jungle, describes how alcoholism, poverty, and people in positions of authority had a negative impact on the lives of immigrants.
Similarities Between Karl Marx And Social Darwinism
153 Words | 1 PagesThis showed how Jurgis was able to now fully grasp the idea of machinery and how people are struggling to survive at the expense of one another. Furthermore, Sinclair wanted to reveal how Social Darwinism, a theory of natural selection that applies to social, political and economic issues. This played a significant role in how the workers competed with one another in order to survive within the American society that they had lived in. These thoughts that Jurgis had made him different from the immigrants who worked in the factories as they do not know the corruption that forces them to work in harsh conditions. More so, that they are connected to the corruption led by the politicians who enforce laws that allow for this kind of treatment towards
The Jungle Critical Analysis
1202 Words | 5 PagesDuring the time period of the 1900’s, the meat packaging industry in Chicago, as Sinclair mentions in his novel, The Jungle, was a very unsanitary and extremely dangerous workplace that lacked much more than just a few safety precautions. Simple things, such as enforcing hand washing or workers’ rights were unheard of in the working environment. It is clear that Upton Sinclair was trying to expose the worker’s horrendous labor conditions in order to improve their situation, along with the introduction of socialism. Upton Sinclair, in his novel, talks about how a Lithuanian immigrant by the name of Jurgis Rudkus, and his family, travel to Chicago trying to make ends meet. However, they soon realize Chicago was not the place for that.
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