The Jungle, written by Upton Sinclair, is a novel that was published in 1906. He addresses the circumstances of workers and the selfishness of employers in the progressive era. "Sinclair revealed the tragedies of the meatpacking industry in his novel, which resulted in new rules on worker safety and meat sanitation." He uncovered not only contaminated meat but also the unfair behavior of incoming immigrants. The Jungle is a novel that is famous for its depiction of the inhumane conditions in the meatpacking industry. Sinclair’s use of graphic descriptions of the working and living conditions of the workers in the industry, particularly the immigrants, was a significant factor in the book’s popularity. For example, Sinclair wrote, “They worked …show more content…
There was no free health care and many people suffered because they could not afford treatment. Elderly people have been particularly unfairly treated as they are more frail and vulnerable, and employers have not been willing to help them as they could easily be replaced by younger people. Kristoforas was born crippled and considered a burden by his own family. They called it “a nuisance, and a source of endless trouble in the family.” (Sinclair 104) If a person could not work and could not contribute to the rent or food, he was considered a burden. When Jurgis injured his ankle, he received no severance pay and was unemployed for three months. No sympathy or empathy from the manager. Jurgis is unable to support his family and pay the …show more content…
The book was instrumental in the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act in 1906. These laws were passed in response to the book’s depiction of the unsanitary conditions in the meatpacking industry. The laws were designed to improve the safety and quality of food products in the United States. The Jungle also had an impact on the political beliefs of many Americans. Sinclair’s message of socialism as a solution to the social and economic problems in America resonated with many people. The book inspired many to join the Socialist Party, which gained popularity during the Progressive Era. The Socialist Party ran candidates in local, state, and national elections, and their influence was felt in many areas of American
Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" is a novel that depicts the lives of Lithuanian immigrants working in the meatpacking industry in Chicago at the turn of the 20th century. The jungle refers to the harsh and unforgiving environment of the meatpacking district, where workers are subjected to dangerous working conditions, unsanitary living quarters, and exploitation by powerful meatpacking companies. The book opens with Jurgis Rudkus, a strong and proud Lithuanian immigrant, arriving in Chicago with his family. They quickly find work in the meatpacking district, but soon discover that the reality of their new life is far harsher than they had imagined.
In The Jungle , Upton Sinclair shows The corruption of the Industrial Age through his depiction of working conditions, wages, and living conditions. The working conditions were considered extremely bad in the industrial age. One was that no one could take a day off and if you didn’t go to work you job might not be there the next day. Another example of terrible working conditions was the danger that jurgis was in the Jungle.
The Jungle is a widely known book created by Upton Sinclair. Its mainly about a man by the name of Jurgis Rudkus and his family immigrating from Lithuania to Chicago for a better life in the Americas. The family finds a employment in a meat-packing factory. The family quickly realizes their dream becomes into a nightmare and it is not what they hoped for.
The novel did a tremendous job at exposing the horrendous work and unsanitary conditions in the meat packing industry publicly that the Pure Food and Drug act of 1906 was passed. The Jungle told how bribed inspectors allowed diseased cows to be made into beef, workers falling into the tanks and being mixed in with the animal parts. Upton Sinclair’s novel led to a direct reform of all packaging industries and gave federal officials the right to inspect all the meat being shipped in and shipped out to ensure the animals were healthy. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was a direct effect of The Jungle. Upton Sinclair not only took interest in bringing the wrongdoings of the meat industry to the public, but he also stood up for immigrants who were being treated with disrespect.
Upton Sinclair, a successful muckraker in the early 1900s, is the author to the gut-wrenching novel, The Jungle. In this story, Sinclair incorporates real facts he learned from going, undercover, into a meat-packing factory. Upton believed that the working conditions and the lifestyle the immigrants were forced to live in, during this time, were heinous; because of this he strives to create a novel that will gain the attention of the government and large factories in order to create better working conditions and quality of life. To accomplish this feat Sinclair subtly compares the meat-packing factory to a jungle; he speaks of physical and mental aspects such as temperature and a hierarchy, includes ages and lifespans, and also integrates animal imagery. Fusing all of these different factors gives The Jungle the exact jungle-like atmosphere Sinclair was hoping to obtain.
Sinclair continued the tradition and wrote King Coal and The Coal War about Colorado coal fields. Sinclair’s literature continues to influence us today. The Jungle is a muckraking novel exposing the challenging hardships immigrants in industrialized cities like the meat packing district faced in the early 20th century. Sinclair aims to show the reader the harsh injustices immigrants faced upon emigration into the United States.
Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle was a novel popularized and published during the Progressive Era with the purpose of exposing the horrific working conditions of the Chicago meat industry. Sinclair exposed the unsanitary practices of the meat industry and the dehumanization of the workers. The harsh realities written in Sinclair’s novel reached the hearts of many Americans furthering the push of many progressive activist’s demands. In the end this created an everlasting lawful change with the help of President Theodore Roosevelt.
“The Jungle” written by Upton Sinclair shares with readers the journey of the life of an immigrant Jurgis Rudkos who works in the meat packing industry. This historic novel greatly affected the food industry in America, Sinclair exposed the true evils of the food industry. Sinclair showed us how the meat packing industries worked, in humane conditions employees worked in, and the horrific products being produced from the plants. In the early 1900’s the meat packing factories were places where immigrants came to work so they could have jobs and provide for their families. They were set to one job and got paid low wages for what they did.
His first novel, Springtime and Harvest, was inspired by Sinclair’s troubled marriage, and he self-published this novel after receiving many rejections. Since then, he wrote novels based on the topics of Wall Street, Civil War, and autobiographies, but he did not become well-known until the publishing of The Jungle. The Jungle uncovers the mistreatment of the workers in the meatpacking industry, and the book vividly describes the cruelty to animals and unsanitary conditions, which shocked many people and changed the way they shopped for food. Even though Sinclair had many attempts in making his novels known, The Jungle ultimately made him famous for his brutal observations of the meatpacking industry, leading to changes in the
Upton Sinclair developed his thoughts on the plight of immigrants into Chicago extremely well throughout his novel, The Jungle. Through the portrayal of the Lithuanian family's struggles and hardships, Sinclairs tells the truths of the corruption and immigrant experience in Chicago in the early 1900s. The gruesome details of the meat packaging industry show how truly unjust and disturbing the working conditions were during these times. Upton goes on to depict the unfair living conditions of the Lithuanian immigrants as well as the immigrants before and after their time in Packington. After Sinclair released the serial form of his novel in a Socialist newspaper in 1905, the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 was soon to follow.
“The Jungle” is a novel written by Upton Sinclair on a Lithuanian family that comes to America to achieve the American Dream. The family goes through many trials as poor immigrants, struggling to get wealth, happiness, and opportunities to succeed in America. Sinclair talks about socialism and its benefits. He also exposes the corruption of capitalism and the political system in America. An initial reading of “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair might appear to be literary fiction, further analysis suggest that it is primarily a work of propaganda.
The Jungle became a massive best seller, and was translated into 17 languages within months of its release. Among its readers was President Theodore Roosevelt, who—despite his aversion to Sinclair’s politics—invited Sinclair to the White House and ordered an inspection of the meatpacking industry. As a result, the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act were both passed in 1906. From Politics to
The Bosses squeezed and drained the life of those men. In the book The Jungle written by Upton Sinclair he described the life of a struggling family try to work and stay alive in the filth. The working conditions in the factories were unsafe, unsanitary and people made little. The purpose of this book was for people to become socialist other than capitalist.
The novel is not a simple thing to read but rather it is a drama about harmless immigrants who seek to achieve the American dream. The Jungle is anything but commercial fiction due to its complexity and his plot is not simple to understand as it may seem. Sinclair’s plot is too complex that it includes symbols consisting of hidden meanings because american society at the time was so obsessed with money and industrialization was popular. Of these symbols is the can of rotten meat. On the outside of this can it may be shiny but on the inside it is dirty and symbolizes the corruption of capitalism.
During 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.