Upton Sinclair's The Jungle: Negative Effects Of Socialism
Upton Sinclair, a well-known muckraker of the early 1900s, wrote a novel called The Jungle, which highlighted the negative effects of capitalism and the corruption of society at the time. Sinclair wrote the novel with his primary goal being to bring awareness to society’s corruption and to push forward the ideas of socialism. To accomplish this, a connection is established between the reader and the protagonist, Jurgis Rudkus, who struggles under a capitalist society. The antagonist is then presented as not one single character, but as the system of capitalism that oppresses workers like Jurgis and his family, as well as the economic structure of society that puts wealth and power into the hands of only a few individuals.
The first incident of capitalistic oppression occurs when the family first arrives in America and buys a home. They are lead to believe that they would own a new, finished home, but are left with an unfinished home and over a thousand dollars in debt. Each time the family is mislead or they experience a
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He feels the pressure and the injustice of the system more than ever during his time in jail. Jurgis’ experience with the policemen of Packingtown supported his role as a protagonist. “On his way to his cell a burly policeman cursed him because he started down the wrong corridor [...] Jurgis did not even lift his eyes— he had lived two years and a half in Packingtown, and he knew what the police were. It was as much as a man’s very life was worth to anger them...” (Sinclair 130). This passage is a strong example of situational irony. The policemen are meant to protect the people of Packingtown, but it is clear that the people fear them. This is Jurgis’ first arrest. Despite his brief criminal record, he knows not to expect respect from the policemen. This passage exists mainly to support Sinclair’s viewpoint on the corruption of the
The American Criminal Justice System In A Lesson Before Dying
1449 Words | 6 PagesIn the novel A Lesson Before Dying, written by Ernest J. Gaines in 1993, Grant Higgins struggles with the idea of criminal justice in the south during the 1940s. During this time in Bayonne, LA African Americans did not receive the same justice as whites. In this quotation one can see the discrimination, “Twelve white men say a black man must die, and another white man sets the date and time without consulting one black person. Justice?” (Gaines 157).
Explain How The Jungle Shows Problems With Socialism In The 18-1900's
508 Words | 3 PagesHow The Jungle Shows Problems with Socialism in the 18-1900´s Upton Sinclair was a muckraker so it shouldn’t come to a shock when it is said that Upton wrote The Jungle as a way to identify different problems with society during his time period. Some of these problems that were included in The Jungle are political corruption, socialism is bad, life was hard for immigrants. With the turn of events that happened in The Jungle, it could easily persuade people to believe that there was lots of corruption during the early 1900´s time period. This essay is written to persuade you that the main problems is corruption. Many major events in the book revolved around corruption.
Jurgis 'Rebel In The Book The Jungle'
294 Words | 2 PagesThe real estate agent had lied to them about the house and other things that need to be paid for. this was the beginning of Jurgis becoming a rebel. Jurgis stayed working and following instruction as an conformist, then he was arrested
The Role Of Capitalism In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle
616 Words | 3 PagesCapitalism bred corruption in both police department, government and the voting process, and bred ethnic tensions that had a major effect on class relations during that period. The unions and socialist movements that came out during this time period showed to the world how problematic capitalism is, and blossomed in the 20th century as a savior of the working class. Upton Sinclair conveyed to the world the problems of capitalism in a progressive reform impulse way, and was extremely successful in showing to the world how problematic capitalism was. Capitalism bred horrible working conditions, and the
The Role Of Socialism In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle
709 Words | 3 PagesUpton Sinclair reflects the reality of the people during the late 1800’s in his novel The Jungle. In his novel, Sinclair wants to promote Socialism by showing how people lived in the meatpacking plant and under a corrupt government. The inhuman working conditions, combined with the lack of hygiene and a corrupt government, made trying to make a living a total hardships for the low class and the immigrants. The Jungle takes place in Packingtown, Chicago, where the employees work under horrible conditions.
The Importance Of Socialism In The Jungle By Upton Sinclair
110 Words | 1 PagesAs stated before, Upton Sinclair, was ahead of his time with his ability to dig for the truth and show Americans the truth regarding the Chicago meat packing industry. Another large passion of his was politics and the belief in socialism. He advocated against capitalism and ridiculed it within his novel by portraying it as the cause of much downfall for the main character. Sinclair did more for this country with the novel he wrote then many politicians are able to do in a lifetime. He showed through his power of writing the importance of every citizen within America to be woke and involved in every aspect of their lives.
Upton Sinclair's The Jungle And The Meatpacking Industry
601 Words | 3 PagesIn early 1900, specifically, 1906, The Jungle by Upton Sinclair was written. This novel told the story of a Lithuanian immigrant who worked in a filthy Chicago meatpacking plant. It exposed the meatpacking industry by stating their vile practices not only towards their meat but their workers as well. This was a result of the combination of many immigrants in the United States to pursue a better life, and the fact that many big industries were looking for ways to maximize their profit.
Working Conditions In The Jungle
634 Words | 3 PagesThe 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.
Poverty In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle
1445 Words | 6 PagesFamilies that are poor or have a low income are more likely to commit crimes for the purpose of their own needs to survive. “It is a fact that neighborhoods where the poor are concentrated are more prone to high crime rates, and poor residents are the most common victims of crimes” (1). The best explanation for this is that poorer people have the same needs as a regular middle-class citizen. The poor citizens need certain things to help him or her live a healthy life, such as healthcare, food stamps, and more employment options. One may argue that healthcare is too expensive and that food stamps have been taken away from many people.
The Economic Tension In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle
1899 Words | 8 PagesUpton Sinclair portrays the economic tension in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries through his novel “The Jungle”. He used the story of a Lithuanian immigrant, Jurgis Rudkus, to show the harsh situation that immigrants had to face in the United States, the unsanitary and unsafe working conditions in the meatpacking plants, as well as the tension between the capitalism and socialism in the United States during the early 1900s. In the late 19th century and early 20th centuries, there were massive immigrants move into the United States, and most of them were from Europe. The protagonist, Jurgis Rudkus, like many other immigrants, have the “America Dream” which they believe America is heaven to them, where they can
The Food Process In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle
1261 Words | 6 PagesThroughout the book, Jurgis had to constantly switch jobs because of accidents that laid him off work. No jobs was available to Jurgis except the fertilizer mill. The job at the fertilizer is the worse of it can be, Jurgis describes “...the phosphates soaked in through every pore of jurgis’s skin and in five minutes he had a headache, and in fifteen was almost dazed. the blood was pounding in his brain like an engine’s throbbing ……”(108). The fertilizer mill Jurgis is working at is extremely unsafe.
Socialism In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle
778 Words | 4 PagesIn Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, Jurgis and his family attempt to survive in a malicious society. In this jungle of a town, rotten meat is being packaged in order to save money. Throughout the novel, the immigrants are faced with greedy capitalists who take advantage of the family’s ignorance and naivety in order to make money. The symbols of corruption, a jungle-like setting, and the tension between family and a work-based lifestyle transparently contribute to the unifying theme of anti-capitalism. In other words, this book is not art; this book is propaganda.
Meatpacking Workers In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle
1060 Words | 5 PagesThus, Sinclair’s purpose of writing The Jungle failed to bring readers to advocate for the rights of workers trapped in the low wages, unsafe working conditions, and long hours of meatpacking factories, but rather, succeeded in opening the country’s eyes to the meatpacking practices that went on behind closed doors and the establishment administrations to protect the public from these unscrupulous
Summary Of Floyd Knowles 'The Grapes Of Wrath'
186 Words | 1 PagesIn this chapter, you are introduced to Floyd Knowles, a man the Joads meet while setting up tents for shelter, a Hooverville, as they are on the move along with many other families. Knowles warns them of how the police are treating certain groups with harassment. Casy decides to leave the Joads’ group because he insists that he is a burden to them, but decides to stay an extra day. Later, two men, one is a deputy, show up in a car to the tent settlement to offer fruit-picking jobs, but Knowles refuses which provokes the men. They try to falsely accuse him of breaking into a car lot so they can arrest him.
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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