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How Does Sinclair Present The Abuse Of Workers In The Meat Packing Industry

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In this novel, Upton Sinclair had one main goal in mind, to display the abuse of immigrants who worked in the meat packing industry in the early 20th century. The immigrants who worked in this industry were often exploited because of their lack of English language skills and unfamiliarity with American laws and customs as a whole. “They use everything about the hog except the squeal” (Sinclair 38), Sinclair writes this to suggest the workers are treated like animals because every single part of their body is used, but their voice. The conditions were extremely dangerous and unsanitary, consequently demoralizing every worker. They had long hours, low pay, and ordinarily frequent injuries.
The environment the workers dealt with was hazardous. They were usually required to work 12-14 hours a day, six or seven days a week, while being exposed to dangerous machinery and toxic chemicals such as ammonia and chlorine without proper safety equipment or training. Not to mention they walked on slippery floors all day due to blood from animal carcasses hanging from the ceiling. The meatpacking industry was well known for its unsanitary conditions, forcing workers to work in close proximity to rotting meat and animal waste. Most workers had weak immune systems conversely from poor ventilation …show more content…

“This was in truth not living; it was scarcely even existing, and they felt it was too little for the price they paid. They were willing to work all the time; and when people did their best, ought they not to be able to keep alive?” (Sinclair 118), This quote shows no matter how much pain they endured it would never be too much to stop providing for their families. Another tough pill to swallow is if you were an immigrant in America in the early 20th century, finding a job was very difficult, but keeping one was even harder so this gave employers yet another reason to take advantage of

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