Upton Sinclair's Accomplishments Essay
Though best known for his muckraking efforts that helped to end the Gilded Age, Upton Sinclair wrote nearly a hundred books in his lifetime. From a young age his mother encouraged in him a love of reading; when he could, Sinclair could be found reading for up to fourteen hours a day. However, his childhood was marked by poverty and his father's raging alcoholism. His mother took a strong sense of morality against his father’s drinking and of all types of sinning. These strict morals implanted in him made the socialist party very appealing. Sinclair was willing to make small sacrifices for the greater good, especially since he had seen how damaging poverty can be. This poverty, alcoholism, and eventually socialism led to Sinclair’s strong sense …show more content…
The public now trusted Sinclair, but he was able to use his newfound power as a muckraker to reveal corruptions in society and was able to help the common man's life to be a little easier. Through passage of bills such as the Pure Food and Drug Act, much of the New Deal legislations, and reform in many factories, Sinclair was effectively able to create a better society than the one he was born into. Sinclair’s childhood in poverty allowed him to empathize with regular workers, gave him motivation to help end poverty through politics, and even to continue his efforts after he gained some wealth and power. His sense of justice for the common worker and all those suffering due to poverty overarched many of his works and is seen even in many of his personal letters. After the publication of The Jungle, changes has been made to help protect citizens from diseased meat, but Sinclair still thought that more could be done to make the industry titans more reliable. He corresponded President Roosevelt with his concerns, “You must understand that the thing which I have called the ‘condemned meat industry’, is a matter of hundreds of thousands of dollars a month” (Department of Agriculture). Writing The Jungle was not just a way for Sinclair to gain popularity, he genuinely cared for his fellow Americans, and wrote to the president to fight and win justice for
Summary Of Chapter 13, By Upton Sinclair
1741 Words | 7 PagesIn Zinn’s chapter 13, The Socialist challenge, The working class didn’t like the conditions that they were having to work in. The Muckrakers, journalists who wrote poor things, wrote newspaper articles, books and the pieces of writing about the conditions the workers had to work in. Some of the main instigators and authors behind the writings consisted of Upton Sinclair, Ida Tarbell, Lincoln Steffens, J.P. Morgan, Eugene Debs, Theodore Roosevelt and Jack London. Each of these individuals offered something different to the fight. Upton Sinclair published The Jungle, which was a novel that shocked the nation discussing the harsh conditions in the Chicago meatpacking plants.
Upton Sinclair's Reforms In The 1900s
301 Words | 2 PagesSome significant reforms in the 1900s were the homes families and strangers lived in going from slums to nicer living conditions. For example living in an apartment that is meant for 1 maybe 2 adults has 10 to 15 adults living in it with a bathroom down the hall away from the rooms for people in other apartments to use as well, or when someone gets a sickness in the apartment and everyone in the whole building gets it because everything is contaminated from the person being sick. It went from that to a little bit bigger homes with lesser people and cleaner rooms and bathrooms. Upton Sinclairs was an activist because he took part in what he thought was right when it came to meet packaging and how it needs to be reformed and cleaned. And if
Upton Sinclair's Reasons, Questions And Answers
247 Words | 1 PagesWhat Sinclair meant was that he tried to get the people upset about the working conditions but instead, they worried about the contaminated food and then went to the government about it. The heart was supposed to be the immigrants, harsh conditions as well as the contaminated food but then he hit the stomach which was that unsettle “food”. He didn’t achieve his purpose which upset the stomach. That when they went to the authorities, they called for a reformation of the inspection policy. The people were too worried about what about they put into their body, instead of the workers that had the worse end.
Strengths Of The Jungle
1054 Words | 5 PagesIn the novel, The Jungle, author Upton Sinclair, lays out the harsh conditions within the immigrant working class, by examining the apparent poverty that many faced, as well as their continuous lack of hope for a better life. When it comes to writing a book of this scale of disturbance but relevance during this time, historian, James R. Barrett, examines the novel by elaborting on particular strengths that reinforced this accurate depiction of these times, as well as several weaknesses that he uncovered. First and foremost, it is important to note the amount of time and effort that Sinclair went into investigating the toll that the immigrant working class took within the packing industry. Sinclair diligently disgused himself as a worker,
The Germ Of Hope In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle
597 Words | 3 Pageshe muckraking novel, The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair does not only expose the secrets of the meat industry in Chicago in the early twentieth century, but tells of the hardships a family of Lithuanian immigrants had to go through when trying to create a better life in the United States. Even when the cold winter blew in and their lives in America were not off to the greatest start, “...the germ of hope was not to be kept from sprouting in their hearts” (Sinclair 69). Jurgis and his family go through many ups and downs as the novel continues, but their determination never diminishes as each person tries their hardest to find a good job and keep a high spirit. This “germ of hope” was found in the hearts and souls of thousands of immigrants in the United States at this time since
Upton Sinclair's Accomplishments
1548 Words | 7 PagesMost important, is that Sinclair’s political opinions that would result in his first literary success. The hatred he developed for the upper class during his youth led Sinclair to socialism in the year 1903, and in 1904 he was sent to Chicago by the socialist newspaper Appeal to Reason in order to write an expose on how workers in the meatpacking industry were mistreated. After conducting undercover research on this subject matter over the course of several weeks, Sinclair dedicated his time and energy into writing the manuscript that would eventually become The Jungle. Although being rejected by publishers initially, the novel was finally released in 1906 by Doubleday to critical acclaim and
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
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.
Examples Of Struggles In The Jungle
2149 Words | 9 PagesA Time for Struggle and Change Upton Sinclair’s book, The Jungle, depicts the struggles of Lithuanian immigrants as they worked and lived in Chicago’s Packingtown at the beginning of the Twentieth Century. The United States experienced an enormous social and political transformation; furthermore, the economy, factories, and transportation industry grew faster than anyone had ever seen. Immigrants and migrants were attracted to city life for its promise of employment and their chance at the American Dream. The poor working class had little to no rights, and they grappled with unfair business practices, unsafe working conditions, racism, Social Darwinism, class segregation, xenophobia, political corruption, strikes, starvation, poor housing,
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
How Upton Sinclair Changed American
1476 Words | 6 PagesInnocent Belief Famously known for his novel, The Jungle, Upton Sinclair changed American life in the early 1900s without a doubt through his literature. However, many don’t realize that Sinclair reformed American life in more than one instance, through more than one book. At times, he even reached beyond his realm of literature to discuss other needed adjustments. Besides the serendipitous changes he created for the meat packaging industry, Sinclair’s other actions throughout his life are, subjectively, important to American history, according to Anthony Arthur. In his biography, Radical Innocent: Upton Sinclair, Arthur reveals his bias towards Sinclair, while supplying a relevant nature to his writing across an in-depth review of Sinclair’s
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
The Tenement Vs The Jungle Essay
829 Words | 4 PagesThough both authors wrote based on their own personal experiences. Upton Sinclair went undercover as a worker in these factories and wrote of what he saw, while Jacob Riis went to tenements, wrote or took pictures of what he saw. These two authors were trying to create change. They knew that the workers and the poor living in these tenements couldn’t go anything. So who else to help besides the public?
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.
More about Upton Sinclair's Accomplishments Essay
Summary Of Chapter 13, By Upton Sinclair
1741 Words | 7 PagesUpton Sinclair's Reforms In The 1900s
301 Words | 2 PagesUpton Sinclair's Reasons, Questions And Answers
247 Words | 1 PagesStrengths Of The Jungle
1054 Words | 5 PagesThe Germ Of Hope In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle
597 Words | 3 PagesUpton Sinclair's Accomplishments
1548 Words | 7 PagesThe Importance Of Socialism In Upton Sinclair
2412 Words | 10 PagesThe Progressive Era Dbq Analysis
350 Words | 2 PagesWorking Conditions In The Jungle
634 Words | 3 PagesExamples Of Struggles In The Jungle
2149 Words | 9 PagesThe Economic Tension In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle
1899 Words | 8 PagesHow Upton Sinclair Changed American
1476 Words | 6 PagesMeatpacking Workers In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle
1060 Words | 5 PagesThe Tenement Vs The Jungle Essay
829 Words | 4 PagesThe Jungle Critical Analysis
1202 Words | 5 Pages