Consequences Of Socialism In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle

After leaving jail, Jurgis had the opportunity to become incorporated into a life of thievery, with a man he met the first time he was in jail, Jack Duane, and together the two partners robbed people of money and jewelry, and soon it bothered Jurgis not to see a man harmed after he was mugged by the pair. "A month ago Jurgis had all but perished of

(Jurgis looking for a job) "He stood in the doorway, looking mournfully on, seeing his friends and companions at work, and feeling like and outcast. Then he went out and took his place with the mob of the unemployed… But there was no work for him…He wandered all day through the buildings; in a week or two, when he had been all over the yards, and into every room to which he has access, and learned that there was not a job anywhere… there was nothing more for him to do but go with the crowd in the morning and keep in the front row and look eager." (p. 148-149)

Upton Sinclair carefully weaves vivid accounts of political and legal corruption into his portrayal of the city of Chicago at the turn of the 20th Century. As Jurgis’s story unfolds, he becomes both the victim and perpetrator of nefarious actions, which undermine the overarching legal and political system. As will be demonstrated, Sinclair’s portrayal of corruption aims to convince his readers of the evident failings of unbridled laissez-faire capitalism and, by contrast, the viability of socialism as a potential alternative.

Another form of exploitation that doesn’t allow Jurgis and his family to achieve their American dream is the long hours of labor they must work in order to maintain the family alive. These unhealthy long hours of labor that they must work brings the family physical and mental pain. When Jurgis starts to work in the meat packing plant he is exited and happy to have a job, soon after he discovers that he is engaged in unfair labor activities as well as unsafe food handling. In chapter 11 Jurgis suffers from a terrible accident at work. The company doctor tells him that he'll be laid up for months with a severe ankle and foot injury. The accident poses a terrible problem for the family. Without Jurgis' wages, they might starve. “It was dreadful that an accident of this sort, that no man can help, should have meant such suffering. The bitterness of it was the

He is now the man who goes around registering new immigrants to vote, and pays them money for it. Jurgis finds that there is a comfortable living to be made doing this. However, he is still confronted with the problem of fleeting success. During this period, much racial unrest in present in the country.

In Upton Sinclair’s novel “The Jungle” the use of animalistic terms and connotations in the depictions of both the people and the politics created persuasive arguments for socialism and against capitalism.

“Order of society”, this is in reference to how there are a few people who have monopoly over the whole city, and that the working men are just pawns in the whole charade. And the crooks are the power pieces in an elaborate game that belongs to the kings. Jurgis starts off as a pawn or a working

Jurgis always struggled with money even when Ona was on the verge of dying. Jurgis finally convinced the women but Ona didn’t make it on time because it was too late already. Upton Sinclair shows you the struggle Jurgis went through with money and it wasn’t a fair life for him. When Jurgis lost both Ona and his son Antanas he was begging and a drunk man gave him a 100 dollar bill, that next day he enters a bar to receive change but the bartender tells him he has to buy a drink first, once he does the bartender only gives him 97 cents and refuses to give him his change. Jurgis then gets in a fist fight with him but then is sent to Jail. Once he was a prison he realized the life of crime was the best way to survive as an immigrant, then Jurgis finally loses his hope of getting that American dream he always wanted. Jurgis had a good reason to feel like this because he kept getting turned down by jobs and had nowhere to stay, he was homeless.

As of 2015, immigrants make up more than 43.3 percent of the United States population. By the early 1900s there were already more than 10 million immigrants living in America. Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle reveals the struggles and hardships of a family that immigrated to the United States from Lithuania during the 1900s. Although many immigrant families came to America in search of a better life, soon most found themselves barely surviving with no job, food, shelter, or money. As is the case of the family in The Jungle. The novel not only unveils the corruption of the political and economic system during the time, but also exposes the severe torment and misery that was faced by the working class. Upton Sinclair’s book, The Jungle, describes

She prematurely went into labor, which kills her and their child. Devastated by what he saw, Jurgis disappears on a drinking binge. Making no money, becoming an alcoholic, and his wife’s death threw him into a downward spiral where he thought nothing could make it worse. All of his problems were driven by the poor treatment of the immigrants. Nobody cared enough to help him and employers would keep the people who would settle for less pay, no matter what problems they had.

People in this story live in a very dis honest world, it's a rough life and it's almost impossible to live comfortably and make an honest living. Jurgis tried to be an honest working man but all the frauds and dishonest people around him made an influence. You see the dishonesty throughout the book cover to cover. Jurgis has several encounters with people who constantly try to cheat him out of his money or are dishonest about their intentions. You can see one encounter in the early pages of the book when jurgis and his family first arrive to america, they're looking for kettles and pots for there new house and the man that they bought them from cheated them out of a few pots. You can also see this late story when jurgis is trying to get his 100 dollars changed the man he asked him to change it. The man took the money from him and changed him 95 cents.

Capitalism can become corrupt. This is exactly what Upton Sinclair is trying to argue in his novel, The Jungle. Sinclair makes a strong case for Socialism, describing why capitalism is bound to fail. Instead of having the desired effect of making the world aware of Socialism, his tactics of muckraking and yellow journalism to expose the conditions in the meatpacking facilities took the world by storm. Sinclair’s vivid depictions of life in the Chicago stockyard changed the world in 1906, but it did not bring Socialism into the public eye as he had hoped; instead, it ushered in new regulations and standards in the food industry, but those regulations still are not enough to stop the corruption of meatpacking companies.

From 1865 to 1910, the Industrial Age was an interesting time of great economic growth and prosperity for the United States as a whole, however the American citizens who worked to push this positive chain of success paved the way and paid the cost for that very occurrence. In The Jungle, a family from Lithuania travels to the United States in order to gain a better living than what they had in their home country. During their time of adjustment to life within the United States, some members of the Rudkus and Lukoszaite family especially Jurgis Rudkus, experienced extreme hardship while attempting to develop their lives into a better state for the sake of their family’s wellbeing. Upton Sinclair opens a small window into the lives of hopeful and hardworking immigrants to reveal how America’s Industrialization Age hindered many from true freedom. This was due to a lack of care for employees and their wellbeing in the workplace, poor sanitary conditions that led to unhealthy living conditions for workers, and political corruption which was held over certain citizens in order to allow corruption to thrive, making workers remain powerless.

In jail, Jurgis becomes friends with Jack Duane—a “safe-breaker.” After returning to jail and reacquainting with Duane, Jack introduces Jurgis to Chicago’s criminal system. He learns about the illegal ways the men make profits and the secret partnerships between businesses that enable such crimes. Together, Jurgis and Duane gang up on a victim and steal his possessions, burning everything except for his money, which they kept. At first Jurgis feels guilty for his crime, nevertheless, he later becomes accustomed to the felonious way of life as his attacks with Jack continue and he grows power hungry. Jurgis loves his ability to live comfortably and spend recklessly on drinking without consequences. Even after Duane leaves town, Jurgis continues to associate with criminals and finds way to earn ample sums of dirty money (Sinclair). Jurgis’s new way of life is primarily involved with gaining power from others. By taking someone’s money—a resource essential to survival in America— the victim loses power because he is left unable to afford necessities and thus is forced to work. On the other hand, the culprit benefits from the other’s forced labor and procures dominance. Not only does the attack induce fear and a sense of authority, but the acquired wealth leads Jurgis to afford more luxuries and indulgences, especially drinking. As he secures more and more money, Jurgis climbs the ranks of the

The “honeymoon” phase of living in America has passed for Jurgis and his family. Now Jurgis goes through his phase where hardships will begin, but he and the family will attempt to keep hope. The first hardship begins after Ona and Jurgis get married. The newlyweds, expecting their guests would provide enough money to pay for the veselija, end up one hundred dollars in debt. Shortly after, a family member, Antanas, dies. Jurgis also learns that more money than expected, interests and taxes, must be paid on the house. However, Jurgis, despite being in debt and having family members die, keeps optimistic and is willing to work hard. However, one day, Jurgis bent his ankle in the wrong direction, making him have to stay home for two months, and