Muckraking in Relation to Capitalism and Labor Reform: The Jungle The Jungle is a novel published in 1906, written by an American journalist named Upton Sinclair. Throughout the 1900’s, lower class families as well as immigrants were faced with the harsh working conditions of the rapidly growing American industry. Due to the savage working conditions and dangerously low wages, families encountered unstable living conditions throughout this period. Upton Sinclair exposes these treacherous conditions in his novel while also introducing the major health issue of the meat packaging industry in Packingtown, Chicago. Although this American novel is most commonly associated with the flaws in the American meat packaging industry, it is actually centered …show more content…
Upton Sinclair perfectly fits the description of a muckraker as he personally worked undercover in a meat packaging plant to expose working conditions and product cleanliness. Although Sinclair primarily aimed to report on the harsh labor conditions experienced by American employees, his novel The Jungle partly focuses on the negative effects the meat packing industry poses on American health, while his intention was to anger the population over the physical labor conditions that immigrants and the general working class faced. During this process, he discovered the severe corruption within the labor system and the flaws in social reform attempts. He discusses the plight of the immigrant throughout the entire novel, from describing their travel circumstances all the way to their work day requirements and painful family conditions consisting of low wages and physically draining labor leading to the separation of hundreds of families and unnecessary financial stress. He also relates the working class to the slaughterhouse animals that he witnessed during his undercover study at the meat packaging facility in Packingtown, Chicago. The use of symbolism throughout the novel allows Upton Sinclair to firmly describe immigrants and the general working class as being treated under the same circumstances that the animals nearing their death were. For example, the animals found in the slaughterhouses were overstocked into corrals and forced to physically drain themselves due to the amount of stress that was imposed on them. This is similar to the conditions the American working class is faced with because they are also overworked and expected to complete impossible tasks. Members of the working class were also treated unfairly and were forced into a system in which their opinion did not matter to the larger corporation owners which primarily led the
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair was written to expose the brutality faced by the workers in the meatpacking industry. Sinclair wanted to show people what was really going on in the factory because few people were informed about these companies work conditions. He wanted to show the public that meat was “ diseased, rotten, and contaminated” (Willie).” This revelation shocked the, public which later led to the creation of the federal laws on food and safety. Sinclair strongly shows the failure of capitalism in the meatpacking industry which he viewed as inhumane, destructive, unjust, brutal, and violent (Willie).”
In the 20th century, factory jobs were one of the most sought after by immigrants and members of the American lower class. These jobs were often in unsafe conditions, with long working hours, and very poor paying salaries. In 1906, Upton Sinclair released a narrative entitled The Jungle, a description of immigrant working conditions in the meat packing and production industry. It was intended to reach out to the average American and inform them of the conditions in which immigrants lived and
“The Jungle”, written by Upton Sinclair, is an astonishing novel informing readers about the devastating truths involving impoverished life in America, particularly Chicago. This novel gives the reader an inside look into to the struggles of numerous European immigrants as they ventured to America during the early 1900 's. Sinclair depicts the disturbing and emotional realities average people in America faced daily and successfully demonstrates the correct societal and governmental reforms such as the meat packing industry would have allowed these issues to be avoided. The main societal and
There were no toilets, so human and rat excrement wound up in the meat, along with the rats themselves. These unsanitary details moved readers far more than the injustices inflicted on the workers. Other examples include the rechurning of rancid butter, the cutting of ice from polluted water and the doctoring of milk with formaldehyde. The average consumer was shocked to know that the “pure beef” was in fact contaminated and unfit for human consumption. Imagine
Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle in hopes of empathizing with the American public on behalf of countless immigrants working in slums and corrupt industries during the
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair depicts the atrocities of the unskilled labor work environment in the early 1900s. Sinclair is considered to be a muckraker for uncovering the filth and abuse associated in the meatpacking industry (Upton Sinclair Biography). A muckraker is defined as, “One who inquires into and publishes scandal and allegations of corruption among political and business leaders” (muckraker). Muckrakers sought out controversies to expose scandals that harmed the average American. Sinclair intended to expose the poor working conditions of the meat packing industry in Chicago. This inquiry was rooted in Sinclair’s Socialist views. The New World Encyclopedia describes Socialism as, “A broad array of doctrines
In the early 1900's life for America's new Chicago immigrant workers in the meat packing industry was explored by Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle. Originally published in 1904 as a serial piece in the socialist newspaper Appeal to Reason, Sinclair's novel was initially found too graphic and shocking by publishing firms and therefore was not published in its complete form until 1906. In this paper, I will focus on the challenges faced by a newly immigrated worker and on what I feel Sinclair's purpose was for this novel.
While the works of Upton Sinclair are not widely read today because of their primacy of social change rather than aesthetic pleasure, works like The Jungle are important to understand in relation to the society that produced them. Sinclair was considered a part of the muckraking era, an era when social critics observed all that was wrong and corrupt in business and politics and responded against it. The Jungle was written primarily as a harsh indictment of wage slavery, but its vivid depictions of the deplorable lack of sanitation involved in the meatpacking industry in Chicago resulted in public outrage to the point where Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection
Thesis Statement: Upton Sinclair was a muckraker who wrote, “The Jungle”, which exposed the problems of the meatpacking industry.
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair is about a Lithuanian family living in Chicago in the 1900’s. They had faith in the American dream, hoping to start a new and successful life. Unfortunately they were deprived of they hopes and dreams. They were placed in the middle of a society where only the strongest and richest survived. The rich keep getting richer and the poor get even poorer. Jurgis and his family went to extreme lengths just in hopes of finding a job, they were forced to travel in heavy rain, strong winds, and thick snow, even when they were sick, in fear of losing their jobs. The Jungle pointed out many flaws in society such as filthy meat and sickening work conditions.
Upton Sinclair disguised himself and went undercover for seven weeks in the year of 1904. He entered the meatpacking industry as an everyday worker and observed the conditions of the meatpacking industry. He began work at one of the factories in Chicago’s slum district known as “Packingtown”. His main purpose was to expose these horrible conditions while also showing how poor Americans and immigrants lived during
Written by Upton Sinclair, The Jungle explores the sheer, harsh conditions of the living and working environment in the Chicago stockyards. The title is significant because it represents the realities of the labor force and depicts a wild, brutal environment that benefited the wealthy, while leaving the inferior working class fighting to survive. In Particular, the The Jungle denotes the life of Jurgis and his family in Packingtown and their hardships they face in the Chicago stockyards. Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle has a significant title because through corruption and capitalism, the weak and poor suffer, while the strong and wealthy flourish.
The novel, The Jungle by Upton Sinclair depicts the lives of poor immigrants in the United States during the early 1900’s. Sinclair is extremely effective in this novel at identifying and expressing the perils and social concerns of immigrants during this era. The turmoil that immigrants faced was contingent on societal values during the era. There was a Social Darwinist sentiment
In the early 1900's life for America's new Chicago immigrant workers in the meat packing industry was explored by Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle. Originally published in 1904 as a serial piece in the socialist newspaper Appeal to Reason, Sinclair's novel was initially found too graphic and shocking by publishing firms and therefore was not published in its complete form until 1906. In this paper, I will focus on the challenges faced by a newly immigrated worker and on what I feel Sinclair's purpose was for this novel.
The Jungle is a novel that focuses on a family of immigrants who came to America looking for a better life. The novel was written by Upton Sinclair, who went into the Chicago stockyards to investigate what life was like for the people who worked there. The book was originally written with the intent of showing Socialism as a better option than Capitalism for the society. However, the details of the story ended up launching a government investigation of the meat packing plants, and ultimately regulation of food products. It gave an informative view of what life was like in America at the time. Important topics like immigration, working conditions and sanitation issues of the time were all addressed well in the novel.