Rhetorical Analysis of Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle
The Jungle, being a persuasive novel in nature, is filled with different rhetorical devices or tools used by Sinclair to effectively convey his message. Sinclair’s goal of encouraging change in America’s economic structure is not an easy feat and Sinclair uses a number of different rhetorical devices to aid him. Through his intense tone, use of periodic sentencing, descriptive diction and other tools of rhetoric, Upton Sinclair constructs a moving novel that makes his message, and the reasoning behind it, clear. Sinclair’s use of periodic sentences allows him to cram details and supporting evidence into his sentence before revealing his interpretation of the evidence. Take for
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By horrifying his audience with the brutal truth, Sinclair secures a proper response and wish for change from his audience. His tone gives fuel to his cause by effectively showing his audience why his cause is worth fighting for. Sinclair’s use of descriptive, in depth diction serves to promote a reaction out of the reader, by depicting as thorough as possible his evidence and reasoning, similar to the purpose of his intense tone. However, this descriptive diction does more than just provoke a response out his audience as his tone does, it also strengthens the supporting evidence and reasoning behind his message.
Upton SInclair’s novel, The Jungle, is a novel based on the “Gilded Age” in american history. It is the life of a working man named Jurgis Rudkus and as the story progresses, it shows the corruption and dishonesty of the people during this time period, as well as their reasoning behind their actions. Also as the novel continued, it showed the author's inspiration for the title of this novel. Throughout the book, Upton Sinclair had scattered metaphors as to why Capitalism is corrupt and why Socialism is better. With subtle hints to social classes and how Jurgis progresses through them through corruption.
Countless of Sinclair’s ideals were shaped by his childhood and personal life. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland on September 20, 1878. He was an only child of a inebriate liquor salesman and a stern mother. His family moved to New York City when he was ten. He spent his childhood observing the differences poverty and wealth due to his mother 's rich family and his poor family. When he was fourteen, he attended the City College of
In the book, The Jungle, Upton Sinclair advocates for the overall elimination of oppression and exploitation of workers and immigrants and the use of socialism as a solution. The book depicts, and illustrates, the events and outcome of Jurgis and his family from Lithuania coming to the America’s in hopes of a better life, from the ideology of “The American Dream”. Jurgis believes that hard work will pay off no matter the size of the problem, however him and his family realize that the America’s posses corruption, harmful working conditions, and oppression of the worker and immigrants. Sinclair uses examples to express the hardships and cruelty that lower class workers faced to allow the reader to perceive whether or not there is a need for change in the system. Frederick Douglass uses the same form of writing to bring light to the harsh and unjust experiences he endured in order to persuade and communicate why there is a need to accomplish what he is advocating for.
Upton Sinclair’s views differed greatly from those of affluent leaders in the nineteenth century. In fact, Sinclair was one of few people who
Another rhetoric device utilized by Sinclair in his writing was rhetorical questions. These are questions asked within a narrative or a monologue, which an answer is not necessary. The “answers” to the rhetorical
During my investigating of one most famous muckrakers; I found was Upton Sinclair whom I have had the privilege to get know. Sinclair has shown to be a very interesting person. Sinclair has had many challenges over his life time; from the articles and books he has written, reforms that he has set in place, makes this person very interesting. Upton Sinclair was born September 20, 1878 in Baltimore, Maryland. He was raised in poverty but his father worked as a liquor salesman, which gave him the chance to be around different types of people. Sinclair and his family moved when he was older and found himself growing up in New York City. He would tell me of some stories about loving the works of Shakespeare and Percy Bysshe Shelley, which at every chance he would get to read these works. Upton started college at a young age of fourteen and where he went to school was the City College
Have you ever heard of the book called The Jungle? This book was written by Upton Sinclair, a muckraker. Harry Sinclair Lewis was a janitor at Upton Sinclair's socialist colony and he was influenced by Sinclair’s idea of socialism. Therefore, their ideas are very much alike even though their childhood backgrounds were completely different. Upton Sinclair had a great impact on society by addressing social issues in the early 1900’s, so what is the significance of Lewis’s works? Some of his major representative works are Main Street, Babbitt, and Arrowsmith (“Assignment Five -- Sinclair Lewis Babbitt”). These books played a big role on muckraking the social corruptions in his time period.
Authors can fix the reader’s attention to specific details they want to emphasize through the point of view in the story. In both texts, different points of views are used to highlight the serious outcomes of language barriers. Sinclair uses 3rd person omniscient point of view throughout the story and focuses on Jurgis’ experiences and actions. Using an omniscient point of view allows Sinclair to explain to the reader the outcome of certain actions before the characters experience them. As the family first experiences the setting of their new life, the narration is used to show their lack of knowledge: “They were not sure that it was unpleasant, this odor; some might have called it sickening, but their taste in odors was not developed (Sinclair 2)”. The narration hints towards a future filled with unhappiness, it foreshadows devastation from a lack of knowledge about the new environment. From the narration the reader knows the future of the family but the characters themselves are not aware: “Elzbieta, alas, did not read the papers, and no one had told her; but perhaps it was as well, for just then they would not have had the carfare to spare to go every day to wait upon the surgeon, nor for that matter anybody with the time to take the child” (Sinclair 13). The narrator focuses on certain character’s actions to convey
He is able to draw upon this rhetorical device to help draw an emotional response out of the audience with his writings. Examples include the corporate administration that “selectively gang-attack faculty members for non-academic reasons.” (McMurtry 16) While also having examples such as “They had their collaborators, and we have ours.” (qtd in McMurtry 16) By using this Ursula Franklin quote comparing “Nazi Germany and this corporate invasion;” (McMurtry 16) McMurtry is able to further the emotional connection the reader has to the article. These two examples showcase an understanding of how the emotional connection is key to effectively convey your thoughts and feelings upon the audience reading your article. The first example creates a connection between violent gangs and the corporate hand. Establishing a clear ruthless connotation about the actions of the new university structure. The audience will begin to associate violent gang attacks to the type of aggression that the corporations have unleashed upon the people upholding the integrity of academia and education. The second example supports He uses such abrasive and harsh examples to spark hatred within the audience; while also showing how much he despises the university system in which we are currently being exposed
The author quotes different people in the content. By relying on secondary evidence the arguments he presents become valid and likely to persuade the audience towards a certain course of
In the end, by going through all these steps, amongst a few others, Sinclair was able to reach the end of his process of individuation. He was finally able to accept everything about himself, the good, the bad, his shadow and allow himself to be the person he was put on this earth to be. I myself believe that I am still completing my process of individuation, but I get closer and closer to reaching it everyday. I think I still am struggling slightly to accept and acknowledge my shadow and there are still parts of me I feel uneasy about sharing with the world, but I can feel myself getting more confident about these parts of me as time goes on. I hope that one day, in the near future, I feel the way Sinclair felt at the end of the book, fully
According to Sinclair, he accidently developed an interest in social policy. Prior to this he was working in banking and was very unhappy. He did not know why he was unhappy. He was unable to get up, could not get to work, and lacks motivation. Has a result, he resigned from his job. He envisions sitting on the beach figuring out what he would do with his life. He sat on the beaches in Key West for three months until he ran out of funds suddenly it occurred to him he was unable to pay his rent.
To start, Paul Bogard uses loaded words as a persuasive technique in “Let There Be Dark.” an example of these loaded words can be seen when he writes “...wrecking habitat and disrupting ecosystems…” or “the irreplaceable value of darkness.” Words like “wrecking,” “disrupting,” and “irreplaceable” call upon strong emotional responses by the reader. For example, the word “irreplaceable” has a strong positive connotation as it is associated with the idea of something being too good to be replaced. Bogard is able to bring up intense emotions in his readers by using these words. Humans make decisions based on emotions so when
Sinclair spent most of his childhood shrouded in “the world of light,” made up mostly of religion and his family. Before Demian, Sinclair was absolutely naïve, always accepting what he was told by his family and by the church without question. Even though it is worth
Upton Sinclair was the most famous of the American “muckraker” journalists. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland on September 20, 1878. Although his family was poor, Sinclair was able to earn money as a writer from a very early age, and was able to save enough money to go to college. He attended the city college of New York and graduated from there with a B.A. degree. Soon after he went to Columbia University to graduate school. It was there that he began writing full-length novels with important social themes. His novels showed that he was concerned with the conditions of working people. During the early part of the twentieth century businesses had very little to restrain them and working class unions were not nearly as common as they are