Upton Sinclair's The Jungle is a novel written in the early 1900s portraying the harsh conditions and exploited lives of immigrants in the united states in Chicago and other industrialized cities. The story follows Jurgis Rudkus and his family, Lithuanian immigrants who moved to the United States to work in the meatpacking plants in Chicago. Their story is full of hardships. Jurgis and his family face great difficulties: harsh and dangerous working conditions, poverty and starvation, unjust businessmen who take their money, and much more. In Sinclair's novel, a majority of working men engage in dishonest practices but do not feel any remorse for their actions. Many that were engaged in dishonest practices had done it to survive. While others had done it to get ahead in society. Jurgis in the beginning of the story was an extremely honest person, but throughout the story, he goes through many hardships that change him. Although there are many difficulties he had to lead up to him being dishonest, some of the main struggles such as losing his house, not having money, he sees his father work to death, his wife gets raped, then his wife dies giving birth to their son, the son died as well. The significance of the title is that Sinclair uses a jungle to symbolize how humans are like animals with their unrestrained longing for something, may it be money, lust, or power. It is an image of “beasts” that live in the jungle being violent and brutal. The title is not 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).”
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair was about Jurgis Rudkus who was an immigrarnt from Lithuania that came to the United States to discover his dreams, hopes, and desires. He took his family to Chicago to begin a new life. He worked in meatpacking industries that were unsanitary and brutal amount of hours that resulted into starvation. He was mistreated and realized the American dream wasn't as easy as it seemed. The book deals with disease, hunger, corruption, crime, poverty and death. “Leave it to me; leave it to me. I will earn more money – I will work harder.” This was said by Jurgis frequently because him and Ona always struggled with money and having a job but Jurgis never wanted Ona to stress about those problems. Jurgis always took charge
“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
Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle was published in 1906 and was an eye-opening revelation of the workingman’s experience in the Chicago stockyards. Sinclair describes the horrible work conditions the workers endured and the unsanitary ways in which the meat was made and processed. Sinclair uses an immigrant family from Lithuania to help bring attention to the hardships and unfairness that the working class had to go through.
The Jungle, a novel by the muckraker Upton Sinclair, follows the life of Lithuanian immigrant Jurgis Rudkus and his family in the first decade of the twentieth century. It describes the various tragedies that befall the family. The novel should be considered part of the American Canon, the body of works that are considered the most important and influential in shaping American culture, because of Sinclair’s unique portrayal of the time, the effect that this novel had on society, and the novel’s literary value.
Several years before and after the turn the turn of the twentieth century, America experienced a large influx of European immigration. These new citizens had come in search of the American dream of success, bolstered by promise of good fortune. Instead they found themselves beaten into failure by American industry. Upton Sinclair wanted to expose the cruelty and heartlessness endured by these ordinary workers. He chose to represent the industrial world through the meatpacking industry, where the rewards of progress were enjoyed only by the privileged, who exploited the powerless masses of workers. The Jungle is a novel and a work of investigative journalism; its primary purpose was to inform the general public about the dehumanization
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
Throughout the story, “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair, uses of propaganda are displayed. Sinclair applies numerous hyperboles and unrealistic ideas/scenarios to his novel. This can be proven through the Calamities that befall on Jurgis and his immigrant family. Sinclair describes the conditions of the family as well as their workplaces. His true goal was to display the hardships of immigrants caused by politics, economics, and industry. Therefore, his exaggeration use is applied to gain the attention of the public through the use of propaganda. This was an attempt to abolish the corrupt system of politics and industry that caused for many immigrants and others to obtain great hardship and calamities. An initial reading of The Jungle by Upton
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.
Anything in a novel can be represented as a symbol. Symbols are a representation of an item through an abstract concept. Surprisingly, a Union Stockyard could also be a symbol; the fictional Packingtown reveals several attributes about the real life Packingtown in the course of The Jungle. In The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair, Sinclair uses Packingtown to symbolize the corrupt government, the working class, and the condition of the United States.
. A. Upton Sinclair wrote, “The Jungle”, to expose the appalling working conditions in the meatpacking industry.
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.