Upton Sinclair's The Jungle

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).”

Most famous people inspire authors to write books written about their achievements, however Upton Sinclair Junior did it backwards. Some of his ninety novels including an autobiography, and in particular The Jungle, changed America forever by using fictitious stories to depict the present issues at that time. Upton Sinclair was an author and activist in the early to mid 1900’s who was passionate about issues involving women 's rights, working conditions, and the unemployed. He wrote over ninety books in his lifetime, as well as countless articles and other works of journalism. As Sinclair grew up, he was exposed to both a lifestyle of poverty and wealth that shaped his world as well as his political views as a socialist, or someone who advocates the vesting of the control of the means of production and distribution, of capital or land in the community as a whole. Upton Sinclair was a controversial author who took a stand in history by vastly impacting the food industry, becoming politically active, and forecasting solutions to social problems.

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair is a vivid account of life for the working class in the early 1900s. Jurgis Rudkus and his family travel to the United States in search of the American dream and an escape from the rigid social structure of Lithuania. Instead, they find a myriad of new difficulties. Sinclair attributes their problems to the downfalls of capitalism in the United States. While America’s system was idealistic for Jurgis and his family at first, the mood of the story quickly transforms to assert that capitalism is evil. This theme drives the author’s message and relay of major issues throughout the entirety of the novel. The idea of capitalism and social Darwinism is to

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

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

Many believe the path to success isn’t easy, but with hard work, drive, and passion, it is possible to attain the American Dream. However, when a person thinks of the American dream they are standing from the outside looking in and fail to see the struggle that comes with it. In the Jungle, Upton Sinclair portrays how difficult it is to obtain this fantasy by showing the journey of a Lithuanian immigrant family coming to America. They came to America because they heard that “any man willing to work an honest day would make a living and could support his family.” Jurgis Rudkis, the main character of the jungle, is a vigorous, motivated, and honorable Immigrant whose vision is quickly destroyed by poverty, disappointments, and corruption. "I will work harder," is Jurgis 's motto and his answer to every setback he encounters. While this attitude brings Jurgis closer to the American dream, the harder he works the more obstacles he seems to face. Cheated in the worst ways possible, Jurgis tries to push forward through everything, hoping he will eventually gain the dream he had heard of in the past. "I will work harder" only helps Jurgis so much in his quest to achieve the American Dream. However, it could work in today’ America.

In an eye opening novel entitled The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, the author tells a story in which exposes the gut wrenching and shocking facts of what actually goes on in these food processing and meat packing factories in an urban Chicago during the early 1900s. Sinclair does a wonderful job at exposing what actually happened behind these factory doors and informs the reader of the unsanitary process in which animals were transformed into meat products. However when reading this novel one must take into consideration that Sinclair’s main concern was not only the disgusting products produced but the employees that produced them as

. A. Upton Sinclair wrote, “The Jungle”, to expose the appalling working conditions in the meatpacking industry.

Upton Sinclair, an American writer and reformer, was born on September 20, 1878, in Baltimore, Maryland. Both of Sinclair’s parents came from prominent families, but Sinclair grew up impoverished because of an alcoholic father. Throughout his childhood, Sinclair lived in conditions that varied from slums to country homes but sometimes his father would spend all the family’s money on alcohol forcing Sinclair and his mother to live with his mother’s wealthy sister in order to survive (Wiedman, 2009). This allowed Sinclair to see how each side, well-to-do and poor, lived. While attending City College of New York, at the ripe old age of fourteen, Sinclair became a “hack” writer for popular magazines which he wrote under the pen names (Richard Wasowski, 2001) “Ensign Clark Fitch, USN and Lieutenant Fredrick Garrison, USA” (Wiedman, 2009). Sinclair would go on to have published around ninety books throughout his literary career (Richard Wasowski, 2001). Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle”, a 1906 novel in which he is most remembered for, sold 150,000 copies in the United States and was translated into seventeen languages (Karsner, 1968). Sinclair began his graduate program at Columbia University but in 1900, he left to write a poetic novel titled, “Springtime and Harvest”. In 1904 Fred D. Warren, editor of Appeal to Reason, a freelance, weekly socialist newspaper, hired Sinclair to write about the conditions of the Chicago stockyards (Richard Wasowski, 2001). For seven

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair is a graphic and affecting account of the meat processing and butchering production in the 1900’s. The Jungle is a knowledgable analysis on the social, political, and economic affairs of the food industry and the quickly expanding capitalist society of the 20th century. Sinclair uses a impoverished immigrant family looking for a finer life to highlight the social and economic imbalances of work in the food system caused by capitalism. Even over a century later, The Jungle stays relevant as a reminder to customers and policymakers about the complex food system and the likelihood for exploitation of animals and workers. The collection of food manufacturing formed over a century ago built the bases of the present-day

Upton Sinclair was an American writer whose works reverts not only the inside but also the socialists view on things. Upton Sinclair was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He was born into a family which held to its Southern aristocracy in everything that was done. When Sinclair was ten years old, the family packed up and moved to New York City as there were more opportunities to succeed.

The Jungle, written by Upton Sinclair Jr., talks about the trials and the desperation of a young family. During the story, a young couple falls into an abyss of debt immediately after getting married. While they were on a tour of Packingtown, they took in the terrible and disturbing sights and smells of the animals that were crowded at the slaughterhouse. In the later part of the book, Antana dies which causes Jurgis to fall deeply into despair. Although I did not think I could relate to this book at first, I was wrong and did in fact, find a few relatable occurrences while reading. Such as the loss of a loved one. I have lost many close friends and family over the years to unexpected tragedies.

Born on September 20th, 1878 in Baltimore, Maryland, Upton Sinclair led an interesting life. As a child he grew up in poverty under the parenting of an alcoholic father and very conservative mother. He attended and graduated from the City University of New York at the age of 18, and went on to become a writer, his subject being the social issues of society. His novels, although quite serious, did not do so well. Sinclair became strongly interested in socialism around the age of 21, which led to a rather amazing opportunity given his position in life as a failed writer.

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.