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Upton Sinclair's The Jungle: The Evils Of Capitalism

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Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle discusses the evils of capitalism in a meatpacking sector of Chicago, also known as Packingtown. It was evident that Sinclair did not support a capitalist form of government. His socialist political beliefs certainly impacted the style and content of The Jungle. Sinclair strived to exploit the Chicago meatpacking factories and educate his audience of the dangers that a capitalistic government could have on European immigrants and public safety. While Sinclair was exposing the evils of capitalism, the public was disturbed by the gruesome details, “I aimed at the public’s heart, and by accident I hit in the stomach.” By exposing the despicable methods of food production and lack of personal hygiene within the factories, Sinclair unmasked the effects of a capitalist government during the early 1900s, revealing his socialist opinion and forever changing the nature of meatpacking industries. Packingtown was a competitive environment in which …show more content…

There were unsanitary working conditions. Through vivid details, Sinclair was quite informative, and nauseating at the same time. Food safety and personal hygiene were practices of little importance. It was common for employees to have severed fingers, lost limbs, diseases such as Tuberculosis and blood poisoning. There were several cases in which men would fall into the vats, “There were men in the pickle rooms, for instance…worst of any, however, were the fertilizer men.” Through these examples, Sinclair was easily able to address the evils of capitalistic government. It was evident Sinclair’s point of view on capitalistic government was not favorable, as he was a socialist himself and leaked the evils of the government to the public. Socialism offers more opportunities for the public and acts in favor of the public. Sinclair’s novel shows that capitalism works against the public, and this is what causes decline in

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