Upton Sinclair’s Argument for Socialism The Jungle written by Upton Sinclair in 1906 portrayed the harsh realities endured by millions of immigrants and working-class people during the Gilded Age. The book is centered around a Lithuanian immigrant named Jurgis and his wife Ona and their family. In the beginning, Jurgis and Ona have just moved to Chicago and neither speak English; yet, they have a sense of optimism about what their life in America will look like. In fact, when Ona tells Jurgis about her concerns that their wedding costs more than they can afford, Jurgis simply shrugs her off and states “Leave it to me; leave it to me. I will earn more money-I will work harder” [1]. This optimism found in the beginning; however, does not remain relevant throughout the rest of the novel. Numerous tragedies strike Jurgis and Ona’s family and soon, the happy couple loses their sense of optimism they struggle to even survive. Although, The Jungle is a fictional novel; the situations encountered by Jurgis and Ona is likely similar to what many immigrants faced during this time period. Sinclair uses his novel to make the argument for socialism and blames American capitalism for most of Jurgis and Ona’s …show more content…
His critiques in the text include portraying the extremely harsh working conditions faced in the capitalist manufacturing industry; as well as, showing the levels of political corruption that were prevalent in capitalist systems and telling of the absolute levels of wealth inequality and the differences between socioeconomic classes that were relevant to
This hard working, yet naïve immigrant leads his family from Lithuania to the one word of English he knows, Chicago. In the beginning of the novel, Jurgis believes a good, strong work ethic is the foundation for what any person needs to be successful in America, even opposing the very idea of a union. Upton Sinclair affirms this idea by writing, “But Jurgis had no sympathy with such ideas as this- he could do the work himself, and so could the rest of them, he declared, if they were good for anything. If they couldn’t do it, let them go somewhere else” (Sinclair, 43). But throughout the novel, it is exposed that greedy businessmen take advantage of unskilled workers by lowering wages and extending working hours because of the abundance of immigrants willing to work for less. For example, business leaders employed women and children at a fraction of the pay rate compared to men, which promoted institutionalized poverty and highlighted the lack of government influence in this economic period. Everyone is willing to undercut each other just to survive the machinery of capitalism, as evident by the title The Jungle, a cut throat competition for survival. Just like the cattle and pigs lined up to be slaughtered in Packingtown, wave after wave of immigrants lined up to be worn down and abused by the non-stop grind of dehumanizing conditions. Sinclair shows that the painful and toxic evils of capitalism are the driving force which keeps hard working immigrants like Jurgis from leaving their socio-economic
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 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
Upton Sinclair published his novel, The Jungle, in 1906 using elements of naturalistic fiction, with the idea that ordinary people cannot overcome the system, to convey his political agenda. He did this by writing about a fictional family that comes to Chicago from Lithuania with the promise of guaranteed work where they “might earn three roubles a day” and be “rich m[en] in the bargain” (Sinclair 24-25). He used the meatpacking industry to show the extreme affects a large scale industry can have on an individual and on a family and to draw sympathy from the reader for typical families in capitalist America, choosing to focus on the immigrant experience. The Jungle, however, not only describes the horrific working conditions and the failures
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, published in 1906 was written to depict the harsh conditions that immigrants that came to the U.S. lived in. This book describes the life of Jurgis, a young Lithuanian immigrant living in Chicago in search of the American dream. Jurgis faces many hindrances throughout his life in Packingtown. His living and working conditions, the nature of capitalism, and Packingtown’s environment affected both his physical and emotional states.
“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 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’s purpose is to illustrate just what happens when the American Dream does not come true. It is not for a lack of determination that its protagonist does not succeed with abundance -- nor ethic or spirit; he merely falls victim to a system in which those at the top succeed with abundance at the severe expense of those left with nothing at the bottom. The book’s author, Upton Sinclair, sought to show America the cost of its capitalist system. Born into a poor family with wealthy relatives, Sinclair was aware of social and economic disparity in America from a young age (The Jungle v). The Jungle is the result of Upton Sinclair working undercover for seven weeks in Chicago’s meatpacking industry in 1904, as well as the socialist
The Jungle is book that takes the reader in a period in time where the “American Dream” was the only thing worth believing in the daily job struggles of immigrants in America during the early twentieth century. What is the American Dream? It is said that any man or woman willing to work hard in this country and work an honest day is capable living and could support his family and have an equal opportunity to success. Although The Jungle was taken account more on how the meat production was disgusting and unhealthy for production and consumption. However many missed the real message of this book in which Sinclair wants to engage the reader in particular scenario of the failure of capitalism. According to Sinclair, socialism is the only way out of the failure of capitalism. It is the way that all problems can be solved and works for the benefit of everyone where capitalism works against the people. The slow destruction of Jurgis’s family at the hands of a cruel and unfair economic and social system demonstrates the effect of capitalism on the working class. As the immigrants, who believe an idealistic faith in the American Dream of hard work leading to material success, are slowly used up, tortured, and destroyed.
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.
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
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair details the life of a Lithuanian immigrant named Jurgis, in the late 1800’s. In the novel, Jurgis and his family immigrate to America in order to find prosperity and follow the “American Dream”. However, upon reaching reaching America, they face many trials and tribulations. Foremost, no one in the family is able to speak English, as well as being poor immigrants that are easily taken advantage of by society. Initially, Jurgis tries to keep his head up and tries through his own work to succeed, but as the events of the novel unfold, we see him tore down and corrupted. The moral corruption of Jurgis can be seen as a reflection of the environment in which he lived. In the end, Jurgis believed that the capitalistic society that he lived in was against the common man. The Jungle illustrates how greed and unchecked capitalism can have devastating effects on people.
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.
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair was published in 1906. After reading two-hundred and ninety-four pages, it is evident that humans have been shaping the world over time and the world has been shaping us as well. A lot has changed since the industrial revolution, the time frame in which this novel takes place. Our food industries have improved, money value has risen, and job opportunities have expanded. Throughout The Jungle the reader follows an immigrant family on their journey of hardships and losses as they grapple through gory times that was the Industrial Revolution.
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.