The author of The Jungle, Upton Sinclair, was a bright student and a skilled writer from a young age. At the age of fourteen he entered the College of the City of New York. He earned his B.A. from City College of New York in 1897 and later entered a graduate program at Columbia University. He was a socialist and wrote many muckraking articles which expose social and political corruption. In 1904 he spent several weeks in a meatpacking plant undercover to research for his book, The Jungle. He wanted to expose the conditions in the plants and the lives of the poor immigrants. The book became a bestseller when it was published two years later and as a result the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act were both passed in 1906.
1In the book The Jungle a Lithuanian couple named Ona and Jurgis immigrate to Chicago only to realize that the conditions there were subpar at best. Jurgis and some of Ona’s family quickly find work and soon had enough to buy a house but they soon find out that the house
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He did the proper planning and research in the writing of The Jungle. The Jungle was very informative and described the time period of the early 1900’s very well. The overall storyline was depressing and dreary, but so was this time period. Sinclair showed in this book the problems and corruption involved with the meat packing industry and the mistreatment of immigrant workers during the time. There were many forms of symbolism throughout this book. One example of symbolism would be the jungle, the title symbolizes the competitive aspect of capitalism and the “food chain” surrounded by the effects of Social Darwinism in the industries of the US in the early 1900’s. This book was very effective selling over 100,000 copies and even getting recognition by the president of the United States causing the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act to be passed in