Ruled By Corruption
The end of the nineteenth century brought about great changes in the United States. As businesses transitioned from handmade and homemade production to machine and factory production of goods, the Industrial Revolution in the United States was born and along with it came corruption and greed at every turn. Corruption ran rampant because businesses were unregulated and these businesses were run by people who were often coined captains of industries. Others called them robber barons because of the controversial ways they amassed their vast fortunes. The Industrial Revolution also brought an overwhelming amount of immigrants to the United States who hoped to a better life, but sadly all they often found was a world
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An argument can be made that the title its self is a symbol. In a jungle, there is a constant struggle for survival as the stronger animals prey upon the weaker in a ruthless, unremorseful manner, in which only the strongest survive and the weak are left to die be eaten. There are many instances in the novel in which Sinclair uses similes or metaphors to describe his characters as jungle animals. He states that Ona has the “eye of a hunted animal,” (174) and exclaims that Jurgis pants “like a wounded bull” (187). He refers to Conner as a “great beast,” (187) and tells his readers that Jurgis “fought like a tiger” (187). In fact, just as a tiger would, Jurgis “sunk his teeth into the man’s cheek; […] he was dripping with blood, and little ribbons of skin were hanging in his mouth” (187). The use of these comparisons to animals creates a jungle like atmosphere for the reader within the capitalist urban environment which has an extremely unforgiving nature. In the urban jungle of Chicago that Sinclair writes about, the immigrant workers are the weaker animals fighting for survival in which the wealthy capitalist prey upon to build vast fortunes of