The Synthetic Flaws In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle

Even initially, it was an “extraordinary success–it became an international bestseller within weeks” (Sinclair xiii). Why, despite its many synthetic flaws, was this book so widely and powerfully received, and why does it continue to be read and enjoyed as a classic work? Perhaps it is important to note that these synthetic flaws fade when put into context Of the reasons Sinclair had for writing this book. This work may have survived as a classic because of the author’s success in weaving the elements together-?and even bypassing them to an extent–in order to allow the audience to focus on a theme that would shock and move it into action.

As with many of the elements in this work, the plot is confusing and shallow, following the decline of

While the Socialists were pleased with the propaganda aspect, the wider audience was more concerned with the suggestion of what might be going into their meat. Eric Closer, in his foreword to The Jungle, comments on this. American readers responded in a way that Sinclair had not expected. They were outraged by his account of unsanitary conditions in the nation’s slaughterhouses. Sausage made from rancid meat laced with chemicals… Fee hearts and other organ meats artificially colored and sold as canned chicken… A worker accidentally killed and boiled and turned into lard–although these descriptions filled a small fraction of the book, they dominated the media frenzy surrounding its publication (Sinclair ix). Sinclair was very disappointed by the fact that the people were so selfishly concerned rather than wanting to improve the situation of the workers, saying “l aimed at the publics heart and by accident hit them in the stomach” (Sinclair

Though it was the labor unions which eventually unions improved the working conditions, now Sinclair themes tell us why he wrote the way he did, and a truth about he way things were in his time. Despite Sinclair disappointments in what was taken away The Jungle was still an incredible success from a publishing perspective. %thin weeks [of publication] Upton Sinclair was transformed from an obscure young writer into an internationally renowned novelist” (as cited in Sinclair ix). So, even considering Sinclair lack of success in his own eyes, the book did fulfill his intentions in one way. Not only did it cause a stir, bringing attention to the situation, but the work has survived all this time, under intense study, and laws are overlooked as we examine what he is telling us through these three element of