The Working Class In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle

The Jungle, written by Upton Sinclair, was created with the purpose of exposing the unsanitary practices of the meat industry but also depicting the culture of the working class. Before laws were enacted protecting workers, mistreatment from employers and companies was a huge issue all over the United States. The Jungle helps put the past into perspective, and through its readings, one can come to the conclusion that life back then, thanks to working conditions, culture, and corruption, was less than enjoyable. First and foremost, the setting and characters in The Jungle reflect the immigration status of the United States during the time. Located in Chicago during the late 19th century, the audience is introduced to a Lithuanian wedding where

Before unions, the working class in the United States was subject to long, unforgiving hours. Sinclair describes in several cases how characters were victims of seemingly endless days in the factory. Sinclair writes, “She works in a canning factory, and all day long she handles cans of beef that weigh fourteen pounds” (Sinclair 9). Historically, there were no regulations on wages or hours. Employers would squeeze their employees out of all the work that they had. Many times, workers didn’t have time to have a social life outside of work. Sinclair writes, “There are able-bodied men here who work from early morning until late at night, in ice-cold cellars with a quarter of an inch of water on the floor-men who for six or seven months in the year never see the sunlight from Sunday afternoon till the next Sunday morning” (Sinclair 13). Although these are extreme examples presented by the author, it shows us that they were real issues dealt with at the time.
Along with long hours, pay for the workers was almost unlivable. Sinclair, in several instances, describes how much certain individuals make and how demoralizing their salaries were. The novel reads, “poni Aniele-who was a widow, and had three children, and the rheumatism besides, and did washing for the tradespeople on Halsted Street at prices it would break your heart to hear named” (Sinclair 17). Sinclair hammers

The reader is shown a prime example of the intertwining of certain establishments and their ties to corrupted politics. After being cheated out of half barrels of alcohol, the narrator describes how there cannot be much done to right the wrongs committed because of the ties the bartender had with the local mafia and politicians. Sinclair writes, “The saloon keeper stood in with all the big politics men in the district; and when you had once found out what it meant to get into trouble with such people, you would know enough to pay what you were told to pay and shut up” (Sinclair 16). Sinclair shows that at the time, the laws only applied to certain individuals and history reflects that accurately, especially during the specific time