Theme Of Corruption Of The Industrial Age In The Jungle, By Upton Sinclair
The Jungle, written by Upton Sinclair, is about a Lithuanian family that travels to Chicago in pursuit of the American Dream. When writing this novel, Sinclair sought to build support for the Socialist Party and the working class. In preparation for writing The Jungle, Sinclair spent weeks in Chicago’s meat packing plants to study the lives of its stockyard workers. When the novel was first published, readers were more concerned with the health standards and conditions in which the meat was processed rather than the socialist message that Sinclair intended. The Jungle is also often associated with the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act both in 1906, the year the novel was published (Source A).
“The same endless vista of ugly and dirty little wooden buildings. Here and there would be a bridge crossing a filthy creek.” This was Upton Sinclair’s description of the city of Chicago in the early 20th century in his book The Jungle, and it was not flattering. The things that went on inside the city was even uglier, and it was done by one corporate, capitalism. Capitalism became a major problem in America as it bred horrible working and living conditions for the working class, and there was many reasons for why this happened (i.e. greed).
In early 1900, specifically, 1906, The Jungle by Upton Sinclair was written. This novel told the story of a Lithuanian immigrant who worked in a filthy Chicago meatpacking plant. It exposed the meatpacking industry by stating their vile practices not only towards their meat but their workers as well. This was a result of the combination of many immigrants in the United States to pursue a better life, and the fact that many big industries were looking for ways to maximize their profit.
From 1860 to 1900 the United States quickly became an “industrial nation,” using its plentiful natural resources of oil, coal, steel, and timber, along with abundant labor to drastically increase production of manufactured goods. During this time period millions of immigrants from Europe (Eastern and Western) along with many from East Asia moved to various cities in the US, leading to both a rise in population density in these areas and a labor surplus. The constant supply of cheap labor combined with a strong spirit of competition and very little government regulation led to the rise of enormous “industrial empires” of steel, railroads, and oil. These raw materials were then processed into a vast array of consumer goods, which entered into
Throughout the book, Jurgis had to constantly switch jobs because of accidents that laid him off work. No jobs was available to Jurgis except the fertilizer mill. The job at the fertilizer is the worse of it can be, Jurgis describes “...the phosphates soaked in through every pore of jurgis’s skin and in five minutes he had a headache, and in fifteen was almost dazed. the blood was pounding in his brain like an engine’s throbbing ……”(108). The fertilizer mill Jurgis is working at is extremely unsafe.
Matthew DeBacker Mr. Shinabarger AS American History 19 October 2015 Corruption in The Jungle The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, was a very impactful book during the industrialization age and still impacts people today. It is considered one of the most important books in the Industrialization Age in America. Upton Sinclair was a muckraker and wanted to draw attention the the terrible things that went on in the meatpacking industry. So he highlighted several key themes such as poverty, capitalism, and immigration during that time period
Revealing the harsh treatment of meatpacking workers and showing the reality of the disgusting conditions found in butchery shops to the public, Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle became an enduring classic by American readers throughout the early twentieth century the prompted the later creation of the Federal Drug Administration. In the early 1900s, America was explosively transitioning from an agricultural society to a thriving manufacturing-based nation. As production demand in factories grew throughout the country, the work force needed to run those factories also expanded. A new type of demanding and dangerous work became prevalent throughout the nation, as immigrants coming into the “Land of Opportunity” found themselves desperate
There are many other traps around America that deceive the immigrants because their weakness of not knowing English and the desire of getting a great life in America which lead them unpreparedly get fooled by the businessmen. These traps prevented the immigrants from leaving America, because of the significant amount of debt that they have to pay each month, which forced them to keep working and become the slave of this capitalistic society in America. Unfortunately, even they work very hard, in most of the time they will not get anything in return, such that Jurgis’s family cannot even keep the house at the of the book and many of family members’ health destroyed by the harsh working conditions in the
On November 4, 1905, author Upton Sinclair, published a now best selling book, The Jungle. Sinclair wrote this book to inform citizens of the conditions and treatments the people got working in the stockyards and slaughterhouses and to inform people of what they were eating. The book gained its rising popularity based on the fact that it caused people to open their eyes to what was happening. They were shocked and angry about what was going on and they made sure to express that. The Jungle also focused on Socialism and the Progressive Era which had the goal of taking control of the labor force and using it to make food safe, not using it to make money.
Upton Sinclair, a successful muckraker in the early 1900s, is the author to the gut-wrenching novel, The Jungle. In this story, Sinclair incorporates real facts he learned from going, undercover, into a meat-packing factory. Upton believed that the working conditions and the lifestyle the immigrants were forced to live in, during this time, were heinous; because of this he strives to create a novel that will gain the attention of the government and large factories in order to create better working conditions and quality of life. To accomplish this feat Sinclair subtly compares the meat-packing factory to a jungle; he speaks of physical and mental aspects such as temperature and a hierarchy, includes ages and lifespans, and also integrates animal imagery. Fusing all of these different factors gives The Jungle the exact jungle-like atmosphere Sinclair was hoping to obtain.
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.
In the Brown’s factory Teta Elizabeth’s Son Stainslovas catches Frost bite his ear lobes falls off and 3 joints in his fingers becomes damaged because he works at the lard machine. Most of these machines were managed by unskilled immigrants. Second, most of the factories were unsanitary. The fog was so high in the factory that if you were to cut a piece of meat you would probably cut your hand off.
The long hours, low pay, and hazardous working conditions make for harsh and unsafe working circumstances. With rotten meat being marketed to the general public, the meatpacking sector is also proven to be to blame for widespread contamination and illness. The character Jurgis, who changes from an aspiring and diligent immigrant to an angry and disillusioned worker, further supports Sinclair's portrayal of the negative aspects of capitalism. Jurgis is frequently taken advantage of by the capitalist system. Uncaring employers, politicians, and financiers used those who were weak and were willing to work for their own gain.
The 19th century was the era of the Gilded Age, where the economy was booming, bringing great changes that affected the lives of workers and entrepreneurs. During this period, there was a large influx of immigrants that were coming to America to look for job opportunities. The migration of immigrants proved useful as a source for cheap labor, allowing an even higher rise in the U.S. economy. While American industrialization may have benefited the upper class of the American society, the effects were opposite to the workers of the lower classes. This problem was especially worse for immigrant workers as their belief in the so-called American dream has been worn down due to the misery they had to endure.
They take you on a journey full of dream-crushing brutality and deception of what seems to be the ideal place to work and built a life. They settle near the stockyards and meatpacking district, where Jurgis finds his first job at Brown’s slaughterhouse. Jurgis, thinking the U.S. offered more freedom, finds that the working conditions there are very
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