Adapting to a Cruel World The Jungle by Upton Sinclair is a perfect example of man vs. society. The brutal labor and poverty defines the harsh reality of this 1906 novel. While exploring this cruel society, Jurgis Rudkus, the protagonist, faces many hardships and becomes an acknowledgeable person. This is evident when Jurgis involves himself with barbaric working conditions, his vulnerable family, and socialist beliefs. The working condition of Durham’s meat-packing and fertilizer industries are extremely hazardous. The industry floors are described as “half an inch deep with blood” (43), and workers have little to no protection. Jurgis, a determined worker, labors for the sake of providing for his family. Naive as he is, Jurgis does not understand the unforgiving nature of the industry until it is too late. After injuring his leg, he is unable to support his family and realizes how cruel the world is. The working …show more content…
The importance of his family to him is evident when Ona passes away. In the moment, “An icy horror of loneliness seized him; he saw himself standing apart and watching all the world fade away from him---a world of shadows, of fickle dreams” (197). Though in despair, Jurgis grasps the situation and learns to move on. Almost as if a weight is off his chest, Jurgis learns to accept the inevitable fate of his family. As an effect, Jurgis invests his time elsewhere: Socialism. After being heavily swayed by the speeches of a Socialist, he begins to think on his own. A Socialist party is described as, “a really democratic political organization---it was controlled absolutely by its own membership, and had no bosses” (325). The Socialistic views cause Jurgis to act more independently. From a previous history of tyrant bosses, the idea of Socialism opened up new possibilities to him. The Socialist party set Jurgis off to a new path and assisted his journey to
going through many circumstances that you begin to lose yourself. You soon not know who you are. Yes, this is a question to you, the one who is reading these exact words right at this moment. Take a second to imagine losing your character. Was there ever a time of happiness in your life?
When Jurgis is allowed to leave, he find that his family has been evicted from their home, and that they had been staying with other relatives. Ona passes away during giving birth, leading to Jurgis’s spiral into deep depression, leading to his alcoholic tendencies. He becomes a beggar, and an addict to morphine. H has lost all communication to his other relatives, later discovering that one of his relatives has become a prostitute.
“How Should We Teach The Jungle” by Christopher Phelps has a more convincing argument than “Of Meat and Myth” by Lawrence W. Reed. It is incontrovertible that Phelps believes The Jungle should be taught. Phelps not only includes his ideas, but he also includes others’ ideas to support his own. This way, his argument is supported by more than just facts, unlike Reed’s argument. In “How Should We Teach The Jungle”, Phelps uses evidence, reasoning, and style to show that The Jungle is important in shaping the intellectual development of the youth.
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, is set in Chicago in the early 1900’s, during the height of social reform known as the Progressive era. The population of Chicago had grown substantially, from 29,000 in 1850 to 1.7million in 1900, due to the influx of immigrants in search of the “American dream”. America was the destination of all in search of freedom, equality and higher wages. The dream promised success in exchange for hard work, determination and morality. The reality was that the “American dream” was just an illusion.
In the novel, “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair, Jurgis Rudkus plays an important role. Jurgis goes on a journey with his wife to a new country looking for a job and ends up losing more than he ever thought he could lose. The character, Jurgis Rudkus, is a strong willed man who faces many difficult situations on his journey to find a job and to reunite with his in laws.
The chatter and whispers of the ideas and philosophies of socialism have now become yells and screams about how socialism is the most righteous form of government, that will revolutionize social justice issues in America. The idea of socialism has been around since Plato, yet it never seems to work successfully. There have been many different works written to push the philosophies of Socialism but one of the most read books is The Jungle written by Upton Sinclair. Although many copies of this book have been sold since its publishing it has failed in its goal to open people’s eyes to the horrors of a capitalist society.
Zoomorphism, or the shaping of something in animal form or terms, is almost the opposite of personification. Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle illustrates early twentieth century Chicago as a metaphorical jungle primarily through the use of zoomorphism. The use of zoomorphism highlights the animalistic similarities of Chicago and the jungle, and suggests that Darwinism relates to humans. The main protagonist, Jurgis, is commonly described using negative zoomorphism.
During the 1900’s working conditions were undeniably horrible. In Packingtown everyday got more difficult as the days went on. In the meat packing business things were supposed to be done quick. Inside the factories packing, chopping, inspecting and people actions didn’t mix. Not only did the people in the factories suffered, the people outside of the factory also suffered.
Families that are poor or have a low income are more likely to commit crimes for the purpose of their own needs to survive. “It is a fact that neighborhoods where the poor are concentrated are more prone to high crime rates, and poor residents are the most common victims of crimes” (1). The best explanation for this is that poorer people have the same needs as a regular middle-class citizen. The poor citizens need certain things to help him or her live a healthy life, such as healthcare, food stamps, and more employment options. One may argue that healthcare is too expensive and that food stamps have been taken away from many people.
Upton Sinclair portrays the economic tension in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries through his novel “The Jungle”. He used the story of a Lithuanian immigrant, Jurgis Rudkus, to show the harsh situation that immigrants had to face in the United States, the unsanitary and unsafe working conditions in the meatpacking plants, as well as the tension between the capitalism and socialism in the United States during the early 1900s. In the late 19th century and early 20th centuries, there were massive immigrants move into the United States, and most of them were from Europe. The protagonist, Jurgis Rudkus, like many other immigrants, have the “America Dream” which they believe America is heaven to them, where they can
These workers would produce meat products that were contaminated, processed, and rotten. They would sell products that had chemicals on them but then label the package differently so the public would not know. Sinclair shows how the workers would still process the dead and diseased animals once the inspectors left the factories. “There would be meat that had tumbled out on the floor, in the dirt and sawdust, where the workers had tramped and spit uncounted billions of consumption germs. There would be meat stored in great piles in rooms” (161).
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
What does one do when their family is struggling? In the novel The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, Jurgis provides not only for his family, but for anyone in need during hardship. He works hard so no one else has to and everyone can be happy. Even when a crisis comes up he finds a way. He takes care of the ones he loves and leaves no one out.
Anything in a novel can be represented as a symbol. Symbols are a representation of an item through an abstract concept. Surprisingly, a Union Stockyard could also be a symbol; The fictional Packingtown reveals many attributes about the real life Packingtown in the course of The Jungle. In The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair, Sinclair uses Packingtown to symbolize the corrupt government, the working class, and the condition of the United States.
During the time period of the 1900’s, the meat packaging industry in Chicago, as Sinclair mentions in his novel, The Jungle, was a very unsanitary and extremely dangerous workplace that lacked much more than just a few safety precautions. Simple things, such as enforcing hand washing or workers’ rights were unheard of in the working environment. It is clear that Upton Sinclair was trying to expose the worker’s horrendous labor conditions in order to improve their situation, along with the introduction of socialism. Upton Sinclair, in his novel, talks about how a Lithuanian immigrant by the name of Jurgis Rudkus, and his family, travel to Chicago trying to make ends meet. However, they soon realize Chicago was not the place for that.