Throughout Upton Sinclair’s magnum opus, The Jungle, we see the Rudkus family and their struggles as they live through the hard times before the Great Depression. While the title of the novel represents a more animalistic idea, the novel never tells of anything that relates to the title, unless you look at the story from another perspective. In this novel we clearly see the Social Darwinist idea, which is the theory that only the strong will survive, in full effect because in The Jungle we see a literal jungle in the form of the lives of Jurgis and the Rudkus family. Through the chapters we see the attempt of the Rudkus family to move higher up in the “animal kingdom” yet they never seem to exceed. This is the story of a non native species …show more content…
We first see the example of a strong person surviving in the form of Jurgis who throughout the novel is represented as a very strong person, this is shown at the beginning of the novel when it’s stated, “Jurgis could take up a two-hundred-and-fifty-pound quarter of beef and carry it into a car without a stagger,” this shows how strong Jurgis really is, making him a good fit for surviving the jungle.(Sinclair 2) On the other hand, there are the Rudkus’ that can’t survive because they are not strong enough to, this is best seen when referring to Dede Antanas. When being described in the novel the common theme for Dede Antanas is that he is frail and old best described when said, “Not more than sixty, but you would think he was eighty,” this has been caused by the work Antanas was able to apply for in America, which caused him to become weak, while also changing him down to how old he appears to be, this is the main factor in the fact that he can’t survive in his new environment, eventually leading to the death of Antanas. (6) This shows how the strong are able to survive, while the weak will be left behind, like in a jungle and in Social Darwinism where only the strong can survive, but there is another huge factor in surviving the …show more content…
The strongest analogy used to describe this is when comparing the description of the hogs coming through the slaughterhouse to the immigrants coming into America during the time of the novel. In the novel this event is described as, “brought about ten thousand head of cattle every day,” showing how many immigrants, represented by cattle, these factories would receive looking for work. Then there is the description of how the immigrants are used to there limits then disposed of after they have either been injured or just lost their job, this is shown when said, “They use everything about the hog except the squeal,” this represent how much of the immigrants use of before eventually firing them or losing their job. (27) With the description of how the businesses use the hogs as well as how indispensable the cattle are and that comparison with the immigrants shows how the immigrants are literal animals in the eyes of the
After the 1906 publication of Upton Sinclair’s novel, The Jungle, American citizens were shocked and confused. An instant hit, the book made Sinclair an immediate celebrity. His most famous quote was pertaining to the impact that The Jungle had on society, he states, “I aimed for the public’s heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach.” The groundbreaking novel unearthed the lives of poor immigrants living and working in the Chicago stockyards. The story's main character, Jurgis Rudkus, is a Lithuanian immigrant who came to America with the dream of living a happy and content life with his family.
All over the world, individuals would want to alter something in their past for a more enriched life. One’s precedent actions will inevitably bear an impact on future resolutions. In Upton Sinclair’s novel, The Jungle, the main character, Jurgis Rudkus, departed Lithuania, with his beloved and her family, for a more prosperous life in America, but after countless of trials, ended up destitute. His decisions throughout the tribulations will determine the outcome in a world full of adversity. However, how Jurgis acted on one of his ordeals engendered a great burden that he still bears in the present, and that this link into the past depicts Sinclair’s theme of corruption.
In “The Jungle” Sinclair tells us numerous of times how he feels he could fix the United States of America that was through showing his opinion on socialism. Sinclair obviously believed in the american dream but he wanted to introduce us to what he called “democratic socialism” he had very convincing arguments for socialism and how it would help the U.S get back on track to what it once believed . His purpose of writing “The Jungle” was not to inform people about the products they were eating, but to spread what he believed and try to spread it all across america. The outcome of the book was not the intended purpose although it was still a positive outcome.
In the book The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, the main characters are Jurgis, Elzbieta, Marija, little Stanislovas, Ona, old Antanas and baby Antanas. Throughout the book, there is a constant theme of destruction due to the family moving to America from Lithuania. This shaped their fate, actions, and characteristics. The family was trapped in the American Jungle having no control in what happened to them and demolished their lives; history repeating itself. Historical events prove the suffering America brings.
Sinclair’s novel The Jungle has many themes in the book. It starts off as a family moving to America for a better life. Many things happened in the book for explain all the dishonest men, the significance of the title, society, Jurgis encounters, the significance of the quote, “I aimed for the public heart, and...hit it in the stomach.” The United States wasn't what they expected but life is like an elevator,on your way up you sometimes have to stop and let somebody off.
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.
A target for criticism for decades, Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle has been controversial since its first publishing in 1906. Literary critics commonly discredit the novel’s formal features; usually associating its failures to Sinclair’s political ideology. While historians give blame to external events, especially in political context to the novel’s popularity. In either argument, it is agreed that the novel is a loser (Wilson).
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
There are thousands of literatures in this world, every book contains the painstaking and diligent efforts of the author, and some are especially valuable because authors take many risks to finish them. Writers will take risks in many ways like the content, the structure and the format of the book. There is a novel named The Jungle, the author Upton Sinclair also takes many risks to finish and publish it. Those risks do have some advantages, however, on the other hand, they also have disadvantages, and why did he want to take those risks? What is the main purpose for those risks?
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.
In our world, people who are born different from other people are almost always treated differently from those who are “normal”. Nearly every person that is treated differently is treated in a more negative way than they would be if they fit in with other people. This is a terrible and insensible trend that has caused years of suffering throughout human history. Because of unimportant and miniscule discrepancies, such as race, we have decided to put up walls between cultures and make ourselves narrow-minded and un-open to new ideas. The reality that discrimination is universal has lead to discrimination becoming a popular theme in literature and other forms of entertainment.
The Jungle is the story of Jurgis Rudkis and his family. They immigrated from Lithuania to find a better life in America. Their story is a one of tragedy, suffering and poverty. They find their way to Chicago and the meatpacking plants, where they face many hardships and difficulties. Workers at the plants are not paid well, are overworked and face dangerous conditions, but Jurgis has no trouble getting a job there.
The Jungle is a novel written by Upton Sinclair. The book portrays the life of immigrants during the late 1900s. Specifically focusing on the story of Jurgis Rudkus and Ona Lukoszaite and relatives, who immigrated from Lithuania to Chicago in search for a better and successful life. Shortly after arriving, Jurgis and Ona had a wedding feast in which they were left in one-hundred dollars of debt after the guest did not donate money to help cover the costs, which was a Lithuanian tradition. Then the family settled in Packingtown, which was the central place for Lithuanian immigrants and of the meatpacking industry in Chicago.
Author Upton Sinclair uses the slaughterhouse hogs to symbolize European immigrants, and how they are seen as helpless creatures, when in reality they all have their own sense of individuality despite the pain they endure. By using the hogs
The Jungle is the story of Jurgis Rudkus and his family, Lithuanian immigrants who come to America to work in the meatpacking plants of Chicago. Their story is a story of hardship. They face enormous difficulties: harsh and dangerous working conditions, poverty and starvation, unjust businessmen who take their money, and corrupt politicians who create laws that allow all of this to happen. The story follows the hardships of Jurgis and his family and the transformation that Jurgis undergoes when he accepts the new political and economic revolution of socialism.