Upton Sinclair's book The Jungle depicted many disturbing social injustices immigrants had to endure at the time during the 19th century. Jurgis and his family moved to America in search of a better life, but upon arrival the harsh reality set in that America was not what everyone said it to be. They suffered many hardships. The working conditions, when they could find employment, were terrible. They battled discrimination, they were grossly taken advantage of, and survival from day to day in Packingtown slowly worked to deteriorate their faith. Faith in who they were and what they had now become. Upton Sinclair's book, The Jungle, describes how alcohol, poverty and people in positions of authority had a negative impact on lives of immigrants. …show more content…
Ona, being Jurgis's wife, had to deal with Jurgis's drinking problem. This resulted in Jurgis resenting his family and inevitably the couple grew apart. Stanislovas was affected heavily by alcohol that led to his tragic death. When Stanislovas was working serving beers, he would drink the top off the beer and Stanislovas eventually got drunk, fell asleep, and was eaten alive by rats. Jurgis was heavily addicted to alcohol. He had seemingly satisfying short term effects, but inevitable detrimental long term consequence. When Ona died, Jurgis took all the money he could find, even taking the kids money that they had earned. Jurgis ended up drinking all of his pain and his money away. And this was the telling of only three immigrants depicted in the story that were affected by
There was a kind of labors in the U.S. food industry stood on the floor with half an inch deep blood, and put up with the stench. But not only that, they worked faster, but earned less. In fact, they were immigrant labors, and this horrible treatment of them truly happened in the beginning of twenty centuries. The Jungle which was written by Upton Sinclair documented this inhuman treatment. However, a hundred years later, immigrants still suffer the harsh treatment in the modern food industry.
I have a 1st edition copy of "The Jungle" written by Upton Sinclair and published by Doubleday & Page in 1906. The book binding is very solid. The hard cover is in good shape with some wear on the white detailing on the cover and spine.
• Upton Sinclair wrote “The Jungle” which exposed the conditions of the meat packing industry in Chicago. • Moved to Pasadena, California in 1915 and wrote 47 books by 1933. • Sinclair ran for governor of California in the election of 1926 and in 1930 but in 1933 ran as democrat for governor of California • “I, Governor of California, and How I Ended Poverty: A True Story of the Future” (1933) a utopia novel written by Sinclair, if elected, he would end unemployment. • Sinclair proposed another program called End Poverty in California (EPIC) • If any farms were sold for taxes would be purchased by California and establish cooperative agricultures communicates known as “California Authority for Land.” This would only be put into effect
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair is a book that shows social darwinism. Social darwinism is shown in the book when Jurgis breaks his shoulder working in the steel factory and he has to stay at home to get better, but when he goes back to work they already have someone else in his place already. So Jurgis has to go around town looking for a new job but no one will hire him because he’s blacklisted. Other themes in the book are capitalism and socialism. Capitalism has driven people to do terrible things in order to survive.
A Book for Societal Change As one thinks about the change brought about by a book named The Jungle, one might think of its call to preserve forests or wildlife. However, in Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, he writes about something completely different. Sinclair writes this book to expose the meat packing industry and its horrific conditions for the meat and for the workers while also promoting socialism as the ideal form of government. His socialists views expressed in the book lead the book to be banned in several countries.
While challengers to Upton Sinclair’s radical methods for reform label him a socialist foe of American values, Sinclair’s efforts where truly aimed towards publicizing the plight of the average citizen in America. Sinclair helped Californians and citizens throughout the nation realized that their voice and their vote were a powerful political tool. Sinclair’s so called radical policies established a set of Democratic values within California that is still present today. California, The Golden State, was known as the land of milk and honey. It was the home of the gold rush, and industries such as oil, agricultural, and Hollywood flourished.
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.
Immigrants would line up for blocks. From 1892 to 1954, over twelve million immigrants entered into the United States through Ellis island alone. That’s a lot of people who are gonna need a job. The employers were aware of the amount of immigrants coming through. Jurgis main fear was being replaced.
“Things that were quite unspeakable went on there in the packing houses all the time, and were taken for granted by everybody; only they did not show, as in the old slavery times, because there was no difference in color between master and slave”. The international best-seller book The Jungle as published by author Upton Sinclair on February 26, 1906 had a profound impact on society in the way that the working class is viewed, particularly with the food industry and meat packing plants such as the one that took place in Chicago during the story. While building public sympathy through the depiction of such oppressed workers, it also managed to spark a great deal of protests about the poor conditions and lack of sanitation that took place in the food industry. In a short matter of two months after Sinclair had published the book it
Jurgis Rudkus, the main character in The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, has a very rough journey when he moves to America from Lithuania. He faces many hardships and they're difficult for anyone to endure. Throughout the novel Jurgis is put through the justice/prison system multiple times, and each time he experienced something new, whether it be the unjust treatment he received, the food he was served, or even the condition of his cell and daily life there. The novel portrayed the justice system as an unfair one. They treat immigrants and the poor unfairly.
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
Isabelle Wilson Carey, Hour 1 14 January 2015 Social, Political, and International Repercussions of Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle” They were called floorsmen, trimmers, beefboners, or butchers. Stuck with the dirty work, these men hacked and sliced, severing jowls from shoulders from ribs. Backs hunched, they repeated the same motions, preparing these unidentifiable creatures for consumption. The danger of their labor was clear to them from the horrifying accidents they had all witnessed, however they had a job, so no one was complaining.
The Jungle Book Review In 1906, Upton Sinclair published The Jungle to expose how rough the life of immigrants coming to the United States was. This book also exposed unsanitary conditions in meatpacking industry. Upton Sinclair’s main focus in this book was to show how tough life was for immigrants coming to America, but instead he disgusted Americans by the conditions of the meat factories. The book begins with the main character, Jurgis Rudkus, and his wife Ona, having their marriage reception in Chicago. This gives the reader background information about the characters, where they are from, and why they have come to American.
Not only had immigrants been cheated of a promised "comfortable" lifestyle, but the U.S. had also negatively