Review Of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle

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Upton Sinclair was an American author who wrote almost 100 books. He was a very popular author in the 20th century. Sinclair was considered a muckraker. A muckraker is a journalist who exposed corruption in politics and business in the early 20th century. He won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction books in 1943. He is most famous for his novel, The Jungle. This book is a political fiction novel that exposed the harsh conditions of working in the meat packing industry. The novel was published in 1906.
The Jungle is a political novel that sheds light to the harsh conditions of working in the meat packing industry. It begins with Jurgis Rudkus and Ona Lukoszaite immigrating to Chicago. These two are planning to get married, but they are poor and they …show more content…
Jurgis promises Ona that he will work harder to pay off the money owed for the ceremony. Ona’s father dies and the family doesn’t have much money left in the savings account. The couple had and their families had to live in a packed boardinghouse that was run by a widow. The couple decided to go for a walk one day, and all they could smell were horrific odors from the stockyard meat packing house. Jurgis promises Ona that he will go and get a job there. The family was taken a tour to see the Packingtown by Jokubas. Jurgis feels badly about the fact that these animals will be killed at the end of the day. Jokubas informs them that the inspector doesn’t always check the meat thoroughly and allows spoiled meat to be scattered in with the rest of the meat. Jurgis gets the job and he starts off by sweeping the entrails of the slaughtered cattle through trap doors. The family finds a home, but are disturbed by the fact that it is considered a rental until the full amount of the home has been paid off. They close on the home, but Jurgis still wants to speak with a lawyer for more information. The family gets settled into the home and buys necessities for the …show more content…
In the beginning of the novel, the reader is introduced to the fact that Jurgis and Ona do not have much money after immigrating to Chicago. Sinclair writes, “The rich people not only had all the money, they had all the chance to get more; they had all the knowledge and the power, so the poor man was down, and he had to stay down.” This quote indicates that the poor will always be behind. In this novel, I saw this to be true, since the laborers worked long hard hours and were still not granted enough pay. Sinclair did a really good job vividly describing the hardships that Jurgis and his family endured. “Here was a population, low-class and mostly foreign, hanging always on the verge of starvation, and dependent for its opportunities of life upon the whim of men.” This quote describes exactly how Jurgis and his family lived there lives. “These midnight hours were fateful ones to Jurgis; in them was the beginning of his rebellion, of his outlawry and his unbelief. Sinclair included this quote to display how society failed Jurgis. Throughout this novel, the reader is able to see how workers were treated during this time. Many of the characters lost their jobs, were under paid, and were stricken with diseases from such poor working conditions. I really enjoyed reading this novel, Upton Sinclair did a very good job of exposing the injustices many Americans face. After reading the
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