Upton Sinclair's 'The Jungle'

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Pages: 3

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair is a literary work describing human nature exposing truths of the wrongs done to people of America and is representative of all workers of the time. It is a very depressing realization of how unregulated capitalists corporations and monopolies treated human beings as wage slaves with complete disregard for the workers well-being. Throughout the book, Sinclair shows the struggles of an American family in order to show the failings in American society. **(A little about the Author) Upton Sinclair was a well-known author and “muckraker” journalists in the Progressive Era. The term muckraker characterizes what is known today as “Investigative Reporting”. Sinclair was recognized for writing realistic fiction novels and short stories exposing social and political problems of the time. As a result of …show more content…
Sinclair focused the story on a family from Lithuania, who arrived in Chicago with very little money and no possessions. The family was struggling to survive an oppressive government in Lithuania. The decision to come to America was the hope for a new start and to make a better life for the new couple. The family consists of Jurgis and Ona Rudkus, Ona’s stepmother, Elzbieta, her cousin Marija, her brother Jonas, Jurgis’s father Antanas, as well as Elzbieta’s five children. The story begins with the traditional Lithuanian wedding of Jurgis and his young bride, Ona. In a traditional wedding from Lithuanian guests donate money to the newlywed couple so the couple would have the financial ability to set up a new home and start a new life together. But unlike Lithuania, the wedding in America is one the family can barely afford, the guests do not donate and by the end of the wedding, the family ends up in debt. This event sets the tone for the rest of the story demonstrating the harsh reality for immigrants living in