Upton Sinclair's The Jungle: An Analysis

The Jungle, being a persuasive novel in nature, is filled with different rhetorical devices or tools used by Sinclair to effectively convey his message. Sinclair’s goal of encouraging change in America’s economic structure is not an easy feat and Sinclair uses a number of different rhetorical devices to aid him. Through his intense tone, use of periodic sentencing, descriptive diction and other tools of rhetoric, Upton Sinclair constructs a moving novel that makes his message, and the reasoning behind it, clear.

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair was written to expose the brutality faced by the workers in the meatpacking industry. Sinclair wanted to show people what was really going on in the factory because few people were informed about these companies work conditions. He wanted to show the public that meat was “ diseased, rotten, and contaminated” (Willie).” This revelation shocked the, public which later led to the creation of the federal laws on food and safety. Sinclair strongly shows the failure of capitalism in the meatpacking industry which he viewed as inhumane, destructive, unjust, brutal, and violent (Willie).”

As Upton Sinclair addresses in The Jungle, industry workers were refused the basic human rights

Several years before and after the turn the turn of the twentieth century, America experienced a large influx of European immigration. These new citizens had come in search of the American dream of success, bolstered by promise of good fortune. Instead they found themselves beaten into failure by American industry. Upton Sinclair wanted to expose the cruelty and heartlessness endured by these ordinary workers. He chose to represent the industrial world through the meatpacking industry, where the rewards of progress were enjoyed only by the privileged, who exploited the powerless masses of workers. The Jungle is a novel and a work of investigative journalism; its primary purpose was to inform the general public about the dehumanization

In the early 1900's life for America's new Chicago immigrant workers in the meat packing industry was explored by Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle. Originally published in 1904 as a serial piece in the socialist newspaper Appeal to Reason, Sinclair's novel was initially found too graphic and shocking by publishing firms and therefore was not published in its complete form until 1906. In this paper, I will focus on the challenges faced by a newly immigrated worker and on what I feel Sinclair's purpose was for this novel.

The metaphor of the human being as a waste product allows Sinclair to tap into the guilt feelings of his audience.  At times, the book reminds one of those late-night TV solicitations for funds for third-world children.  What is interesting is that this is not particularly a good novel to read; the writing is dogmatic and often polemical.  Rather than trying to convince with reason and subtlety, Sinclair is shoving a point of view down the throats of those watching.  Still, this brutal approach is the only way to make an impression on an audience so far removed from the reality depicted in the novel.  Such an approach draws on the Catholic/Jewish/universal guilt that is plied by Sinclair like a preacher through the meat market of industrial life.  Rudkus comes into the novel full of hope and the reader must identify with his hopes and dreams.  Yet these dreams are not exactly fodder for a successful novel, if Rudkus was to find his American Dream.  The dream he finds is as rotten as the sausage that he processes, as is the American Dream in the socialist mindset of Sinclair.

Thesis Statement: Upton Sinclair was a muckraker who wrote, “The Jungle”, which exposed the problems of the meatpacking industry.

During the course of The Jungle, Sinclair’s characters are demonstrative of the immigrant factory labourers, collectively, most notably through Jurgis Rudkus, the main character in Sinclair’s The Jungle. Following the promise of the American Dream, Jurgis travels to America in 1906 with his father, his wife-to-be and her family in pursuit of happiness and freedom. Jurgis can be described as “the sort of man the bosses like to get hold of” (23), with a strong immigrant work ethic and ambition to achieve success in America simply through hard work. This was a belief that Sinclair characterized into Jurgis, which made apparent to the reader that working hard shall warrant financial rewards under a capitalist supremacy, “I will work harder” (77), as Jurgis earnestly promises upon finding out that they must pay interest in addition to the monthly rent on the house they just “bought”. As Jurgis’s optimism and innocence are gradually pulverized into oblivion by the domineering, challenging, and treacherous conditions of life in Packingtown, the effects cause Jurgis to sustain uncharacteristic actions for an extended

Sinclair effectively made the readers sympathize with the characters. While reading this story about Jurgis’s life as a Lithuanian immigrant living in America I could not help but, to feel stressed. Similar to Jurgis, I felt the weight and burden dependent upon him to support his family. The descriptive imagery and hopeless tone the author conveys throughout his story helps me to empathize with Jurgis. I can imagine myself struggling to find work on the streets of Chicago, finally finding work in the wretched, unhygienic meatpacking district.

Throughout the novel it is evident that factory owners care more about their profits, than the health of their workers. Jurgis would often work long shifts for little pay. In the story the Sinclair states, “And for this, at the end of the week, he would carry home three dollars to his family, being his pay at the rate of five cents per hour—just about his proper share of the total earnings of the million and three-quarters of children who are now engaged in earning their livings in the United States" (85). This quote proves that Jurgis was laboring long hours, every single day, to make no more than a child. Due to this Jurgis struggles to provide for his family and purchase necessities to live a healthy lifestyle. Eventually his lack of success leads him to drinking and corrupt activities. The corrupt practices of the factory owners are evidenced by child labor, sale of contaminated meat, and abuse of female workers. While capitalist gain financial earnings, the corruption that takes place destroys the heart and soul of workers throughout the stockyards, until all hope is lost.

The novel, The Jungle by Upton Sinclair depicts the lives of poor immigrants in the United States during the early 1900’s. Sinclair is extremely effective in this novel at identifying and expressing the perils and social concerns of immigrants during this era. The turmoil that immigrants faced was contingent on societal values during the era. There was a Social Darwinist sentiment

In the early 1900's life for America's new Chicago immigrant workers in the meat packing industry was explored by Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle. Originally published in 1904 as a serial piece in the socialist newspaper Appeal to Reason, Sinclair's novel was initially found too graphic and shocking by publishing firms and therefore was not published in its complete form until 1906. In this paper, I will focus on the challenges faced by a newly immigrated worker and on what I feel Sinclair's purpose was for this novel.

The jungle by Upton Sinclair has made me realize how history shaped what america is today. It was in this book that raised the spotlight on many topics including: meat handling, minimum wage, workers compensation, sexual harassment, child labor and most importantly the right to express one's thoughts. Now we live in a country that not only honors our freedom but respects and looks over our health. The jungle takes place in the 1900s when over 9 million immigrants were flocking to America searching for what was known as the American dream. So was this particular lutheran family that came to America for just that. Not knowing that in the end they would be contributors of the awareness and importance of checking meat handlers.

The Jungle is a novel that focuses on a family of immigrants who came to America looking for a better life. The novel was written by Upton Sinclair, who went into the Chicago stockyards to investigate what life was like for the people who worked there. The book was originally written with the intent of showing Socialism as a better option than Capitalism for the society. However, the details of the story ended up launching a government investigation of the meat packing plants, and ultimately regulation of food products. It gave an informative view of what life was like in America at the time. Important topics like immigration, working conditions and sanitation issues of the time were all addressed well in the novel.

Upton Sinclair mainly focuses on the issue of capitalism, he illustrates the injustice by showing the harsh living condition of the workers in Packingtown. When Ona and Jurgis take a tour around Packingtown, they are shocked to the filthy areas of meatpacking, but still Jurgis tells Ona, “tomorrow I will get a job ... and then we can get a place of our own” (Sinclair 16). This quote shows how determined Jurgis is to start a decent life in the filthy city of Packingtown. He gets a job sweeping slaughtered cow guts in the factory, although the place is dirty, he is pleased because he is able to make two dollars for his twelve hours shift. Jurgis doesn’t allow his children to work because he wants them to go to school, but the rest of the family finds work for low wages. Soon working at the factory, Jurgis is asked to join a union, that was started by workers who were not happy with the working conditions and wages and wanted to riot for a change. However, Jurgis didn’t join them because he believed “If they couldn't do it, let them go somewhere else” (Sinclair 34). This quote shows the mentality that Jurgis has, the eager to work harder, and those who are lazy will be left behind. The winter comes in Packingtown and brings lots of deaths because of the cold, a lot of the workers have died, which is not a problem because there are many more who are willing to take their jobs. Soon, Ona gives birth to a child named, Antanas, Jurgis is really excited to become a father but had