What was upton sinclairs book the jungle about

Your time is important. Get essay help. Augustine's Viewpoint Essay. My Personal View on Religion Essay. Highway to Hell Essay. Church and Theological Concepts Essay. Necessity of a Saviour Essay. Faith Like a Base of Motivation Essay. Find Free Essays We provide you with original essay samples, perfect formatting and styling. Order Now. Please check your inbox. Order now. Hi there! Are you interested in getting a customized paper? Check it out! Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle to expose the appalling working conditions in the meat-packing industry.

His description of diseased, rotten, and contaminated meat shocked the public and led to new federal food safety laws. A family working in the meat packing industry, exposing what really happened in the industry. What was the reason Congress passed the pure-food-drug bill? Upton Sinclair's book, The Jungle , created a public response.

He exposed how the industry actually was and what was going into the meat. According to Fred J. Cook, the muckrakers ' journalism resulted in litigation or legislation that had a lasting impact , such as the end of Standard Oil's monopoly over the oil industry, the establishment of the Pure Food and Drug Act of , the creation of the first child labor laws in the United States around Category: education language learning.

What was the effect of Upton Sinclair's book, The Jungle? It enlightened the American public to the disgustingly unsanitary food products in the big canning factories. What is Upton Sinclair's purpose in writing the jungle? Sinclair wrote the novel to portray the harsh conditions and exploited lives of immigrants in the United States in Chicago and similar industrialized cities.

His primary purpose in describing the meat industry and its working conditions was to advance socialism in the United States. What is the primary audience for the jungle? Audience Construction in "The Jungle " Upton Sinclair was a muckraker, which means he worked to bring society's ills into the public eye. The reason The Jungle was banned , according to the American Library Association is: " Banned from public libraries in Yugoslavia Burned in the Nazi bonfires because of Sinclair's socialist views Banned in East Germany as inimical to communism.

Why did Sinclair name in the jungle? In the book The Jungle by Upton Sinclair , the title is truly a description of the world within the book. The publication of the book lead to public outrage about the meat sold to people as food with the contamination the book described. The jungle also referred to the conditions under which the workers labored. How old is Ona in the jungle? What was Elzbieta's job? The point is, Teta Elzbieta's primary role in the novel is to be the mother of the household.

She looks after the cooking and cleaning until it becomes absolutely necessary for her to go out and get a job after Marija and Jurgis become unemployed. She is also extremely, extremely practical. How long does it take to read the jungle? What time period was the jungle set in? What was Upton Sinclair's main purpose in writing the jungle quizlet? Recommended to Jed by: bennion and a handful of people who were afraid to read it.

All the terrors you've ever heard about what you might find in its pages are absolutely true. View all 12 comments. May 17, E. I had to read this book in my high school U. History class. I was in an "Academic" class because due to scheduling conflicts, I could not be in either "Honors" or "AP".

I hated this class. I loved the teacher, but at one point the a student stopped class to ask what the difference between the U. I spent almost every class period simultaneously wanting to kill everyone and go get coffee with the teacher, but I never spoke out loud.

Incidentally, he told me I would like co I had to read this book in my high school U. Incidentally, he told me I would like college much better than high school.

In order to encourage me to be more vocal and assertive, when we broke up into groups to work on this book, the teacher made me a group leader.

One member of my group male was aggressively stupid. The other two were varying degrees of comatose. The only thing I really remember of this book apart from the graphic descriptions of putrescence was this: At the beginning of each class, we had to answer check questions just to make sure we had done the assigned reading.

One of the questions was to list ways in which the factory workers died. One of the ways they died was by contracting tuberculosis. Obviously in the book, Sinclair uses the term consumption, which is what I told my group was an additional answer to the question. The aggressively stupid one turned to me and said very clearly: "You're so dumb, I should be the leader. Consumption is when you eat. View all 4 comments.

Nov 25, Thomas rated it liked it Shelves: historical-fiction , read-for-college. Even teachers get things wrong. I remember throughout middle school and high school learning about The Jungle as the book intended to expose the American meatpacking industry. And while it did to that, Upton Sinclair's mission - which I discussed quite a bit in my Social Protest Literature course - centered more on exposing the evils of capitalism.

The public's reception of The Jungle exemplifies the doctrine of unintended consequences, as Sinclair himself writes "I aimed at the public's heart, Even teachers get things wrong.

The public's reception of The Jungle exemplifies the doctrine of unintended consequences, as Sinclair himself writes "I aimed at the public's heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach. We follow Jurgis and his family - immigrants from Lithuania - as they struggle in horrifying and disastrous ways to live the American dream.

Sinclair hits us over and over with all the ways in which capitalism dehumanizes us, pits us against one another, and precludes any type of moral upward mobility. Perhaps Sinclair's book did not achieve its expected goal because of Sinclair's unrelenting and somewhat bombastic prose. The public may have internalized the grossness of his descriptions of the meatpacking industry instead of Sinclair's more overarching indictment of capitalism.

Overall, a worthwhile read for those interested in investigative fiction or books aimed to generate social protest. Not the most subtle or stylistically-sophisticated book by any means, but one that remains relevant in regard to writing and activism.

About halfway through, I've found the ills of the meat packing industry to be very much a secondary issue for Sinclair. He certainly created found a proper setting. I've always had a soft spot for immigrants. Some managed to own their own homes out on Long Island, nothing grand, but solidly middle class. They had hard times in Brooklyn, but nothing like what Sinclair describes.

The morass that his characters landed in is enough to make anyone with a heart weep. IOW, the sheer number of hardships that lines up against them is too long to list. The grinding weight of them is practically unbearable to read about.

This is something for us to remember today when we are facing similar immigration issues. They're desperate. Sinclair shows us that in this novel, although his point is weakened by taking things too far.

His version of Socialism sounded very much like the Communism of Russia, although I'm no expert in or student of gov't types. Make up your own mind on the label, I don't care. I was disappointed in the way the book ended in his political diatribe. The last half wasn't really worth plowing through, especially today, given the historical example of how the Russian's economy worked out under a similar system.

He sees unions as ineffectual, doomed to failure due to the corruption throughout the entire system. I'm glad I read this after the book. I don't much care for fanaticism. Once you feel the book is descending into the depths, cut your losses. As the animals are driven up the ramp into the slaughter house, killed, butchered and processed down to the last scraps of bone and hoof so too an immigrant family will be cozened, cheated, see their dreams shattered and families broken up.

It is one of a number of novels in which the slaughter house is both a metaphor for modern society and foreshadows the fate of the characters, which I suppose is appropriate in that the Chicago slaughterhouse, in which the incoming beasts were de-constructed As the animals are driven up the ramp into the slaughter house, killed, butchered and processed down to the last scraps of bone and hoof so too an immigrant family will be cozened, cheated, see their dreams shattered and families broken up.

It is one of a number of novels in which the slaughter house is both a metaphor for modern society and foreshadows the fate of the characters, which I suppose is appropriate in that the Chicago slaughterhouse, in which the incoming beasts were de-constructed into as many component or marketable parts as possible was one of the inspirations for the Detroit assembly line along which components were once upon a time built up into four wheeled motor cars.

Mirror image processes which might from a certain point of view be taken as epitomising the twentieth century experience. Either way one finds oneself sent along a pre ordained line whether to destruction or to be released into the community on parole, perhaps not as a model-T, until the bell toils for you.

If we take Sinclair's somewhat Weberian view of the culmination of the process of rationalisation and glance on to or even Brave New World , one might wonder why bother going to the trouble of erecting political structures to channel people first along the assembly line and then the dis-assembly line with such involved and complex mechanisms when one can achieve equal destruction simply through the apparently normal and acceptable operation of efficiency and rational economics.

It is only the bleat for which no economic use can be found. View all 13 comments. It is impossible for me to review this without appearing to be pissy. The work itself is barely literary. The Jungle explores and illustrates the conditions of the meatpacking industry. Its presence stirred outcry which led to much needed reforms. Despite the heroics of tackling the Beef Trust, Upton Sinclair saw little need in the actual artful. The protagonist exists only to conjoin the various pieces of reportage.

There isn't much emotional depth afforded, the characters' motivations often ap It is impossible for me to review this without appearing to be pissy. There isn't much emotional depth afforded, the characters' motivations often appear skeptical.

I was left shaking my head on many a turn, especially towards the end where entire speeches from the American Socialist party compete with esoteric findings of left-leaning social scientists from the era around Despite these shortcomings as a novel, the opening half is often harrowing. Graphic descriptions of hellish work conditions, poor food quality and lack of social safety net reached towards a very personal conclusion: I am EVER so grateful that I didn't live years ago and was forced to compete economically under those conditions.

Oct 07, Jonathan Ashleigh rated it liked it. This was a graphic look into the world of meat and it may have been the original Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal , but that just isn't what I am looking for in a book. Jun 07, P. The story of Jurgis and his family who came from Lithuania to work in the slaughterhouses of Chicago in the early 20th century.

Doing some preparatory research for his novel, writer Upton Sinclair has spent some time as a worker in Packingtown, Chicago.

This novel exposes the appalling living conditions migrants faced once they settled : exploited like cattle by a full-blown cartel that brings together industrialists, real estate developers, bar owners, transport companies, state officials, poli The story of Jurgis and his family who came from Lithuania to work in the slaughterhouses of Chicago in the early 20th century. This novel exposes the appalling living conditions migrants faced once they settled : exploited like cattle by a full-blown cartel that brings together industrialists, real estate developers, bar owners, transport companies, state officials, police officers and magistrates.

Though its scope and ambition are much wider, the book is mainly acclaimed for having pushed the US Congress to enact laws in favour of a strengthened sanitary control in the food processing industry. View all 9 comments. As the book portrays these harsh conditions and exploited lives it also describes nauseating health violations and unsanitary practices in the American meat packing industry.

It is this aspect of the novel that resulted in historic legislation that eventually led to the formation of the U. Food and Drug Administration. At this point the book's narrative is barely two thirds complete. The story's protagonist is devastated by the death of his wife and son and tries to escape his sorrowful and miserable life by escaping to the life of a hobo.

After awhile he returned to Chicago and lived through a variety of activities through which he learns about the workings of power in Chicago that contribute to making life difficult for working people like him.

Through the descriptions of his activities the book demonstrates the corrupt relationship of crime, politics, and business in Chicago at that time. The following excerpt describes the situation. It's a lengthy excerpt because there's a lot to describe. The city, which was owned by an oligarchy of business men, being nominally ruled by the people, a huge army of graft was necessary for the purpose of effecting the transfer of power.

Twice a year, in the spring and fall elections, millions of dollars were furnished by the business men and expended by this army; meetings were held and clever speakers were hired, bands played and rockets sizzled, tons of documents and reservoirs of drinks were distributed, and tens of thousands of votes were bought for cash.

And this army of graft had, of course, to be maintained the year round. The leaders and organizers were maintained by the business men directly—aldermen and legislators by means of bribes, party officials out of the campaign funds, lobbyists and corporation lawyers in the form of salaries, contractors by means of jobs, labor union leaders by subsidies, and newspaper proprietors and editors by advertisements.

The rank and file, however, were either foisted upon the city, or else lived off the population directly.

There was the police department, and the fire and water departments, and the whole balance of the civil list, from the meanest office boy to the head of a city department; and for the horde who could find no room in these, there was the world of vice and crime, there was license to seduce, to swindle and plunder and prey. The law forbade Sunday drinking; and this had delivered the saloon-keepers into the hands of the police, and made an alliance between them necessary.

The law forbade prostitution; and this had brought the "madames" into the combination. All of these agencies of corruption were banded together, and leagued in blood brotherhood with the politician and the police; more often than not they were one and the same person,—the police captain would own the brothel he pretended to raid, the politician would open his headquarters in his saloon.

On election day all these powers of vice and crime were one power; they could tell within one per cent what the vote of their district would be, and they could change it at an hour's notice.

The story told by this book is so depressing that I couldn't help but wonder how the author was going the end the story. Surely he would find a way of adding a bit of optimism. Sure enough the author provides a vision for the future.

It's called Socialism. One evening the story's protagonist happens to attend a speech promoting the socialist cause. The text for the equivalent of about a half hour speech is included in the book.

It's clear that this is the message that the author wants to convey. Below I have included the beginning of this speech because I think it summarizes perfectly the life of our protagonist up to this point.

And so you return to your daily round of toil, you go back to be ground up for profits in the world-wide mill of economic might! To toil long hours for another's advantage; to live in mean and squalid homes, to work in dangerous and unhealthful places; to wrestle with the specters of hunger and privation, to take your chances of accident, disease, and death.

And each day the struggle becomes fiercer, the pace more cruel; each day you have to toil a little harder, and feel the iron hand of circumstance close upon you a little tighter. Months pass, years maybe—and then you come again; and again I am here to plead with you, to know if want and misery have yet done their work with you, if injustice and oppression have yet opened your eyes! So the book ends with a variety of conversations that defend the cause of socialism.

The book suggests that support for it is trending up and that eventually will win nationwide popular support.