Poverty Exposed In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle

The Jungle Opinions

Novels have been used frequently by authors for readers to acknowledge certain aspects of society they [readers] are unaware of. A prime example is Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle. The novel focuses on Jurgis Rudkus, a Lithuanian immigrant, who has just arrived in Chicago with his wife Ona and the rest of her family, including Jurgis’s aging father. Life in America starts at decent for the family with all adults capable of getting jobs, but quickly takes multiple turns for the worst. The family soon faces the corruption in America and the “American Dream” that tears each one of them apart. The Jungle is a fascinating, although gruesome and downright cruel at parts, book that reveals the hardships of poverty and the harsh

trials impoverished people, specifically immigrants, faced in cities to survive in the early 20th century. Sinclair’s reasoning to write The Jungle is honorable along with his realistic portrayal of poor urban life in Chicago.
I believe there are many reasons why Sinclair wrote The Jungle during the early 1900s.

In that time immigrants were being exploited for work and other swindles merely because they did not understand English. This happens numerous times with Jurgis and his family with the most impacting one being the contract to the house which they were tricked into agreeing too because of the agent not telling them all the information. The Jungle also tells in shocking detail the lives of impoverished workers and how hard it is to survive when living on less than five dollars a week. It goes into depth of the harsh winters, starvation and the millions of men just wanting to work to see another day. The book doesn’t leave out either the casualties of poverty such as Jurgis’s wife Ona’s death and her baby’s and indirectly Stanislovas’s, one of Elzbieta’s, Ona’s stepmother, children. These were good reasons to write The Jungle, but I think the main reason Sinclair wrote it was to show the corruption in the meat industry. Jurgis gets and loses countless jobs not because he was not a hard worker, but because the companies he worked for were cruel. The companies’ work conditions for the men were horrible and unsafe leading to accidents in the workplace and festering illnesses with one causing the death of Jurgis’s father Dede Antanas. One of Jurgis’s worst

jobs was at the fertilizer plants which had a reputation of its workers only lasting a few years and caused Jurgis painful headaches and the smell of fertilizer ingrained onto him. The companies also didn’t let workers off that much even for illness or Ona’s case a day after her wedding. If a worker didn’t show up for his work a single day, chances are someone has already taken their spot no matter the excuse. And if it could not get any worse the pay was horrible. Jurgis was paid very low, even for that time, and despite all the adults getting jobs some of Elzbieta’s children like Stanislovas went out and got work to support the family. It also took time to explain exactly how products like pork were made in gruesome detail and all the sick things the companies aloud like not taking out the diseased pigs. Sinclair wrote The Jungle during this time because he wanted people who did not live lifestyles like the ones in his book to witness the harsh reality of laborers’ lives. He wanted them to know what is going on in cities like Chicago and what is in the meat they eat everyday of their lives. Sinclair wants Americans to take a stand and change the way laborers are treated and put stricter laws on companies for the better of the workers and the product being sold. The purpose of The Jungle was for a revolution in the labor industry to make what happens in factories and plants stop and transform into a lawful and fair business and environment.
I think Sinclair’s portrayal of urban life in Chicago is realistic. I have have only visited Chicago a handful of times, not to mention I did not live there in the early 20th century, but the way it is shown in the book makes it seem true. Based on what we’ve learned in class such as the tenements being overstuffed with people, sewage in the streets and little to no health policies in buildings I found what he depicted about people getting diseases like blood poisoning and serious injuries to be very believable. It did not surprise me that the majority of people in the city were impoverish and begging for work since that is how I have viewed America during the early 1900s; a time where even children helped support the family so they will not die of starvation. That’s why I was also not fazed with how little the workers were paid despite doing grueling work for long hours. What did surprised me though was the kindness of the people living in Packingtown. Despite being in the same condition as Jurgis and his family, many of them were willing to donate dimes and pennies to help pay for funerals and even to help get a midwife to Ona even if they knew she wasn’t going to survive childbirth. I found that to be quite heartwarming and I like to believe that people did do this back then. There were other aspects of urban life in Chicago that I found believable like the weather especially during winter. I have been in Chicago during winter and can vouch of how cold it is even with winter wear on and how much it snows. Sinclair’s depiction of the family’s struggle with winter is appropriate considering they can’t afford clothes to withstand the cold not to mention how much of a hike and risky it would be to walk through feet of snow. Even though I find the majority of what Sinclair wrote of urban life in Chicago to be genuine, there are parts I consider to be an exaggeration such as a kid’s ears popping right off from frostbite and a person being eaten to death by rats. Besides those scenes, I find Sinclair’s description of urban life in Chicago to be very appropriate.
I believe what Sinclair wrote about the urban poor is true.

I do not think that anyone truly has a right to disclaim what he wrote considering that those who will probably eat three meals a day with a roof over their head. I find The Jungle to be rational as it does not come right out and state all the horrible things the urban poor face, but instead presents it as cause and effect. An example would be because Jurgis hurt his ankle, he lost his job and the family became low on money. Then he was forced to work at the fertilizer plant and Ona prostituted herself to keep her job which ultimately led to Jurgis going to jail and Ona dying. The events that occur one after another are very realistic during that time and, I consider, what probably happened to many impoverish families living in cities. Sinclair is not trying to manipulate the reader and,yes the horrible events happening to one single family may not be true for everyone one but even if he was exaggerating what harm could be done? It is a fact that living conditions in cities during the early 20th century were bad and unpleasant; cities were covered in sewage, children played in trash for amusement, and people were constantly starving and getting sick with different types of diseases. If Sinclair truly did overemphasize the living conditions of the poor (which in parts I am sure he did to get his point across) what “horrible” things could occur? Give people better places to live that were insulated in the

winter and cool in the summer? Force business to treat their workers like people with respect and improved working environments and wages? The only group getting “hurt” if these things did occur would be the businesses and landlords and I am sure they will recover quickly. I believe the The Jungle’s representation of the urban poor is true, and perhaps, exaggerated in some parts.
The Jungle is an interesting although grim book that accurately depicts life not only as immigrants in America, but as a poor family just trying to survive. It reveals the cruelty in the labor industries, specifically the meatpacking industry, and how it greatly contributes to the growing number of poor urban people in cities. Its desire to awaken the public to the bitter lives of laborers and for a change is evident with its grisly details. Not only does Sinclair accurately portray urban life in Chicago, but he does so in a matter-of-fact way if a little farfetched. Many readers can agree that The Jungle is a very believable description of a family trying to endure the rigid ordeals thrown their way.