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The jungle upton sinclair novel
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“The Hidden Jungle”: It’s Hard to Find
What if a book that lacked literary expertise according to critics still managed to change a whole system of industry? A book that literary critics would call sub-par but would could cause an uproar solely by revealing the unsanitary conditions of a workplace. Such is the case with Upton Sinclair’s 1906 book The Jungle. Often not considered one of the legends of writing, Sinclair published over ninety literary works that received little attention and readership. Among his works, only a few stood out. He received the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1943 for his work Dragon’s Teeth. But he is most known for his controversial novel, The Jungle. Sinclair was a target for criticism largely due to his
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surprising success. Because of this, many critics expected more out of his book in a literary sense and were disappointed when his writing was not as mature as his content. Sinclair exposed parts of the meatpacking industry that many people could not even fathom.
From the unsanitary working conditions to the mistreatment of workers and animals, he wrote about gruesome and upsetting topics that even caught the attention of the government. Because of Sinclair’s novel, the Food and Drug Administration(1906), the Federal Meat Inspection Act(1906), and the Pure Food and Drug Act(1906) were created. However, despite the good it has done for the safety of the people regarding consumption, the book is banned from many schools and libraries for the “violence” it contains. Because of this, many people do not have the chance to read a book that expresses ideas in which arguments that could enrich the reader’s mind that would allow the reader to become a more mature thinker. Although it is possible that the banning of the book was done out of consideration for the people, the right to decide whether to apply a book’s ideals and to be influenced by them should be solely up to the person after that person has decided whether or not the content is offensive or …show more content…
useful. Upton Sinclair’s childhood largely affected his work. Growing up in a household with a wealthy mother and poor father, Sinclair was exposed to the two different classes growing up. His father struggled with finances and succumbed to the influence of alcohol as a result. Sinclair opposed his father’s ways. He moved to New York at the age of ten and entered the College of the City of New York. While there, he found a father in Reverend W.W. Moir. The minister greatly influenced Sinclair and his writing while acting as a good influence who would help Sinclair grow in his faith. He became interested in social issues and was chosen to write about the Chicago stockyards after the editor of Appeal to Reason, Fred. D. Warren read his work Manases(1904). Sinclair’s goal in his study of Chicago, was to create a novel similar to Uncle Tom’s Cabin but of the labor movement. In many ways, The Jungle’s depiction of socialism closely mirrored the view of Christianity in Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Other ties between the book included the shock that the readers received on behalf of slavery and industry. Issues that the people did not seem relevant before were suddenly very important. Furthermore, when it came down to finding a publisher, the focus was not on the socialism aspects of the book but of the disturbing aspects of the meatpacking industry. He was denied by six publishers and was told the following by an authority at Macmillan: "I advise without hesitation and unreservedly against the publication of this book which is gloom and horror unrelieved. One feels that what is at the bottom of his fierceness is not nearly so much desire to help the poor as hatred of the rich.” This comment is relevant because Sinclair was stuck in between the two classes. The family he grew up with was poor, however, he often spent lengthy spans of time living with his wealthy grandparents. Exposed to both styles of living, he found the difference between the classes extreme. Some would say these extremes contributed to Sinclair’s change to socialism. This comment also insults Sinclair’s work by ignoring the importance of the content inside the book just because it might stir a negative reaction due to the “gloom” and “horror” it contains.
Not only that, many other publishing companies only agreed to publish the book if many excerpts of the book containing “violent” language and images were cut out. By cutting out important details that aid to the reality of the problem, the reader is left with a meek view of a horrific issue. In Areopagitica, John Milton states directly his viewpoint on censorship when he says, “the knowledge of and survey of vice is in the world so necessary to the constituting of human virtue, and the scanning of error to the confirmation of truth, how can we more safely, and with less danger, scout into the regions of sin and falsity than by reading all manner of tractates and hearing all manner of reason? And this is the benefit which may be had of books promiscuously read”. Milton’s argument is of utmost importance in that he shows how readers are entitled to their own opinion and how publishers do not have the right to cut out parts solely because they think the book is not suited for an audience. Just as in the First Amendment, Milton argues for freedom of speech and suggests that freedom in a literary sense is to be able to choose. To choose which books are helpful or useless. And to choose if the book should influence their thoughts or not. However, this freedom should only be
private, as people should decide for themselves as reading is a personal affair. The banning of The Jungle by Sinclair exemplifies how people often do not embrace different ideas of thinking. Just as how Uncle Tom’s Cabin presented a viewpoint that many people did not have at the time, The Jungle does the same with industry. To ban such an influential book due to “violence” should not be allowed as the benefits from reading can develop the reader in ways a book that is flat cannot. The act of banning is not an act of righteousness as it gives readers a skewed view of what the world is really like because they are not able to benefit from the knowledge in text that cannot be provided in real life. This ultimately leads to conformity in the people’s beliefs so that they do not stray and create disorder in the peace of the country. If books like The Jungle were not banned and people were free to develop their own ideals from what they have learned from books, mankind would be much more developed in thought and more aware of the issues that would otherwise be unseen without the unique knowledge packed within books, banned or not.
The novel follows a family of immigrants from Lithuania working in a meatpacking factory, and as the novel progresses, the reader learns of the revolting conditions within the factories. Sinclair’s The Jungle illustrates the concept of Bitzer’s “Rhetorical Situation” and Emerson’s quote quite effectively. For instance, the horrendous safety and health conditions of the packing factories were the exigencies that Upton Sinclair was making clear to the reader. The rhetorical audience that Sinclair aimed to influence with his novel was Congress and the president, as both had to agree in order to establish health and safety bills to better the conditions within factories. Sinclair’s efforts did not go unnoticed as in 1906 both the Meat Inspection Act, and the Pure Food and Drug act were approved by both Congress and President Theodore Roosevelt (Cherny,
However, that was not the case. When The Jungle was presented to the public, readers were astonished by the disgusting and unsanitary state in which the meat was being processed in. The community was more concerned with the meat conditions than they were with the horrific conditions the workers were faced with. So while the popularity of Sinclair’s work was not his original intentions, it still accomplished stages of reform. It can be assumed that Roosevelts initial reluctance to accept Sinclair’s novel was in part, directly connected to his disbelief that the Federal government had become so disconnected and oblivious to American industry and the complete lack of Federal oversight. This “disconnect” did not last long as The Pure Food and Drug Act, as well as, the Meat Inspection Act were both directly set in to place mere months after Upton Sinclair’s novel, The Jungle was published. This type of reform supported progressive philosophy by preventing corporate owners from remaining above government regulation and started a trend in the way government regulators began to deal with corporate monopolies and trusts. The Jungle, along with other “muckrakers” began a series of Federal oversight reforms and regulatory guidance that soon began to take hold in other industries. Big industry would soon realize that they were not above the
The public’s reaction created unintended consequences from the author’s original intent. Sinclair himself writes "I aimed at the public's heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach." Publishing the novel led to new federal food safety laws such as the Pure Food and Drug act and the Meat Inspection Act. During his job Jurgis noticed the meat factory was a place “...where men welcomed tuberculosis in the cattle they were feeding...”(112). As it would fatten them up and the factory could sell disease ridden meat. Moreover, on the killing floor, they would butcher “slunk calves” for meat. Slunk calves are born prematurely and is against the law to process this cow meat for
...abor reform through his book The Jungle, Upton Sinclair was able to show the world "how the system of graft and patronage functions, how the bosses, the politicians, the contractors, the criminals, the magistrates, and the police work hand in glove." He was also able to open the eyes of consumers and contribute to the passing of the Pure Food and Drug Act, which proves this to be such an important piece of American literature.
Upton Sinclair's Purpose in Writing The Jungle Upton Sinclair wrote this book for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, he tries to awaken the reader to the terrible. living conditions of immigrants in the cities around the turn of the century. Chicago has the most potent examples of these. conditions.
In Upton Sinclair's 1906 novel, “The Jungle,” he exposes corruption in business and government and its disastrous effects on a family from Lithuania. The novel follows immigrant Jurgis Rudkus as he struggles against the slow ANNIHILATION of his family and is REBORN after discovering that socialism as a cure away to all capitalism’s problems. The Jungle is an example of protest literature because it exposes in a muckraking style the DANGEROUS, INHUMAINE conditions that workers lived and worked in, corruption in business and politics and the unsanitary meat that was sold.
Capitalism underwent a severe attack at the hands of Upton Sinclair in this novel. By showing the misery that capitalism brought the immigrants through working conditions, living conditions, social conditions, and the overall impossibility to thrive in this new world, Sinclair opened the door for what he believed was the solution: socialism. With the details of the meatpacking industry, the government investigated and the public cried out in disgust and anger. The novel was responsible for the passage of The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. With the impact that Sinclair must have known this book would have, it is interesting that he also apparently tried to make it fuction as propaganda against capitalism and pro-socialism.
Even though monopolies are illegal, public corruption allows companies to form and continues to be a problem today. In an article published by the Los Angeles, Anh Do
The people who read it were so appalled by the disgusting filth, and the actual ingredients of the processed meat. The book provided the final drive for way for the U.S. Pure Food and Drug Act and truth in labeling all passed by President Theodore Roosevelt. Also in the story, Sinclair concerns the readers with the abuse of immigrant workers, both men and women. This is partially why he uses the story of the man moving from Lithuania to America.
Discuss how Upton Sinclair portrays the economic tensions and historical processes at hand in the late 19th and early 20th centuries
In 1906, socialist Upton Sinclair published The Jungle, a book he hoped would awaken the American people to the deplorable conditions of workers in the meat packing industry. Instead, the book sent the country reeling with its description of filthy, rat infested plants, suspect meats processed and sold to consumers, and corrupt government inspectors. President Roosevelt became seriously concerned by the charges brought forth by Mr. Sinclair and determined the only way to protect consumers from unscrupulous business and unsafe food was to enforce regulation.
One the key pieces of legislation that was a prime example of the progressive era, was the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. This law came about due to muckraking, and also because of public and political interests. Muckraking, such as Upton Sinclair’s piece, “The Jungle”, helped in the timing of the adoption of this legislature. This piece of legislature, allowed for the regulation of processed food items in United States food markets. The Pure Food and Drug Act was assigned to the Department of Agriculture under the Bureau of Chemistry (Law, 2004).
At the turn of the twentieth century “Muckraking” had become a very popular practice. This was where “muckrakers” would bring major problems to the publics attention. One of the most powerful pieces done by a muckraker was the book “The Jungle”, by Upton Sinclair. The book was written to show the horrible working and living conditions in the packing towns of Chicago, but what caused a major controversy was the filth that was going into Americas meat. As Sinclair later said in an interview about the book “I aimed at the publics heart and by accident hit them in the stomach.”# The meat packing industry took no responsibility for producing safe and sanitary meat.
Many impoverished people immigrated to America in hopes of achieving the American Dream but instead were faced with dangerous working conditions while the factory and corporation owners increased their wealth and profit by exploiting this cheap means of labor. Upton Sinclair succeeded to show the nature of the wage slavery occurring in America in the beginning of the twentieth century. People felt distressed and unimportant in the community because they were being used by the wealthy to generate capital leading the industry for the future success and efficacy in the market. Upton Sinclair was an American journalist who incorporated his personal research of the meatpacking industry conditions and people’s life, as well as the structure of the present business into the novel under analysis. Thus, real facts and data were incorporated into this literary work, which helps the audience to feel involved in the work and understand the overall atmosphe...
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.