Examination Of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle

Examination of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle The 20th century was a time of rapid industrialization. Because of this industrialization, Americans and Immigrants faced endless hardships. The novel The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, is regarded as one of the most important novels of this time. It is considered an important and valuable analysis of several themes relating to turn-of-the-century life in America. The themes of immigration, living conditions, and working conditions, all expose why The Jungle is such a crucial puzzle piece to understanding this time in American History.
Life for immigrants was very difficult in the 20th century. Most immigrants immigrated to America in attempt to escape conditions in their previous country and also, in
Most families settled in cities because of job opportunities and some-what affordable housing. But because so many people lived there, the housing was incredibly overcrowded. This, combined with candle use and the fact that most structures were made of wood, led to fires. Major fires included, Chicago of 1871, and San Francisco of 1906. This increase in population also caused an increase in crime. Cities were unsafe and dangerous. No one took care of or cleaned the city, the sanitation was appalling. There were no sewage systems or trash companies, which what most people consider to be basic necessities of life now. So, sickness and diseases spread instantaneously. Safe drinking water was hard to obtain if anyone could at all. Then, typhoid fever began to spread. Because of factories and large buildings, air pollution became a big problem, adding another thing to the list of hardships immigrants continued to face. Most immigrants also struggled with daily living because of their lack of knowledge. When immigrants could go to school, conditions were poor and teachers were unqualified. But most could not even attend these schools, they had to work to live. Simply communicating with others became an impossible task due to the language barrier. In The Jungle, the characters all faced very difficult living conditions causing sickness, and even death. For example, baby Antanas drowned when he went out to play on the street by their home. “‘He fell off the sidewalk!’ She wailed. The sidewalk in front of the house was a platform made of half-rotten boards, about five feet above the level of the sunke street.” (Sinclair 209). The city conditions were anything but admirable, making life for everyone, a dismal event. Conditions at home were horrible, but conditions at work were much