Sinclair and Dante: Packingtown, Chicago and the Nine Circles of Hell
Sinclair and Dante: Packingtown, Chicago and the Nine Circles of Hell
Allie Sheppeck
Mr. Cosme
English 10
12 March 2012
Sinclair and Dante: Packingtown, Chicago and the Nine Circles of Hell
Chicago in 1906 was considered ‘hell.’ Is that a coincidence, or did Sinclair get inspiration from Hell itself? The workers of Packingtown may have felt that they were experiencing Dante’s Inferno and the punishments with it. Sinclair noticed this as well, as he made many allusions to Dante when describing their lives and the environment.
When thinking of The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, many immediately picture the grotesque meat that was being packaged and sent out to the families all over the state and country. That is because of the paragraph about the meats, where Sinclair writes of the spoiled meat used as sausage; the many chemicals used to change color, flavor, and odor; and removing the bone from bad smoked hams, where a white-hot iron was placed instead. The bad meats were sold under false pretenses, and most of the time it worked. Boneless hams were odds and ends of pork, California hams were shoulders and knuckle joints, and skinned hams were made from old hogs (142). That passage so angered President Roosevelt that he had the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act passed, which had harsher laws regarding the meats that could be used. “‘I aimed at the public’s heart,’ said Sinclair, ‘and by accident I hit in the stomach’” (McCage). He said that because he was instead hoping to expose the poor working conditions and hopefully promote socialism. The workers in Packingtown were given very low wages; not even eighteen cents an hour (Sinclair 44)! They were treated very poorly and were given no sympathy for sickness or death. For example, Ona was dislike by her forelady after asking for a holiday to get married (112). Although it was not allowed to happen, bosses would blacklist workers, keeping them from ever getting a job (208). The working
Allie Sheppeck
Mr. Cosme
English 10
12 March 2012
Sinclair and Dante: Packingtown, Chicago and the Nine Circles of Hell
Chicago in 1906 was considered ‘hell.’ Is that a coincidence, or did Sinclair get inspiration from Hell itself? The workers of Packingtown may have felt that they were experiencing Dante’s Inferno and the punishments with it. Sinclair noticed this as well, as he made many allusions to Dante when describing their lives and the environment.
When thinking of The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, many immediately picture the grotesque meat that was being packaged and sent out to the families all over the state and country. That is because of the paragraph about the meats, where Sinclair writes of the spoiled meat used as sausage; the many chemicals used to change color, flavor, and odor; and removing the bone from bad smoked hams, where a white-hot iron was placed instead. The bad meats were sold under false pretenses, and most of the time it worked. Boneless hams were odds and ends of pork, California hams were shoulders and knuckle joints, and skinned hams were made from old hogs (142). That passage so angered President Roosevelt that he had the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act passed, which had harsher laws regarding the meats that could be used. “‘I aimed at the public’s heart,’ said Sinclair, ‘and by accident I hit in the stomach’” (McCage). He said that because he was instead hoping to expose the poor working conditions and hopefully promote socialism. The workers in Packingtown were given very low wages; not even eighteen cents an hour (Sinclair 44)! They were treated very poorly and were given no sympathy for sickness or death. For example, Ona was dislike by her forelady after asking for a holiday to get married (112). Although it was not allowed to happen, bosses would blacklist workers, keeping them from ever getting a job (208). The working
Cited: Aligheri, Dante. The Inferno. Trans. John Ciardi. New York: Signet, 2009. “Dream symbolism: mountains.” Dream Dictionary. n.p., n.d. Web. 23 February 2012. "grafters." West 's Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2. 2008. The Gale Group 9 Feb. 2012. Kolko, Gabriel. The Triumph of Conservatism: A Reinterpretation of American History, 1900-1916. Chicago: Quadrangle Books, 1967. Print. McCage, Crystal. "Sinclair, Upton." In Anderson, George P., Judith S. Baughman, Matthew J. Bruccoli, and Carl Rollyson, eds. Encyclopedia of American Literature, Revised Edition: Into the Modern: 1896–1945, Volume 3. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom 's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. (accessed 25 January, 2012). Novels for Students. Marie Rose Napierkowski and Deborah A. Stanley, eds. Vol. 6. Detroit: Gale, 1999. 366 pp. Sinclair, Upton. The Jungle. New York: Bantam Books, 2003. Print.