Socialism In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle

Some people view capitalism as an evil form of government, and favor Socialism. One of these people being Upton Sinclair, author of the novel The Jungle. In the novel The Jungle, Upton Sinclair illustrates capitalism as evil and goes out of his way to show how awful a capitalist country can be. He writes about a Lithuanian family who comes to America in hopes of a better life, but their dreams are soon crushed by the reality of the countries capitalist ways. As soon as the family arrives to Packingtown, Chicago they realize how awful the living and working conditions are. The main characters, Jurgis and Ona get married and have a child. One of the family members, Marija, even begins prostituting to help support the family. When the family arrives to their destination in Chicago they automatically smell the stench of rotting animal flesh and animal waste, along with flowing smoke that fills the air. The family sees how ugly the streets are and how awful the living conditions are. When they begin to work, they notice how unsafe the working conditions are, not to mention unsanitary. Along with poor working conditions they also realize how low the wages are. The business owners are extremely unfair and if they are just a few minutes late they lose your job. Sinclair shows
A little while after their marriage Ona gets pregnant and has a baby boy. Being that money is scarce Ona has to return to work just one week after giving birth, putting her health at risk. Jurgis’ long work hours prevent him from spending time with his son. Their son, Antanas, becomes ill and gets the measles. He also becomes malnourished, along with the rest of the people in Packingtown. Ona gets pregnant again and goes into premature labor, due to various factors. Ona and the baby both die and Jurgis is left destroyed. One day, Jurgis returns to the boarding house, only to find that antanas has drowned in the mire of mud in the