Socialism In Upton Sinclai's The Jungle
In The late 19th century and early 20th century United States was experiencing great economic change and population growth due to the rise of industrialization and the increase of immigration. However, even though the primary benefit and purpose of industrialization is economic growth, in this period of time the economic and social gap between the rich and the poor grew more than ever before, leading to the surge of socialist groups that demanded reform in workers’ conditions and salary. On the other hand, the early 20th century America was characterized for the strong implementation of capitalism and the belief in social Darwinism, which made it very difficult for poor immigrants to pursue any type of economic success, or even decent living conditions. The Jungle, by Upton
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Sinclair is the perfect representation of how life was in the industrialized and capitalist America during the 19th and 20th century. Moreover, being a socialist himself, Sinclair sought to critique working conditions and the abuse of immigrants working in factories, while also giving an overview of important events taking place in America, such as industrialization, urbanization and progressivism. In The Jungle Sinclair relates the story of a Lithuanian immigrant called Jurgis, who leaves his country to pursue the American dream. Jurgis leaves Lithonia with his future wife Ona and her family after Ona’s step uncle lures him of the great amount of money that can be made in Chicago. However, soon Jurgis finds out that America is not all about opportunities and freedom, since he finds himself and his family living in misery even though they all work long hours for very small salaries. Through the story of the characters’ life Sinclair portrays the life of the European immigrants in America. However, before one can understand the real purpose of the author of this novel, one must be informed in the historical processes taking place in the period of time in which it was written. During the 20th century the industrialization of cities and the introduction of new forms of transportation, such as the railroad, enticed people in search of job opportunities to move to the cities. On top of that, most of the immigrants that came to America settled in cities as well. However, unlike the regular white American man, immigrants were discriminated and abused, most of them had unskilled, dangerous jobs in factories, and usually only could afford to live in slums.
In the story, as soon as Jurgis arrives to America he marries his 15-year-old fiancée, Ona, finding himself in a big debt after the wedding. Due to the circumstances, all the family members, twelve in total, decide to look for work. Sinclair portrays the immigrants’ misery when Ona tells Jurgis that even she has to go to work the day after the wedding or “it will ruin us” (Sinclair 177). Nevertheless, Jurgis finds a job in one of the meatpacking plants of Chicago, his wife and his father also find jobs, but that doesn’t seem to be enough to pay the small, uncomfortable house in which they live in, so they all decide that even the children have to work. When the winter arrives, Jurgis father dies from lung deficiency, and Marija, Ona’s cousin, loses her job because the factory where she works closes, so Ona has to go back to work right after giving birth Antana, her first child. However, right when the summer comes Jurgis gets injured and has to stay home to recover, forcing the family to send two more of Ona’s stepmother’s children to work. Eventually, long hours of work and unsanitary conditions leads to the moral and physical deterioration of the family; Ona’s stepmother’s younger child dies from food poisoning, and in addition Jurgis attacks Ona’s boss, Connor, after finding out that he raped her. After Jurgis gets out of jail for attacking Connor, he finds his family living in a tenement building where Ona dies while giving birth to her second child, who also dies because Jurgis did not have money for medical assistance. Jurgis then becomes an alcoholic and leaves the rest of the family. However, he comes back to provide for his family, but his only son alive, Antanas, drowns in a street pothole, leaving Jurgis without any hope for a better future. Jurgis turns into a criminal, helping a local candidate named Mike Scully to get votes in exchange for work at a factory. Even though at this point unions start fighting against labor abuses, Jurgis doesn’t see any point in joining these protests.
In the novel Sinclair is not only able to expose the hard and tragic life of immigrant families in America, but also to expose the lack of hygiene in the meatpacking industry. Sinclair mentions how it was usual for factories to add chemicals into hams in order to kill the odor of spoil meat, calling it “giving them the 30 percent.” In addition, Sinclair showed the public the danger in which consumers were at the time and the need for sanitary regulations in the food industry “this is no fairy story and no joke; the meat will be shoveled into carts and the man who did the shoveling will not trouble to lift out a rat even when he saw one.” (Sinclair 162). Moreover, Sinclair expresses that workers experience nothing but a constant fear of getting hurt or sick due to the dirt that surrounded them “…your hand slips up on the blade, and there is a fearful gash. And that would not be so bad, only for the deadly contagion. The cut may heal, but you never can tell.” (Sinclair 23).
Sinclair sends the message that destiny is written for those who are victims of capitalisms, as he relates the poor man’s fate to prison “There is one kind of prison where the man is behind bars, and everything that he desires is outside; and there is another kind where things are behind bars and the man is outside.” (Sinclair 337). However, he expresses that socialism is the only way to escape the oppression that capitalism has upon the hardworking man. At the end of the novel, Jurgis attends to a socialist reunion where he finds support and acceptance. While capitalism is to blame for the failure of the working class and for all the bad things that happened to Jurgis, Sinclair suggests that socialism is the only alternative to restore the economic and social balance of the nation. Moreover, Jurgis and his family live surrounded by corruption and inequality. Politicians, as Mike Scully offered immigrants money in order to win their votes. Jurgis’ family also ends up being victim of manipulation, exploitation and rape. The dissatisfaction with the government that people experiencing the same as Jurgis had, forced voters to opt for a third party, therefore giving rise to the socialist movement in America.
During the 20th century journalists like Sinclair played an important role in reforming society.
They took the task of exposing political corruption and unfair labor practices. Such journalists were often called muckrakers, and they usually exposed misconduct in order to push for reform. Sinclair’s uses muckraking techniques and the opportunity to expose corruption to encourage his readers to open their eyes to the alternative that would generate change: socialism. Thus, the last four chapters of The Jungle are defined more as political propaganda, rather than part of a muckraking novel.
Sinclair’s main purpose was to express his discomfort with capitalism and to expose the discrimination and lack of support that immigrants were receiving from the government. Sinclair also blames capitalism for allowing business owners to abuse workers. He tried to expose health violations and to show the poverty and hopelessness of the working class during America’s gilded age. More than that, Sinclair also proved that during the late 19th century America was glittery in the surface, but corrupt underneath. These were years of industrial economic growth, industrial completion and big exploitation of
labor.
In conclusion, even though the novel was not based on real events, fiction does not take away the reality that Sinclair seeks to portray. Jurgis is not a real character, however he represents all of the workers that are oppressed, and his life is the reflection of real life in Chicago’s slums. However, instead of causing the sympathy of people towards the working class, Sinclair’s novel stimulated people to demand consumer protection. One of the most important effects of the publication of The Jungle was the passage of the Meat Inspection Act, and the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, which regulated the manufacture and sale of Meat and drugs. Overall, the novel does not only describe the serious social problems that America was facing during the gilded age, but also the spread of social activism and political change that accompanied the Progressive era. Besides the historical events that his book illustrated, Upton Sinclair will be always remembered for being a pioneer promoter of food quality and consumer safety.
Sinclair is the perfect representation of how life was in the industrialized and capitalist America during the 19th and 20th century. Moreover, being a socialist himself, Sinclair sought to critique working conditions and the abuse of immigrants working in factories, while also giving an overview of important events taking place in America, such as industrialization, urbanization and progressivism. In The Jungle Sinclair relates the story of a Lithuanian immigrant called Jurgis, who leaves his country to pursue the American dream. Jurgis leaves Lithonia with his future wife Ona and her family after Ona’s step uncle lures him of the great amount of money that can be made in Chicago. However, soon Jurgis finds out that America is not all about opportunities and freedom, since he finds himself and his family living in misery even though they all work long hours for very small salaries. Through the story of the characters’ life Sinclair portrays the life of the European immigrants in America. However, before one can understand the real purpose of the author of this novel, one must be informed in the historical processes taking place in the period of time in which it was written. During the 20th century the industrialization of cities and the introduction of new forms of transportation, such as the railroad, enticed people in search of job opportunities to move to the cities. On top of that, most of the immigrants that came to America settled in cities as well. However, unlike the regular white American man, immigrants were discriminated and abused, most of them had unskilled, dangerous jobs in factories, and usually only could afford to live in slums.
In the story, as soon as Jurgis arrives to America he marries his 15-year-old fiancée, Ona, finding himself in a big debt after the wedding. Due to the circumstances, all the family members, twelve in total, decide to look for work. Sinclair portrays the immigrants’ misery when Ona tells Jurgis that even she has to go to work the day after the wedding or “it will ruin us” (Sinclair 177). Nevertheless, Jurgis finds a job in one of the meatpacking plants of Chicago, his wife and his father also find jobs, but that doesn’t seem to be enough to pay the small, uncomfortable house in which they live in, so they all decide that even the children have to work. When the winter arrives, Jurgis father dies from lung deficiency, and Marija, Ona’s cousin, loses her job because the factory where she works closes, so Ona has to go back to work right after giving birth Antana, her first child. However, right when the summer comes Jurgis gets injured and has to stay home to recover, forcing the family to send two more of Ona’s stepmother’s children to work. Eventually, long hours of work and unsanitary conditions leads to the moral and physical deterioration of the family; Ona’s stepmother’s younger child dies from food poisoning, and in addition Jurgis attacks Ona’s boss, Connor, after finding out that he raped her. After Jurgis gets out of jail for attacking Connor, he finds his family living in a tenement building where Ona dies while giving birth to her second child, who also dies because Jurgis did not have money for medical assistance. Jurgis then becomes an alcoholic and leaves the rest of the family. However, he comes back to provide for his family, but his only son alive, Antanas, drowns in a street pothole, leaving Jurgis without any hope for a better future. Jurgis turns into a criminal, helping a local candidate named Mike Scully to get votes in exchange for work at a factory. Even though at this point unions start fighting against labor abuses, Jurgis doesn’t see any point in joining these protests.
In the novel Sinclair is not only able to expose the hard and tragic life of immigrant families in America, but also to expose the lack of hygiene in the meatpacking industry. Sinclair mentions how it was usual for factories to add chemicals into hams in order to kill the odor of spoil meat, calling it “giving them the 30 percent.” In addition, Sinclair showed the public the danger in which consumers were at the time and the need for sanitary regulations in the food industry “this is no fairy story and no joke; the meat will be shoveled into carts and the man who did the shoveling will not trouble to lift out a rat even when he saw one.” (Sinclair 162). Moreover, Sinclair expresses that workers experience nothing but a constant fear of getting hurt or sick due to the dirt that surrounded them “…your hand slips up on the blade, and there is a fearful gash. And that would not be so bad, only for the deadly contagion. The cut may heal, but you never can tell.” (Sinclair 23).
Sinclair sends the message that destiny is written for those who are victims of capitalisms, as he relates the poor man’s fate to prison “There is one kind of prison where the man is behind bars, and everything that he desires is outside; and there is another kind where things are behind bars and the man is outside.” (Sinclair 337). However, he expresses that socialism is the only way to escape the oppression that capitalism has upon the hardworking man. At the end of the novel, Jurgis attends to a socialist reunion where he finds support and acceptance. While capitalism is to blame for the failure of the working class and for all the bad things that happened to Jurgis, Sinclair suggests that socialism is the only alternative to restore the economic and social balance of the nation. Moreover, Jurgis and his family live surrounded by corruption and inequality. Politicians, as Mike Scully offered immigrants money in order to win their votes. Jurgis’ family also ends up being victim of manipulation, exploitation and rape. The dissatisfaction with the government that people experiencing the same as Jurgis had, forced voters to opt for a third party, therefore giving rise to the socialist movement in America.
During the 20th century journalists like Sinclair played an important role in reforming society.
They took the task of exposing political corruption and unfair labor practices. Such journalists were often called muckrakers, and they usually exposed misconduct in order to push for reform. Sinclair’s uses muckraking techniques and the opportunity to expose corruption to encourage his readers to open their eyes to the alternative that would generate change: socialism. Thus, the last four chapters of The Jungle are defined more as political propaganda, rather than part of a muckraking novel.
Sinclair’s main purpose was to express his discomfort with capitalism and to expose the discrimination and lack of support that immigrants were receiving from the government. Sinclair also blames capitalism for allowing business owners to abuse workers. He tried to expose health violations and to show the poverty and hopelessness of the working class during America’s gilded age. More than that, Sinclair also proved that during the late 19th century America was glittery in the surface, but corrupt underneath. These were years of industrial economic growth, industrial completion and big exploitation of
labor.
In conclusion, even though the novel was not based on real events, fiction does not take away the reality that Sinclair seeks to portray. Jurgis is not a real character, however he represents all of the workers that are oppressed, and his life is the reflection of real life in Chicago’s slums. However, instead of causing the sympathy of people towards the working class, Sinclair’s novel stimulated people to demand consumer protection. One of the most important effects of the publication of The Jungle was the passage of the Meat Inspection Act, and the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, which regulated the manufacture and sale of Meat and drugs. Overall, the novel does not only describe the serious social problems that America was facing during the gilded age, but also the spread of social activism and political change that accompanied the Progressive era. Besides the historical events that his book illustrated, Upton Sinclair will be always remembered for being a pioneer promoter of food quality and consumer safety.