Upton Sinclair's The Jungle

Upton Sinclair’s novel, The Jungle, has been a major influence on American History. The novel’s success stems from how it exploited the American meatpacking industry and eventually led to the passing of the Food and Drug act of 1906. Though the novel discusses the American era of Industrialization in Chicago, the title refers to this era as a Jungle. Sinclair’s title, The Jungle, symbolizes the worker’s struggle for a good life in a country where capitalist’s prosperity is defined by their poor treatment of the meatpacking industry along with the workers. The novel is most famous for its influence on the meat packing industry. The novel describes unsanitary working conditions. Leslie Levin writes, “Sinclair describes Jurgis’s hell of a workplace as hot, dark, dirty, smelly and, above all, filled with germs and disease” (Levin 3). The meat was processed in unsanitary industries. George Shaduri, in reference to the setting in which The Jungle was written, writes, “Not a gram of any meat, healthy or ill, goes to waste” (Shaduri 2). It was common that dead or diseased cattle would still be processed and cold to civilians. Not only was this unsanitary, but it was also unhealthy. Sinclair’s depiction of the
meatpacking industries caused a serious change in American history. Levin states, “The Jungle’s blood and guts imagery, coupled with the public’s fear and prejudice, propelled the meatpacking controversy onto center stage” (Levin 3). Soon after the novel was published, the public grew aware of the horrible procedures occurring in the meatpacking factories. The Food and Drug Act of 1906 was passed in reaction to the novel and the public. The act ensured that industries would remain sanitary and healthy when meat was packaged for consumption. Through out the novel, Sinclair provides many descriptions of the unsanitary conditions in the meatpacking industries. In chapter 5, Sinclair shows how some rules were broken in these industries when he writes, “Any man who knows anything about butchering knows that the flesh of a cow that is about to calve or has just calved is not fit for food… It was Jurgis’s task to slide them into the trap, calves and all, and on the floor below they took out these “sluck” calves, and butchered them for meat, and used even the skins of them” (Sinclair 69). This shows that even the parts of livestock that were considered dangerous for consumption were eventually still used despite the rules of government inspector. Sinclair showed that is was common for the tainted or spoiled meat to still end up packaged and sold for consumption. Sinclair shows that you cannot always trust labels. He states, “De-vyled ham was made out of the waste ends of smoked beef that were too small to be sliced by the machines; and also tripe, dyed with chemicals so that is would not show white; and trimmings of hams and corned beef; and potatoes, skins, and all; and finally the hard cartilaginous gullets of beef, after the tongues has been cut out” (Sinclair 109). These industries released products with misleading labels. They often used other ingredients because they wanted to use all of the scraps so they could save money and make a bigger profit. Sinclair uses his novel to expose the many flaws of the meatpacking industry. Though Sinclair’s novel was famous for changing the meatpacking industries, his major goal was to exposed the struggle of the working class. Shader describes Sinclair’s goal when he writes, “Sinclair conceived a large feature work, in which he intended to depict the living conditions of industrial workers and show how these conditions would accelerate the move towards socialism” (Shaduri 2). He wrote Jurgis’ life to show the injustice that immigrants and the workers faced during this era. Shaduri writes, “The reader literally shudders at the horrors experienced by working people and reacts with compassion for the poor and indignation against the rich” (Shaduri 1). Jurgis represents the horrid life of the workers that were simply trying to live a good life. Sinclair uses his characters to show the life of the working class. In chapter 10, Sinclair describes the working conditions of the meatpacking industry that Jurgis worked in. In reference to the workers that worked on the killing beds, Sinclair writes, “There was not even a place where a man could wash his hands, and the men ate as much raw blood as food at dinner time. When they were at work they could not even wipe off their faces—they were as helpless as newly-born babies in that respect..” (Sinclair 114). Workers were not given areas to clean themselves from blood, and they ended up consuming the blood. These workers were even compared to new-born babies because the can’t even take care of themselves. There is not area in which they can clean themselves from blood or an other dangerous germs. In chapter 29, Sinclair describes the life of the working class when he writes, “The workers were dependent upon a job to exist from day to day, and so they bid against each other, and no man could get more than the lowest man would consent to work for. And thus the mass of the people were always in a life-and-death struggle with poverty” (Sinclair 350). People needed jobs, but there wasn't enough for everyone. Many people in the working class had a hard time finding a job. Workers were mistreated, and Sinclair wanted to show how much they suffered. Sinclair also hoped to expose the evils of capitalism. He believed that the poor treatment of workers and the meatpacking industries were due to evil and corrupt capitalists who only hoped to gain profit no matter what methods are use. Levin describes this goal when she states, “Sinclair’s jungle is a tangle of animals and men where workers toil and livestock die in dark and filthy slaughterhouses so that American capitalists will prosper” (Levin 2). The poor treatment of workers along with the livestock was common because capitalists simply cared about their personal profit, and Sinclair hoped to expose the selfish capitalists. Sinclair shows how capitalists proper by showing how the industries and working class struggled under their rule. Officials often ignored any of the awful things that were occurring in the meatpacking industries. Sinclair shows this when he refers to inspectors that look at animals to check for diseases and writes, “…While he was talking with you you could hardly be so ungrateful as to notice that a dozen carcasses were passing him untouched. This inspector wore a blue uniform, with brass buttons, and he gave an atmosphere of authority to the scene, and, as it were, put the stamp of official approval upon the things which were done in Durham’s” (Sinclair 40). It was their job to check for diseased animals, but they ignored many of these animals and gave a stamp of approval to use them. This shows that government inspectors often let unhealthy animals be sold in meat products knowing how dangerous it was for human consumption. In chapter 10, Sinclair describes the working class when discussing Ona’s experience when he states, “Here was a population, low-class and mostly foreign, hanging always on the verge of starvation, and dependent for its opportunities of life upon the whim of men every bit as brutal and unscrupulous as the old-time slave drivers; under such circumstances immorality was exactly as inevitable, and as prevalent, as it was under the system of chattel slavery” (Sinclair 120). These people in the working class depended on the jobs that were created by the corrupted capitalist who did not care for these workers. These capitalists are even compared to slave drivers to show how harsh and careless they were. Sinclair wanted to show that many issues were cause by the evil capitalists. Sinclair’s The Jungle describes a place where workers struggle to live a decent life, the meatpacking industries are riddled with germs and disease, and capitalists ignore the despair of those below them so they can prosper.
Levin describes a jungle in her statement that says, “The jungle itself is a powerful image defined as a place of violence, struggle for survival, or ruthless competition” (Levin 2). She connects this title to the novel when she describes how Sinclair’s The Jungle is a place where workers struggle to get by and livestock is mistreated and killed in unsanitary slaughterhouses so that the capitalists may prosper. The title is a major symbol for Sinclair’s novel to show the struggle for those at the bottom, and the prosperity of those on
top.