The Jungle
was fact. Upton Sinclair visited Chicago in November 1904 to do
research for the book. Sinclair lived in a neighborhood called
Packingtown for seven weeks. While in Packingtown, Sinclair
interviewed workers, lawyers, doctors, saloonkeepers, and social workers.
The book deals with the greed and ruthless competition that turned
America into a brutal country, which Sinclair referred to as a "jungle."
also tells how those at the bottom of the economic ladder, who
were wage-earners and their families, are at a great disadvantage in the
capitalist country. The wage-earners are slaves to the sudden wishes of
their masters, who are the capitalists who own and run private
industries.
The ...
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The pressures of work, poverty and illness
stifles the families spirits and then Dede Antanas, Jurgis' dad, dies.
After Jurgis gives his father an inexpensive funeral, he decides to join
the Union and begins to learn English and gets an unfriendly opinion of
democracy. Jurgis begins to see how the packers operate, they sell spoiled
or contaminated meat without remorse. Workers are exposed to awful
occupational diseases without protection. Then, Ona give's birth to a
baby boy. The families third winter in America starts with Jurgis
getting injured on the job and Jonas, Elzbieta's brother, disappearing,
leaving the families income to decrease by one third. When Jurgis
recovers and goes to get his job back, he finds it gone and must find
another job. He finds a job at Durham's Fertilizer Plant. Because of the
smell of the plant, Jurgis starts to drink. He then finds out that Ona is
pregnant again, and he isn't the father. Ona's boss, Phil Connor,
threatened to fire ...
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for the packers. A second attack on Phil Connor
lands Jurgis in jail again. Jurgis then posts bail and flees, going back to
begging. He meets an old friend who gives him Marija's address. He
finds her and discovers she is a prostitute and drug addict. Then Jurgis
walks in a political rally to keep warm. An emotional public speaker
converts Jurgis to socialism and his life takes a new turn; he's given a
new job as a porter in a hotel owned by a socialist. The novel ends on
election night in 1904, where Jurgis learns his party has made a strong
showing.
Upton Sinclair is trying to tell the readers of The Jungle how bad it
was for wage-earners in the early 1900's. Because ...
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The Jungle. (2008, August 18). Retrieved December 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Jungle/88494
"The Jungle." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 18 Aug. 2008. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Jungle/88494>
"The Jungle." Essayworld.com. August 18, 2008. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Jungle/88494.
"The Jungle." Essayworld.com. August 18, 2008. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Jungle/88494.
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