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Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle” is an unbelievable book that is well known for it is condemnation of the unsanitary conditions of meat packing plants, but galore humans today don’t know that this book had a much wider, tremendous scope, and ambition. He also dealt with issues of racism, immigration, poverty, capitalism run rampant, and social injustice. It’s not out of line to say that Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle” is arguably one of the best American books of the 20th century. This book is written like fiction while displaying the actual real conditions of America for immigrant Jurgis Rudkus, who comes looking for the American Dream in the early 20th century and finds not one thing but pain, heartache, and terrible conditions for every one in oppressive poverty. Upton Sinclair shows that even as the immigrants struggle to survive, that they come to realize that it’s a hopeless battle. They work in the packinghouses which take vantage of their slave-like labor while bringing poverty, disease, death, injury, injustice, rape, jail and hopelessness. With no other choices and a thousand men clamoring at the gate for their job, they are held in their position with no prospect at betterment or escape. Upton Sinclair uses the story of Jurgis to show the introductory hand experiences of a system where capitalism runs amuck without any checks or balances. In the drive for even a half-penny extra of profit, spoiled meat is bribed past inspectors, men are crushed and killed, waste is driven wholesale into public drinking water and people are made sick by the tens of thousands so a few very rich guys at the top may get a little richer. This is an amazing book, even though it is main weaknesses are the same that are brought up with the majority of Upton Sinclair novels. One is that the opening is slow. It takes a long time in the early chapters to introduce all the characters, and the other is that the ending reads like propaganda. Upton Sinclair believed that all creative writing of recognized artisti value was propaganda, so this isn’t surprising. These are minor weaknesses to an overall amazing book that was one of the most influential in American history. Many believe that only Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” had more of an influence on the United States than Upton Sinclair. “The Jungle” is the perfective example of a lost art: an awful fictional story illustrating a point far more mainly than non-fiction could hope to. Most fiction lately attempting to do the same comes throughout as preachy, and doesn’t spend sufficient time on the story. Upton Sinclair’s novel is amazing, and must proceed to be read today as a reminder of what creative writing of recognized artisti value may do to aid society, and to not forget regarding how bad things used to be. |
