Chicago: Is It Really Any Different Than Before?

Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle proposes the transformation undertaken by the city of Chicago. He captures this essence through the protagonist, Jurgis, and his travels within three communities. The first community encompasses the majority of the novel, and this is the area of Packingtown. Sinclair then moves Jurgis into the country, which sharply juxtaposes the hustle and bustle of Packingtown. Jurgis finally returns to the industrialized city and spends time in downtown Chicago, where he encounters an elite, corrupt lifestyle. Sinclair’s use of these three locations reflects upon the values and ideals that each community held prominent. The modern equivalencies of these locations maintain these values, and it is through Jurgis’s travels and enactment of these values that Sinclair presents his case. An analysis of Jurgis’s differing morals within Packingtown, the country, and downtown Chicago allows one to recognize the prevailing ideals of each community and how they shaped modern Chicago.

Packingtown represents a community of immigrant workers who want to attain the American Dream. The immigrants place hard work at the forefront because it is with this that one achieves the American Dream. This, however, is not the case, as one must work hard just to support one’s family, and therefore, cannot obtain immense wealth. Jurgis embodies this struggle, as he continues to pursue his dream through hard work, although he never reaches it with honest work. He maintains that he “will earn more money—[he] will work harder” , but this motto dissipates once he realizes that the stockyards cannot give him the wealth he desires. Packingtown also represents the image of corruption. The Beef Trust exercises control over thousands of immigrant worke...

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...f immigrant workers who work hard to obtain the treasures of life. The country becomes the perfect setting for individuality and human freedom, as there is no strict order, and one lives life in whatever manner one pleases. Downtown Chicago idealizes the corruption that plagued the city, as well as the massive differences between the elite and working class. Although it is not as visible, these morals continue to exist in today’s Chicago. The idea of the individual is present in all three communities, but the extent to which one is free only arises if one chooses the community that relates best to one’s moral code. Chicago maintains the cities old ideals, whether it is work ethic, corruption, or individuality. The city remains a specter of the past, and it is through these three communities that one truly identifies Chicago as a modern version of Sinclair’s jungle.