Upton Sinclair's The Jungle - Chicago Will Be Ours
analytical Essay
973 words
The Jungle - Chicago Will Be Ours
"Their home! Their home! They had lost it! Grief, despair, rage, overwhelmed him - what was any imagination of the thing to this heart-breaking, crush reality of it ... Only think what he had suffered for that house - what miseries they had all suffered for that house - the price they had paid for it!"
"The Jungle", by Upton Sinclair, gives a heart breaking portrayal of the hardships faced by the countless poverty stricken laborers in the slaughter houses of Chicago. As in the quote above, a struggling family underwent months of back breaking labor only to loose their house at the drop of a hat. It was a desperate and unmerciful time when an accidentally fractured ankle cost a man his job and his family food and shelter.
In the early 1900's, strikes, riots, labor unions, and new political parties arose across the country. The government, with its laissez-faire attitude, allowed business to consolidate into trusts, and with lack of competition, into powerful monopolies. These multi-million dollar monopolies were able to exploit every opportunity to make greater fortunes regardless of human consequences. Sinclair illustrates the harsh conditions in Packingtown through a Lithuanian immigrant family and their struggles to survive. Ona, a young and frail woman, and Jurgis, a hardworking and strong man and the husband of Ona, come to America with some of their family to find work and to make a new and better life for themselves. With everyone finding employment right away, the family begins their lives in America with optimism, enthusiasm, and ignorance. Taking a huge risk, they purchase a small rickety house. Slowly, they awaken to the harsh realities of their surroundings. There's the mortg...
... middle of paper ...
...workingman is common ownership and democratic management of production. Schliemann, a socialist, explains that "anyone would be able to support himself by an hour's work a day." Sinclair goes even further by referring to socialism as the "new religion of humanity" to oppose the "jungle" in which the workingman slaves. Finally, Sinclair tries to convert his readers to socialism and reject capitalism by using numbers. At the end of the novel, he shows the increasing popularity of socialism as the number of votes increase. In Chicago, the number of votes for socialism started at next to nothing and, by the end of the book, there were nearly fifty thousand votes. Leaving the reader with a sense of optimism that socialism may one day triumph, Sinclair ends the novel with hope for the workingman as he zealously writes, "Chicago will be ours! Chicago will be ours!"
In this essay, the author
- Illustrates the harsh conditions in packingtown through a lithuanian immigrant family and their struggles to survive.
- Analyzes how upton sinclair uses an illustrative method to express his views and beliefs to expose the injustice of the beef trust and the capitalistic government.
- Analyzes how upton sinclair tries to convert his readers to socialism and reject capitalism by using numbers.
- Analyzes how upton sinclair's "the jungle" portrays the hardships faced by poverty-stricken laborers in the slaughter houses of chicago.
Related
- analytical
- comparative
- The Jungle by Upton Sinclairanalytical essay“The Jungle,” written by Upton Sinclair in 1906, describes how the life and challenges of immigrants in the United States affected their emotional and physical state, as well as relationships with others. The working class was contrasted to wealthy and powerful individuals who controlled numerous industries and activities in the community. The world was always divided into these two categories of people, those controlling the world and holding the majority of the power, and those being subjected to them. Sinclair succeeded to show this social gap by using the example of the meatpacking industry. He explained the terrible and unsafe working conditions workers in the US were subjected to and the increasing rate of corruption, which created the feeling of hopelessness among the working class.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how sinclair's "the jungle" describes how the life and challenges of immigrants in the united states affected their emotional and physical state, as well as relationships with others.
- Analyzes how upton sinclair succeeded in showing the nature of wage slavery occurring in america in the beginning of the twentieth century.
- Analyzes how sinclair conveyed the danger and terrible working conditions of the poor workers in the meatpacking industry to the general audience reading the book.
- Analyzes how sinclair highlighted and exposed the ills and problems of the community in this period of industrialization in order to attract people's attention to the unhealthy practices in the meatpacking industry.
- Explains that sinclair wanted to achieve and promote social changes in the community in order to change people's life for the better and reduce the gap between poor and wealthy individuals residing in america.
- Analyzes how sinclair succeeded in showing and revealing the nature and psychology of american capitalism developing during that period of time.
- Describes the life and working activity of lithuanian immigrants coming to chicago to find a better and more productive life. the idea of the american dream was also touched in the present book.
- Analyzes how sinclair's novel exposed the inadequacy of jurgis' conventional masculinity ridiculing the conceit of his self-sufficiency and strength.
- Explains sinclair's description of political corruption in a democracy, stating that it affects people’s life, professional activity, and management of various industries contributing to the country. immigrants were treated unfairly and improperly.
- Analyzes how sinclair acted as the animal-right activist helping americans understand where their food comes from by exposing the meatpacking industry. his book pushed congress to pass the law regarding food safety.
- Analyzes how industrial meat production was covered in the book indirectly specifying animal well-being, non-human living conditions, environmental pollution, and specific illnesses associated with this activity.
- Explains how the immigrant life was represented in detail in the present book helping to understand the major reasons why people came to live in america hoping to find better working opportunities and living conditions.
- Explains that the population of cities increased greatly during that period, which limited the number of available work for people. the meatpacking industry changed from an agricultural to industrial country.
- Analyzes how deinzer stated that people coming to america experienced what it meant to be an immigrant worker in need of money and without any knowledge of the language.
- Analyzes how upton sinclair attracted much public attention to the meatpacking industry showing the terrible truths and details not only about the working conditions and nature of people's work but also about this business in general.
- Concludes that sinclair's writing was so influential it prompted government action.
1571 wordsRead More - “In twentieth-century America the history of poverty begins with most working people living on the edge of destitution, periodically short of food, fuel, clothing, and shelter” (Poverty in 20th Century America). Poverty possesses the ability to completely degrade a person, as well as a family, but it can also make that person and family stronger. In The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair, a family of immigrants has to live in severe poverty in Packingtown, a suburb of Chicago. The poverty degrades the family numerous times, and even brings them close to death. Originally the family has each other to fall back on, but eventually members of the family must face numerous struggles on their own, including “hoboing it” and becoming a prostitute. The Jungle, a naturalistic novel by Upton Sinclair, reveals the detrimental effects that a life of poverty exerts on the familial relationships of immigrants in Chicago during the early 1900’s.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how upton sinclair's the jungle reveals the detrimental effects of a life of poverty on the family of immigrants in chicago during the early 1900s.
- Analyzes how the family's lack of money can essentially destroy a family.
- Analyzes how language hinders a family's communication with others, especially in the job hunt, and in sales.
- Explains that poor children have a greater risk for iron deficiency, stunted growth, and asthma. jurgis rarely spends time with his son, antanas.
- Analyzes how people view immigrants as people that they can take advantage of, because they either don't understand, or cannot do anything about it.
- Analyzes how hard manual labor brutally affects a person's health by destroying their health. after the depression of the late 1890s, immigration jumped from 3.5 million to 9 million in the early 1900s
- Analyzes how poverty negatively impacted the family relationships of thousands of immigrants in chicago in the early 1900s.
1135 wordsRead More - Upton Sinclair's The Jungle as Socialist Propagandaanalytical essayThe Jungle as Socialist Propaganda In the world of economic competition that we live in today, many thrive and many are left to dig through trashcans. It has been a constant struggle throughout the modern history of society. One widely prescribed example of this struggle is Upton Sinclair's groundbreaking novel, The Jungle. The Jungle takes the reader along on a journey with a group of recent Lithuanian immigrants to America. As well as a physical journey, this is a journey into a new world for them.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how upton sinclair's novel, the jungle, engages the reader in a symbolic and metaphorical war against capitalism.
- Explains that capitalism and socialism are relevant to the jungle, and that it is the economic system most fitting with the idea of the american dream.
- Argues that believers in socialism would disagree with this ideal. socialism is the economic system in which the workers, instead of a rich minority of entrepreneurs, own all industry.
- Explains that the story revolves around the life and family of jurgis rudkus, a lithuanian immigrant who comes to america with his wife ona, their children, and some members of their extended family.
- Describes the veselija, or wedding party of jurgis and his new wife, ona, in a bar in their neighborhood.
- Analyzes how sinclair depicts the lithuanian event with many of the same things and the partygoers' values to give the reader a sense of identity with them.
- Analyzes how sinclair illustrates the unfairness of capitalism by showing the plight of the workers in packingtown.
- Analyzes how the poverty of packingtown makes work the driving force in the family's life.
- Analyzes how the "evil" capitalist regime sinclair presents oppresses the family in every way possible without mercy.
- Analyzes how sinclair's depiction of capitalism as a force as unrelenting as disease or cold weather, destroys the wholesome values of the family.
- Analyzes how sinclair illustrates the idea of social darwinism in the story.
- Analyzes how sinclair ridicules the american dream throughout the novel. he introduces jurgis as a strong man with good morals who is willing to work his ass off to see his family thrive.
- Analyzes how sinclair strays from the detail of the beginning, speeding through the story, and making the end sound more like a commercial for socialism.
- Analyzes how sinclair's novel, the pure food and drug act of 1906, was a propaganda against capitalism and pro-socialism.
3115 wordsRead More - Values Of The American Dream In Upton Sinclair's The Jungleanalytical essayIn the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth century, many immigrants came to the United States to pursue the American Dream. The American Dream is a belief that anyone can have success and prosperity through hard work in a society where upward social mobility is possible. The values and ideals of the American dream consist of democracy, equality, fairness, justice, and liberty. In Upton Sinclair’s novel, The Jungle, he portrays through a Lithuanian immigrant family the hardships immigrants faced while seeking a better life in America. One member of the Lithuanian immigrant family is Jurgis Rudkus, who marries a young woman named Ona Lukoszait. After they get married, Jurgis and Ona move into a home in Chicago with some of Ona’s family members. As the family struggles to pay for the house, they undertake stressful jobs and become workers of cruel and selfish employers. Although employers exploit Jurgis, Jurgis continues to tell Ona that he “will work harder” (Sinclair, 22) to help them achieve the American Dream. Upton Sinclair portrays how capitalism attacks the values of the American Dream through the ugly effects of capitalism, such as exploitation, poor working conditions, dishonesty, manipulation, and corruption.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how upton sinclair's novel, the jungle, portrays the hardships immigrants faced while seeking a better life in america.
- Analyzes how jurgis and his family are swindled as they purchase a home they believe to be all their own after being pressured by the real estate agent who claims that houses are selling quickly.
- Analyzes how upton sinclair portrays the grotesque working conditions of the meat packing industry and the proletariat in the jungle.
- Analyzes how the meat packing industry displays dishonesty for its willingness to sell rotten meat to the public.
953 wordsRead More - Socialism and Capitalism in The Jungle, by Upton Sinclairanalytical essayThe Jungle The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair, emphasizes the importance in changing to become a thriving society through socialism. Sinclair writes his novel to show the corruption that occurs as a result of capitalism. Jurgis’ family is in search for a better life in America where he believes he will make enough pay to support his family. The novel shows that poverty is in control over the working class, but the working class still has a desperation for money. In The Jungle, Upton Sinclair pushes for Socialism by showing Jurgis’ struggle to find work, the hardships of the packingtown workers, and the inequality of all men in this capitalistic society.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how upton sinclair's novel, the jungle, emphasizes the importance of changing to become a thriving society through socialism.
- Analyzes how sinclair builds sympathy for jurgis and his family throughout the novel and depicts the poverty of the working class.
- Analyzes how sinclair emphasizes the unfairness of capitalism within the struggles of the working class to gain sympathy from readers to later blame these misfortunes on capitalism.
- Analyzes how the unfairness between the working class and rich factory owners is symbolic of how capitalism is corrupting the lives of the packingtown workers.
- Analyzes how sinclair portrays socialism as the resolution to the story but especially to jurgis' struggling life.
658 wordsRead More - Upton Sinclair And The Progressive Eraanalytical essayTaking place in the jungle of meat packing factories during the early 1900s in Chicago, a journalist by the name of Upton Sinclair dissects the savage inner workings of America’s working class factory lifestyle. Sinclair portrayed the grim circumstance that workers faced and the exploited lives of factory workers in Chicago. He became what was then called a mudrucker; a journalist who goes undercover to see first hand the conditions they were investigating. Being in poor fortune, Sinclair was able to blend into the surrounds of the factory life with his poor grimy clothing. The undercover journalist would walk into the factory with the rest of the men, examine its conditions, and record them when he returned home. It is the worker’s conditions
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how upton sinclair dissects the savage inner workings of america's working class factory lifestyle in the early 1900s in chicago.
- Describes the progressive era, where people faced tenement housing, poor working conditions, child labor, monopolies of business, social and political inequality, and most importantly people putting profits over lives.
- Analyzes how sinclair's character, jurgis, realizes that the american dream was an elaborate ruse created to lure in the laborers where they would be captured.
- Analyzes how the blue collar class in the 20th century factories give their souls to their relentless work.
- Analyzes how sinclair's novel, the jungle, shows how the industries are taking advantage of the immigrants and forcing them to work in deplorable circumstances.
- Analyzes how sinclair's novel shows how capitalism overlooks the poor and suffering of workers. the only union strong enough to save them was the unity of socialists.
1725 wordsRead More - The Great Depressionanalytical essayAt the end of the 1920s the world experienced a devastating economic depression that struck countries with market economies. Despite the great depression being mildly experienced in some countries, the United States of America was hit so mind-bogglingly that at its nadir in 1933 an approximate value of 25% of all workers and an overwhelming 37 % of all non-farm workers were completely out of work and thrown to the curbs. The book Great Depression: People and Perspectives that is written by Hamilton Cravens gives us a peek of the tribulations suffered and encountered by individuals during the trying times of the Great Depression. It showcases the adverse level of suffering experienced, enlightening the sad misfortunes faced by individuals, instances where some individuals starved to death with their loved ones helpless and instances where many others lost their treasured homes and farms. It paints a pictures of homeless vagrants niggling onboard freight trains that crossed the nation for lack of the necessary funds (Cravens, 2009).
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how hamilton cravens' book, great depression: people and perspectives, showcases the adverse level of suffering experienced by individuals during the trying times of the depression.
- Analyzes how the book follows the stalled recovery from the great depression and sluggish progress experienced in the consecutive 1934 and 1935.
- Describes the great depression as the defining or ultimately the most crucial moment of the twentieth-century history in the united states.
- Analyzes how the book explains the change in economic thinking that was as a result of the great depression.
- Analyzes the ease with which the book explains how the great depression came to be. many developed and industrialized countries implemented the gold standard creating a secure exchange rate between gold and the national currency.
- Explains that a return to the gold standard would require vigorous currency evaluations and/or price devaluations. the united states' gold store folded twice over to approximately 40% of the world's fiscal gold.
- Explains that as countries reverted to the gold standard, the demand for gold augmented. the franc was devalued when france came back to gold in 1928, which made extraneous imports into france costly.
- Explains that the franc was undervalued when france returned to the gold standard in june 1928, making french exports less expensive and foreign imports more expensive.
- Analyzes how the book explains that the start of the contraction led to the end of stock market growth and the crash in late october 1929, but the stock exchange failure or crash did not cause the depression.
- Analyzes how reading about the great depression from the book was an eye-opener. it explains how rich individuals felt no effect at all and were ignorant and oblivious to the pains, troubles and suffering of the less fortunate.
- Analyzes how depression altered the family in intense and vivid ways, with a lot of couples delaying marriages and the divorce rate plummeting severely.
- Analyzes how the great depression affected men's traditional roles within the family, with some abandoning their search for employment and others leaving their families altogether.
- Narrates how they visit the house of mr. and mrs. dean walker, a couple born five years apart.
- Narrates how they visited a friend's relative, giggi sanders, who explains how she learned to make her own soap as one of the ways she and her family survived the great depression.
- Narrates how les brown, who grew up in bridgeport, and was the third in a family of eight children, was proud of his experience of the great depression.
2020 wordsRead More - Upton Sinclair's The Jungle - Socialismanalytical essayThe Jungle Socialism During the late 1800's and early 1900's hundreds of thousands of European immigrants migrated to the United States of America. They had aspirations of success, prosperity and their own conception of the American Dream. The majority of the immigrants believed that their lives would completely change for the better and the new world would bring nothing but happiness. Advertisements that appeared in Europe offered a bright future and economic stability to these naive and hopeful people. Jobs with excellent wages and working conditions, prime safety, and other benefits seemed like a chance in a lifetime to these struggling foreigners.
In this essay, the author
- Describes the jungle socialism of the late 1800s and early 1900s when thousands of european immigrants migrated to the united states of america with aspirations of success and prosperity.
- Narrates how jurgis rudkus, a slaughterhouse sweeper, experienced the horrendous conditions which laborers encountered. he later learned of worker unions and other groups to support the labor force.
- Analyzes how sinclair's the jungle is a'subliminal' form of propaganda for jurgis and fellow workers.
- Analyzes how sinclair's portrayal of socialism in regards to the laborer appeals to a jobless, hungry, indigent man.
- Opines that sinclair's vision of socialism wasn't as flawless and beneficial as it seemed. it was an attempt to commonize the working class.
- Opines that socialism was stifled before it could make a permanent mark of american society.
436 wordsRead More - Comparing The Progressive Era And The New Deal Eracomparative essayAlthough the economy during that time was booming companies wanted costs low and profits high in competitive markets, so wages were kept low with long hours and terrible work conditions for men, women, and children. Upton Sinclair exploited this by writing “The Jungle,” describing the work condition workers had to face and the filth in the meat packing plants, photography also became a use of documentation showing child laborers and lastly a 1911 garment factory fire in New York City killing 126 worker dead contributed to exploiting this problem. Jacob Riis wrote a first hand experience of the harsh life in the slums; Jane Addams was able to help this problem by cofounding a settlement house. This started more settlement houses and hull houses to develop to provide a community center for neighbors and citizens. Ida Tarbell described the tactics used by big businesses to eliminate competition and Lincoln Steffens exposed corruption in city governments. Through muckraking they were able enlighten the people of the need for change, and with the help of the people demand and support
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the progressive and new deal era had a significant amount of similarities with policies and programs to reform the american society and improve lives and fight poverty in america.
- Explains that both the progressive and new deal era's accomplishments were rooted from the economic depression and the need of change before the era.
- Describes how the guilded age ended, and the progressive era emerged. muckrakers came in to expose and show citizens the corruption in government and business and also the terrible conditions of the working class americans.
- Explains that during the great depression many families were left poor with no income or savings. change was the only way to fix the economy and lift the spirits of the american people.
- Compares the new deal and progressive era in terms of standards and image set by franklin d. roosevelt and theodore roosevelt as presidents.
- Explains that franklin d. roosevelt called on congress to intervene immediately after taking office. he passed 15 major bills to improve the economy during his first hundred days of presidency.
- Explains that theodore roosevelt redefined the image and scope as the president of the united states by increasing the power of his presidency.
- Explains how workers from both the progressive and new deal eras fought unfair labor practices by creating unions and strikes. henry ford was one of the first employers to realize this, raising the pay of worker to an average of $5 per day.
- Compares the new deal era and the united auto workers' sit-down strike in 1936. unions insisted that the economic downfall was caused by under consumption.
- Explains that the new deal and the progressive era differ in what their achievements targeted and how it was done.
- Explains how the progressive era worked to improve working conditions and right for americans. sinclair's "the jungle," jacob riis' first-hand experience of the harsh life in the slums, and jane addams' cofounding a settlement house helped this problem.
- Explains that the new deal's main target was to provide help to american citizens and secure america and its citizens so the outcome of the great depression won't happen again.
- Explains that although the progressive and new deal era had many achievements, they also had failures and shortcomings.
1652 wordsRead More - Upton Sinclair's The Jungleanalytical essayEmployment is hard to find and hard to keep and a job isn’t always what one hoped for. Sometimes jobs do not sufficiently support our lifestyles, and all too frequently we’re convinced that our boss’s real job is to make us miserable. However, every now and then there are reprieves such as company holiday parties or bonuses, raises, promotions and even a half hour or hour to eat lunch that allows escape from monotonous workloads. Aside from our complaints, employment today for majority of American’s isn’t totally dreadful, and there always lies opportunity for promotion. American’s did not always experience this reality in their work places though, and not long past are days of abysmal and disgusting work conditions. In 1906 Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle” was published. His novel drastically transformed the way Americans felt about the unmitigated power corporations wielded in the ‘free’ market economy that was heavily propagandized at the turn of the century. Corporations do not have the same unscrupulous practices today because of actions taken by former President Theodore Roosevelt who felt deeply impacted by Sinclair’s famous novel. Back in early 1900’s in the meatpacking plants of Chicago the incarnation of greed ruled over the working man and dictated his role as a simple cog within an enormous insatiable industrial machine. Executives of the 1900’s meatpacking industry in Chicago, IL, conspired to work men to death, obliterate worker’s unions and lie to American citizens about what they were actually consuming in order to simply acquire more money.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how upton sinclair's "the jungle" transformed the way americans felt about the unmitigated power corporations wielded in the ‘free’ market economy.
- Analyzes how men's bodies were routinely exploited for dangerous labor then discarded as the human body began to break. jurgis, the main immigrant character in the jungle, observes the conditions.
- Analyzes how upton sinclair's novel affected president roosevelt deeply at the time. the usda reported that the claims were fabricated and the novel was a compilation of lies.
- Explains that immigrant workers employed by corporate trusts of early 1900's had no power to amend the dreadful circumstances they became entrapped to.
- Analyzes how roosevelt used public outrage and opportunity to implement two legislations: the pure food and drugs act and the meat inspection act.
- Explains that upton sinclair's the jungle: muckraking the meat-packing industry was published by the constitutional rights foundation.
1143 wordsRead More