Upton Sinclair was born in September 20, 1878, in Baltimore. His father, who was an alcoholic, moved him and his family to New York in 1888. His family was very poor, but he spent a lot of time living with his grandparents (Simkin). “Upton Sinclair was a Mid-Twentieth- century novelist and journalist known as a muckraker, whose books exposed the exploitation of the working class” (Rhode 1377). His hard childhood eventually turned him into a socialist. Sinclair was very religious and loved literature (Simkin). At ten, he was inspired by Charles Dickens, forming a passion for social justice. The English writer William Makepeace inspired him to hate pretense and hypocrisy (Rhode 1378).
At fourteen, he attended New York City College (Simkin). His first novel was Prairie’s Pirates, Sinclair later confessed that it was similar to Treasure Island by Louis Stevenson (Rhode 1378). During his education, Sinclair paid for his college education by writing stories for magazines and newspapers. At seventeen, he earned enough to allow him to move into an apartment while supporting his parents with a decent income (Simkin).After two newspaper articles, he was able to sell enough copies to repay the debt for his uncle. Sinclair graduated from college in 1897, and worked for the Army and Navy weekly flyer (Simkin).
In 1902, Upton married Meta Fuller. Sinclair had a child, David, in 1903. In 1904, the editor of a socialist journal appointed Sinclair to write a book about working immigrants in the Chicago meat packing houses. He was given 500 dollars in advance, after seven weeks of visiting the meat packing industry and talking to the workers, he wrote The Jungle, his most famous novel (Simkin). Regarding The Jungle, Sinclair said “I aimed at the ...
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... a liveliness and spirit that appeals to many readers, Sinclair's historical novels are more pleasurable reading” (McEwen). Reviewers have criticized the conclusion of The Jungle, where the main character is inspired by the principles of socialism, as being too simplistic, edifying, and not convincing ("Explanation of: 'The Jungle' by Upton Sinclair”). “Despite these criticisms, The Jungle, with its harsh portrait of the American dream as unattainable to the working-class poor, is considered an important work in the tradition of the social novel” ("Explanation of: 'The Jungle' by Upton Sinclair”). It is very likely, that Sinclair be remembered mostly because of The Jungle, but his other works will also catch the attention of those who wish to be informed about social issues and significant events in modern history in a simple and clarified fashion (McEwen).
Upton Sinclair was born in Baltimore, Maryland on September 20th 1978. Sinclair grew up in a broken household; his father was an alcohol salesman and killed himself drinking. While his mother would not even think about drinking alcohol. So these personalities naturally clashed. So Sinclair found some solace in books, Sinclair was a natural writer and he began publishing at the young age of fifteen years old. Sinclair started off going to school at a small college by the name of New York City College. This was just temporary as Sinclair would need time and money to move higher up to a form of better education. So as a result Sinclair took the initiative and he started writing columns on ethnic jokes and hack fiction for small magazines in New York. The money he earned writing these columns allowed him to completely pay for New York City College, and eventually enroll to attend Columbia University. Sinclair worked as hard as he possibly could to get into Columbia University and he was going to do the absolute best he could while he was attending the University. Since Sinclair needed ex...
Sinclair agreed to "investigate working conditions in Chicago's meatpacking plants," for the Socialist journal, Appeal to Reason, in 1904. The Jungle, published in 1906, is Sinclair's most popular and influential work. It is also his first of many "muckraker" pieces. In order to improve society, muckrakers wanted to expose any injustice on human rights or well-being. Therefore, it was Sinclair's goal to expose the harsh treatment of factory workers through The Jungle. The improvement on society, that he hoped would follow, was the reformation of labor.
Upton Sinclair's Purpose in Writing The Jungle Upton Sinclair wrote this book for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, he tries to awaken the reader to the terrible. living conditions of immigrants in the cities around the turn of the century. Chicago has the most potent examples of these. conditions.
In The Jungle, Sinclair deeply understands his subjects and can make the plots real for the reader. Even in a small section of the book, Sinclair makes me feel, imagine and contemplate his words. Chapters 18 through 23, were chapters that Sinclair took time and effort to write and make it to perfection. In my own perspective, I think he achieved this accomplishment and made these chapters a realistic event.
The Jungle, the 1906 exposé of the Chicago meatpacking industry. The novel focuses on an immigrant family and sympathetically and realistically describes their struggles with loan sharks and others who take advantage of their innocence. More importantly, Sinclair graphically describes the brutal working conditions of those who find work in the stockyards. Sinclair's description of the main character's
Today, Upton Sinclair is regarded as a hero to the working class people. He is currently recognized for the extensive work he has accomplished, such as most famously writing The Jungle. This dynamically contrasts the way Upton was viewed during his time. Although some viewed him as famous, his fame was controversial. Many denounced his religious and political views, and felt he was extremely unpatriotic. While reviewing several documents and periodicals from his time period, it was proven that many felt negatively towards Upton Sinclair and his beliefs.
Sinclair, has shown in a dramatic style the hardships and obstacles which Jurgis and fellow workers had to endure. He made the workers sound so helpless and the conditions so gruesome, that the reader almost wants a way out for Jurgis. Sinclair's The Jungle is a "subliminal" form of propaganda for
An author depicts certain elements of a historical time period in his or her novel by incorporating literary elements. Upton Sinclair, the author of the novel The Jungle, was a Socialist who supported the rights of the working class in America’s economy. He lived during the time of the American Industrial Revolution when the lower class of the society were poverty-stricken while the upper class were wealthy and corrupt. He had observed the meat-packing factories of Chicago and incorporated the knowledge he had learned into his novel. In writing this novel, Sinclair’s goal was to expose the harsh conditions in American factories (“Upton Sinclair”).
The most significant event in the emergence of the twentieth century is the diversity and struggle of society's classes. The novel, The Jungle penned by Upton Sinclair attempts to display the social and economic challenges of the lower class by demonstrating the difficulties of a Lithuanian immigrant family.The predicament situation of Jurgis and his family reveals the dark side of the capitalism, therefore, it also revealed dominance and the exploitation of the bourgeoisie from the proletariat class.Throughout the novel, Jurgis and his family encounter varied difficulties from being unable to find a proper job to several deaths followed one after another due to the harsh life conditions consequently followed by the separation of the family
“The Jungle” novel was written by an American journalist/ novelist name Upton Sinclair in 1906. “The Jungle” made a big hit and became his best-selling novel because it revealed so well about the economical and social reality during that time. The book mainly described about how unsanitary the meat packing industry was operated in Chicago and the miserable life of the immigrants going along with the industry. Through the story around the life and family of Jurgis Rudjus, a Lithuanian immigrant who comes to America with the belief to change their life and live in a better condition, Sinclair expresses that “The Jungle” is a symbol of capitalism. Sinclair’s contempt for capitalist society is present throughout the novel, demonstrated in the eagerness of Jurgis to work, the constant struggle for survival of the workers in Packing town and the corruption of the man at all levels of the society. Also, the author promotes socialism as a standard political society to replace capitalism.
The book, The Jungle, written by Upton Sinclair, has portrayed how conditions and social norms of the early 1900’s helped shape society through social reform. Sexism, racism, and class, shaped the experiences and choices of the immigrants in The Jungle throughout the book. The huge difference between the classes was the most significant of the three. Sinclair used the story of one immigrant and his family to help show what was going on in society at that time, to raise awareness, and to promote socialism.
Robert Louis Stevenson was born on November 13, 1850 in Scotland. Being the only son of a famous civil engineer, Stevenson was expected to continue the family tradition, but this was against his wishes for his life. At an early age, he exhibited a yearning to write, and although he could not read until he was seven or eight, he composed stories and dedicated them to his parents and nurse. Stevenson was not brought up by the most caring parents, and received most of his adolescent guidance from his nurse. Throughout his child, the nurse cared for him and instilled in him the Christian beliefs that undoubtedly shaped his novels. The nurse would read to him from the bible during his periods of bed rest, as he was a sickly child, and these daily readings instilled in him a love for storytelling. Although he was a sickly child, he managed to receive a decent education through some schooling, private tutoring and at the efforts of his nurse and was able to enroll in Edinburgh University when he was 17.
Rudyard Kipling’s original story of The Jungle Book presented a very distinct group of characters in contrast to virtually all other jungle people in the book. The Bandar-Log were seen as lawless, careless, and mostly mindless individuals who were social outcasts and pariahs. Disney’s film adaptation of Kipling’s tale held this concept, while also giving the monkey people strong characteristic typically connected to African-Americans. This creates a racist undertone in the movie that is absent from the original story’s source.
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair is about a Lithuanian family living in Chicago in the 1900’s. They had faith in the American dream, hoping to start a new and successful life. Unfortunately they were deprived of they hopes and dreams. They were placed in the middle of a society where only the strongest and richest survived. The rich keep getting richer and the poor get even poorer. Jurgis and his family went to extreme lengths just in hopes of finding a job, they were forced to travel in heavy rain, strong winds, and thick snow, even when they were sick, in fear of losing their jobs. The Jungle pointed out many flaws in society such as filthy meat and sickening work conditions.
John Steinbeck lead a life filled with words, from his award winning novels to the hundreds letters he wrote to friends during his career. He was born in Salinas, California on February 27, 1902, and lived there for the first sixteen years of his life until he graduated from Salinas High School in 1918. He took classes at Stanford, but spent more of his college years working to pay tuition than then he spent in the classroom. 1924 brought his first publication, two short stories in the Standford Spectator, but in 1925 he left his schooling and went to New York for a time. By 1926, he was back in California and his first book, Cup of Gold, was published the year the of great stock market crash, but had little success. In 1930, he married Carol Henning, and the two lived in Pacific Grove, CA for the next several years. These years were lean; Steinbeck was having trouble selling his work, even with the help of his literary agents, McIntosh and Otis. Often, selling a short story for 50$ or so was the difference between eating or not.