Analysis Of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair is a novel that details the struggles endured by an immigrant and his family in Chicago in the early 1900s. The main character, Jurgis, sought out a better life than the one he had in Lithuania. He and his family heard stories of men making fortunes in America, "where a man might make three rubles a day". (Sinclair 27) America "was a place of which lovers and young people dreamed." (Sinclair 27) However, with their voyage to a new land, the dreams of Jurgis and his family were soon met with seemingly insurmountable odds. The story of Jurgis is a scathing commentary about the twentieth century "American Dream" and the flawed Capitalist ideals it was built upon. Jurgis and his family initially dealt with the

"Ironically and to Sinclair 's keen disappointment, as he wrote, 'I aimed at the public 's heart and by accident I hit it in the stomach. ' The Socialist vote in America did not increase, nor did the social revolution appear to be any closer." [...] "...both the Pure-Food and Drug Act and Beef Inspection Act were passed in modified form and became laws of the land - less than six months from the appearance in book form of The Jungle." (Sinclair 348-349) The description of diseased animals and rodents that were packed into food that other richer classes consumed were a result of capitalist decisions. Inevitably, consumers only concerned themselves with what they were eating rather than the original reason as to why tainted meat was permitted to be sold in the first place. The problem with extreme, unregulated capitalism is described as a "nightmare" by Jurgis. While his original outlook toward America was positive, over time Jurgis slowly began to lose faith in the system, resent the system, and eventually fight back against the system when he was wronged. Everything he dealt with in America only made his life harder and kept him from achieving any sort of American dream. In fact, Jurgis 's environment changed him for the worse. Later in the novel, Jurgis finds that being a criminal and preying on others was much more profitable for him than working hard at "reputable"

There are obvious correlations Sinclair made between the workers of Packingtown and the animals in the stockyards alluding to the idea that both would fall prey to large, capitalist machines, be that the meat grinder or capitalism itself. However, some of the symbolism I enjoyed involved the house Jurgis 's family attempted to buy. The house they attempt to buy may look pleasing to the eye on the outside, just like the cans of meat from Packingtown, however the inside of the cans and the materials used to build the houses were not fit to be used for such a purpose. In this novel, capitalism sells you "lies with shiny exteriors" while the bureaucracy profits from the ignorance of the desperate and unknowing