The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
Anywhere you see the smiley face holding a book, you need to “write”
down the information included on those slides.
Make sure you respond to any of the questions I have posed along the
way.
Background Information
Although The Jungle (Sinclair, 1906) is seen primarily as an expose
of the meatpacking industry, it is actually a critique of early 20th
century business and labor practices in rapidly growing cities
across the United States.
It is super important to see the novel for what it is and not merely a
propaganda tool!
Think on this: How do writers and artists create social change?
Why is this such a critical role for writers and artists to play in
society?
Background Information
▪ Immigrants were flooding into the US during the early 20th
century
▪ Immigrants provided a cheap source of labor for American
factories and businesses
▪ Immigrant living conditions included:
1. Living in overcrowded, run-down tenement buildings with no access
to clean water or proper sewage system
Background Information
Think on this: For Sinclair, a self-proclaimed socialist, millionaire
businessmen were building up huge fortunes by exploiting
immigrants. Do you think this is true of modern society? Why or
why not?
Definitions: You need to know these
1. Socialism: a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of
the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution,
of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.
2. Socialist: someone who adheres to the tenets of socialism
Background Information
▪ The struggles between the rich and the poor stemmed from the
rapidly expanding industrial centers of society – think big cities
like Chicago and NYC
▪ In 1854 the population in Chicago was 55,000 and in 1898 it was
1,700,000.
▪ Why does Chicago matter? It was the center of both
transcontinental railway lines and the meatpacking industry.
Background Information
▪ Sinclair writes to promote a clear and precise socialist agenda
▪ Sinclair wanted people to organize with other workers in support of the socialist
cause
▪ Sinclair submitted an article to a socialist magazine (Appeal to Reason) on the failure
of the Chicago stockyards strike of 1904
▪ The editor then gave Sinclair $500 to investigate the meatpacking industry
▪ Sinclair then spends 7 weeks undercover in the stockyards before writing The Jungle
▪ Sinclair is the first investigative journalist to publish an expose
▪ Sinclair’s socialist message was overlooked because people were so appalled by the
disgusting, gut-wrenching descriptions of the meatpacking factories
Background Information
▪ Nation is revolted to learn what was in their cans of beef and ham
▪ President Teddy Roosevelt scoffed at the socialist idealism, but promised
to investigate the sanitation conditions and hygiene inside the
meatpacking plants
▪ Roosevelt kept his word and passed the Food and Drug Act of 1906 which
leads to the current Food and Drug Administration so now the US has
control of the industry.
Think on this: The government controls many aspects of our lives. Is this a
good thing or a bad thing? Defend your reasoning.
Background Information
▪ Sinclair had very little interest in food safety and was actually more
concerned with social safety…
– He wanted poor immigrants protected from gross exploitation and
oppression
– He wanted the close relationship between businesses and the court
system to be changed so that there was equality
– He worried about the industrial pollution & the environmental impact
– He worried about how immigrants were treated in society
– He was concerned with the role the federal government played in
providing services for the poor
Themes
1. Society and class
2. Suffering
3. Power
4. Visions of America
5. Poverty
6. Foreignness/Immigration
7. Gender Roles and Inequality