Essay on Upton Sinclairs The Jungle - 1121 Words

Upton Sinclairs The Jungle Jurgis Rudkus and Ona Lukoszaite open the novel of The Jungle with a celebration of their wedding. The opening of the book highlights the best time that Jurgis and Ona will ever again experience during their stay in America. Jurgis is convinced that he can accomplish the American Dream, gaining prosperity from hard work and dedication. However, as the novel progresses, we soon see that this dream that Jurgis had is much farther away than he anticipated, and prosperity seems untouchable unless one gives up their morals and values and joins the capitalistic America. In this novel we see Jurgis start with a dream and end with a dream, however much is lost in the process. Jurgis and Ona deicide to move to†¦show more content†¦His job entails sweeping the entrails of slaughtered cattle through trap doors. At first Jurgis enjoys his job despite the unsanitary working conditions, long hours, and intense manual labor. The family seems content at firs t, however the longer they are in America the more they begin to learn about the true way of survival in Packingtown. Immigrant workers come and go, if someone gets hurt or dies on the job they are immediately replaced with another immigrant. Wage laborers are cut short of pay and can do nothing about it, spoiled meat and leftovers from several slaughtered animals are canned and shipped for consumption, and moving up in the work force seems all but possible. Sinclair is trying to allow the reader to see the truth behind the supposed wonderful place of America. The cheap labor forced upon immigrants, the extremely unsanitary working conditions and food distribution and the harsh reality of social Darwinism. Jurgis family continues to suffer despite the fact that they have purchased a house. However this is just another con of a sleazy person trying to make a living. The house is cheap and poorly built and is actually being rented until all of it is paid for, allowing the tenan t to evict the family for just one late payment. Jurgis, still clinging to the thought of the American Dream, takes a hard hit when he learns that his wife has been forced to prostitution by herShow MoreRelated Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle Essay617 Words   |  3 PagesUpton Sinclair’s The Jungle   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many immigrants are moving to the United States in the early 1900’s with the hopes of living the â€Å"American Dream.† However, that glittering American lifestyle is merely a distant ideal for the immigrants living in Packingtown, the Lithuanian meatpacking district of Chicago. Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle portrays life through the eyes of a poor workingman struggling to survive in this cruel environment, where the desire for profit among the capitalist meatpackingRead MoreThe American Dream In Upton Sinclairs The Jungle765 Words   |  4 Pagesare left to abandoned their families because they are not able support them financially. One textual example that portrays this struggle is Upton Sinclair’s novel, â€Å"The Jungle†. The Jungle provides the reader with insight of how the businesses took control of the average workers life, and the working conditions were horrible while the wages were low. The Jungle begins with a story of a group of Lithuanian immigrants who move to America leaving behind their loved ones in hopes of better life in AmericaRead MoreThe American Dream In The Jungle By Upton Sinclairs The Jungle756 Words   |  4 Pageshard work and determination. This popular idea is what made America so appealing to foreigners, and immigrants alike. 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Sinclairâ₠¬â„¢s vivid depictions of life in the Chicago stockyard changed the world in 1906, butRead More Upton Sinclairs Purpose in Writing The Jungle Essay1141 Words   |  5 PagesUpton Sinclairs 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. Secondly, he attempts to show the advantages of socialism in helping to remedy the problems of a society such as the one that exists in Chicago at this time. Sinclair accomplishesRead MoreThe Negative Effects Of The Family In Upton Sinclairs The Jungle?961 Words   |  4 Pages1900s there were already more than 10 million immigrants living in America. Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle reveals the struggles and hardships of a family that immigrates to the United States from Lithuania during the 1900s. Although many immigrant families came to America in search of a better life, soon most found themselves barely surviving with no job, food, shelter, or money. As is the case of the family in The Jungle. The novel not only unveils the corruption of the political and economic systemRead MoreClose to the Edge: Analysis of Upton Sinclairs The Jungle1534 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿Close To The Edge The title of Upton Sinclairs genre defining novel regarding the ills of immigration to the United States and the meat packing industry in the early 20th century, The Jungle, is anything but euphemistic. In the Chicago streets and suburbs that Sinclair depicts, there are a variety of predators (such as that exist in virtually any jungle). There are corrupt justice systems that prey on victims, corrupt employers that wantonly exploit their laborers (and even sexually assault them)