Upton Sinclair's The Jungle: Labor, Controversy, and Reform

Introduction

In 1906, a book was published that remains controversial in some circles more than one hundred years later. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair was a journalist's fictionalized account of worker conditions in the meatpacking industry and slums of Chicago. The book was intended to expose how laborers as a whole were victimized by ruthless bosses and an uncaring government, but it became associated in the public mind primarily with the meatpacking industry. Although the plight of laborers was depicted vividly, many readers were more outraged by how meat was processed than by the broader labor conditions Sinclair had hoped to highlight. Thus, Sinclair eventually succeeded in getting his book published, but the general public did not absorb the message he had intended. This essay covers the main themes of the book, criticism of the work, and whether present conditions have changed to any great extent.

Publishing Challenges and Political Criticism

One of the most interesting stories surrounding the book is how difficult it was to find a publisher. The book's earliest and harshest critics were the very publishers to whom it was submitted. Given the era in which the book would have appeared, it was a legitimate concern for publishers to regard it as too graphic for the general public. Readers were simply not prepared for the level of detail Sinclair provided; it was a more guarded society. In today's media environment, conditions as bad as those Sinclair described would be reported daily. At the time, however, people relied on local newspapers that were sometimes months behind on major events, and on word of mouth from neighbors. It was a far more agrarian society, distant from reliable news sources, and without computers, television, or radio. Few people even had access to a telephone.

Even in the cities, there was no consistent news source beyond newspapers that were often owned by the very industrialists Sinclair was writing about — or at the very least their wealthy associates. The news was filtered, and stories about industrial atrocities rarely appeared. Yellow journalists existed, but they were largely dismissed by the larger newspaper companies.

A second point of contention raised by the publishers who rejected the manuscript was that Sinclair appeared to hate the rich rather than genuinely wanting to help the poor. This too may have been a legitimate criticism. His stated goal was to elevate laborers above their impoverished and dangerous conditions, but as a socialist he would naturally have harbored disdain for the wealthy. The irony is that Sinclair was by no means poor himself. He may not have possessed the wealth of a Rockefeller or Carnegie, but he did have sufficient resources to originally self-publish The Jungle.

Conditions in the Meatpacking Industry and Worker Survival

The main goal of the book was undermined because so much of the narrative focused on conditions in the meatpacking industry specifically. Sinclair wanted readers to recognize the plight of workers in general and to rise up against the failed schemes of government and the wealthy. However, when people read the book, nearly all of their attention fixed on the atrocities inside the meatpacking plants. Though this was not Sinclair's original goal, it became the dominant takeaway.

Sinclair portrayed workers forced to labor in dark packing plants where conditions were so hazardous that simply going to work was dangerous. Jurgis, the protagonist, works diligently, but because there is no safety net for injured workers, he loses his job when he hurts himself. The workers at the plant endure extremely hard labor for very low wages under deadly conditions.

There was a large immigrant community in the neighborhood where Jurgis and his family lived. At first, they coped with harsh conditions by maintaining hope that things would improve. They worked hard, tried to save money, and dreamed of a better future. The reality was slow to materialize. They also relied on family bonds to survive. The primary family in the book was close-knit and initially able to support one another, but eventually fell apart under the pressure of swindlers, indifferent bosses, and other hardships they could not overcome.

The book does attempt optimism toward its end. At the time, many labor unions were forming, though few had established a strong foothold. Reform through unionization was not guaranteed, but much of the legislation passed since then to assist laborers has resulted from union advocacy. Coal miners and steel workers in the Appalachian region, farm workers in California, and textile workers in the Northeast had all long suffered under adverse conditions, creating a nationwide need for reform.

In The Jungle, the meatpacking industry receives the most attention because that is where Sinclair worked undercover. Yet he wanted change across all major industries. He believed that general conditions throughout large American industries were poor because labor had no real say. The workers who performed essential tasks were treated as little better than animals by many owners, whose shareholders were focused solely on returns. There was no government agency such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to protect workers from dangerous environments, so owners had no financial incentive to make workplaces safe. The problems Sinclair described in Chicago were, in all likelihood, occurring throughout the nation.

Work Cited

Sinclair, Upton. The Jungle. New York: Doubleday, 1906. Print.