Upton Sinclair Essays (Examples)

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Sinclair's The Jungle
Upton Sinclair's describes the struggles of immigrant life in his novel The Jungle. The book opens with a wedding scene between Jurgis Rudkus and Ona Lukoszaite, a young couple from Lithuania. They celebrate with their extended family in the backroom of a saloon in the Packingtown district of Chicago, the new home of this collection of Lithuanian immigrants. The story then switches to the arduous journey the Lithuanian families undertook in order to make a better life for themselves in America. However, when they arrive in Chicago's Packingtown, the living conditions are filthy and oppressive. Jurgis readily finds work but his father is unable to find employment. Ona's family has trouble making ends meet, and Ona eventually finds work wrapping ham. Jurgis and Ona eventually get married, which brings the plot back to the opening wedding scene. Unfortunately, the young couple was expecting the traditional monetary gifts from….


In Sinclair's novel, the whole vision is altered because it focuses mainly on Bunny's perception of his father and of the broader social concerns of the day. Here the father is less of an individual and more of a representative of the emergent and destructive force of the cruel capitalism. It is not the beastly, inhuman character of a man that is brought into focus, but the inhuman force of capitalism. Even from the first pages, everything is rendered through the yet unripe but keen eyes of the son: "Sometimes you liked to put your hand up, and feel the cold impact; sometimes you would peer around the side of the shield, and let the torrent hit your forehead, and toss your hair about. But for the most part you sat about and dignified because that was Dad's way and Dad's way constituted the ethics of motoring."(Sinclair, 5) the wider….

Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle"
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 supposed to be about how laborers as a whole were victimized by ruthless bosses and an uncaring government, but it became about the meatpacking industry to many. Although the plight of laborers was seen, many who read the book were more outraged by how meat was processed. Thus, Sinclair was able to get his book published, eventually, but people did not see the real message. This essay covers the main thrusts of the book, criticism of the work, and whether present conditions have changed to any great extent.

One of the most interesting stories surrounding the book is how difficult it was to find a….

He can take a women and use her body for his own pleasure and make threats against her family to get even more from her. It makes me wonder how he can look at himself and not see the filthy creature he is.
Three: I must have done something awful to end up in a situation like this. Here we are, all out of jobs. There is no way to get food and there is no way to pay rent. I am so unhappy. hile I should be beaming because I am carrying a baby I can only think of the terrible burden it is going to be to take care of another human being in this situation. I look around and see Marija sick from blood poisoning. Teta isn't working and no one can find work because we are either too sick and Connor is scheming behind or backs….

Upton Sinclair's The Jungle
The Use of Style to Craft an Argument: Upton Sinclair's the Jungle

"Sinclair uses language effectively, and in a variety of ways, to shape his characters and develop his themes" and thus effectively created a novel that outraged the public and created the beginnings of reform in American industry (Oatman 30). Upton Sinclair's most infamous novel, The Jungle, is a story of an immigrant worker forced into a society of extreme exploitation and disregard not only for workers conditions but also for the conditions of the products being made in the factories. Sinclair discusses one immigrants journey, as Jurgis comes in to the working system as an ignorant immigrant worker and nine is transformed into a person demanding social responsibility from the companies who care so little about their workers. In this context, Sinclair uses a number of stylistic devices in order to make his point clear. He….


For example, the Lithuanian delicatessen vender, Jokubas Szedvilas, begins by owning his own means of selling foodstuffs in a more healthful and independent fashion that the mechanisms of production destroy, in contrast to what Sinclair calls the "metaphors of human destiny," in the form of the miles of cattle to be put in chutes and killed. (Chapter 3) Later, a young couple, Jurgis and Ona, recall they "had always been accustomed to eat a great deal of smoked sausage, and how could they know that what they bought in America was not the same -- that its color was made by chemicals, and its smoky flavor by more chemicals, and that it was full of 'potato flour' besides? Potato flour is the waste of potato after the starch and alcohol have been extracted; it has no more food value than so much wood, and as its use as a food….

Social and cultural capital enable access to educational institutions. Social and cultural capital also offer access to positions of power within organizations. The menial labor jobs that the Lithuanian immigrants do thwart social mobility.
The myth of the American Dream creates the illusion that capitalist social structures are beneficial and immutable. Immigrants like those depicted in the Jungle believe that hard work alone can lead to upward social mobility and a high quality of life. hen Jurgis and Ona arrive in Packingtown they are filled with the idealism that characterizes the American Dream. Their idealism quickly dissolves in the face of social norms and institutions that support a hierarchical, stratified society. For example, the first home they attempt to buy ended up being a scam.

Immigrants in the Packington community end up using deviant behavior to fulfill their needs. hether crime or corruption, deviant behaviors are a product of anomie, which….

Jungle, Upton Sinclair describes horrific conditions within the meatpacking plants, and writes of men falling into tanks and being ground up with animal parts and then made into lard (Sinclair pp). He writes that it was Jurgis's job to slide the cows into the trap, calves and all, and on the floor below they took out these slunk calves and butchered them for meat and even used the skins (Sinclair pp). Sinclair describes that cattle that came in hurt, with broken legs, or had died from causes no one knew, were called 'downers,' and the packing house had a special elevator upon which they were raised to the killing beds, where they were handled with businesslike nonchalance and eventually scattered here and there with the rest of the meat so that they could not be identified (Sinclair pp). The author also described that there was never any washing of….

Jungle by Upton Sinclair
PAGES 4 WORDS 1346

Mr. W.H. Moody
Dear Mr. Moody

This writing is in response to works such as The Jungle by Upton inclair. I believe that Mr. inclair is unfair in his assessment of the various aspects in my packinghouse. Of course his views are very subjective, and he presents only one side of the issue. With this letter then, my intention is to explain several aspects within my meatpacking house. These include working conditions, my political dealings, my views on the Chicago poor and immigrant population, and finally my feelings regarding the rise of ocialism.

Firstly then, the working conditions in my packinghouse will be addressed. The workers in my place of business are employed under an agreement that I pay them for a certain amount of a certain type of work. They are free to seek other employment if their working conditions or the conditions of their contract do not please them. Admittedly, the….

Jungle" by Upton Sinclair
The Jungle written by Upton Sinclair was written in 1901, it talks about corruption in America, Chicago around the twentieth century. The book includes graphic, images of the meat processing which are helpful to the reader for clear understanding. The writer wrote the book with a purpose of showing industrial capitalism, where immigrants worked, the physical conditions, their struggles and how their families lived. The writer has written this book from his point-of-view, on how he viewed the workers 'conditions and conditions of the manufacturing plant and the processes involved. He wrote the book trying to fight for the rights of the public workers, air out their grievances, and the poor conditions they lived with their families.

The book is a piece of literature and narration is used to tell the story of the stockyards. Upton aims to educate the public on the struggles faced by the….

He was the typical immigrant who sought to make his way in America but the harsh realities of American capitalist system left him battered and broken with a dead wife and child. After wandering through a life of crime and corruption, Jurgis is finally redeemed through socialism; just as American society could be redeemed through socialism. The Jungle ends with the socialist making some progress in the American political landscape but with a long way to go. However, whatever message that Sinclair hoped to make about the American economic system became overshadowed by his descriptions of the actual conditions in the meatpacking industry. And the ultimate impact of the book was to alter the way industries were regulated to ensure the safety of the public.
orks Cited

Boyer, Paul, et al. The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People,

Volume 2: Since 1865. Boston, MA: adsworth, Centgage, 2010. Print.

Cramer, Michael. Food….

" Steinbeck's novel was written in a much different style, much more modern, and so it is easier for modern readers to relate to it. Each of the novels places the characters in poor situations, so they all compare to each other in this regard. The reader becomes sympathetic to them because of their plight, and they want them to win. Unfortunately, because of society at the time, for most of the characters, that is not possible. Steinbeck's account of the Joads leaves them in a terrible situation by the end of the book, yet they somehow remain hopeful. Steinbeck is looking at the American people as a whole, and how, when the times are the worst, they still hang on to hope.
As for social impetus, the books did spark change. "The Jungle" actually helped form the first department in Washington to deal with food safety, the Federal Department of….

Meatpacking Industry: Progressive Reforms and the Shaping of National Policy
In 1906 the Pure Food and Drug Act was passed in the United States. This was the culmination of a furor that had reached tipping point with the success of Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle, a story based in the meat packing industry published in 1905. The novel explored the lives of a group of immigrant workers as they struggled to survive in the "jungle" of early 20th century.

The story was, however, merely the straw that broke the camel's back. The Pure Foods Movement had actually begun thirty years earlier in the post-Civil War years when Industrialization was already underway and the landscape of America was rapidly changing. It was the Pure Foods Movement that was really the driving force behind the Pure Food and Drugs Act of 1906.[footnoteRef:1] [1: Wallace Janssen, "The Story of the Laws behind the Labels,"….

The money he earns doesn't go to his relatives but to drink. Teta Elziebta and Marija also give up their hopes of a successful marriage, of family. They become whores. Like Jurgis, they spend their earnings on themselves and not their family: they become heroine addicts (310).
Sinclair's contention that community can't exist in a society that makes immorally-based decisions persists through to the end of the novel. Despite their attempts to become a part of a community after leaving their family, Jurgis, Teta Elziebta, and Marjia all fail. The "communities" they find -- whorehouses and gangs of thugs-- because they are based on an immoral standards, do not function. For example, though he earns the criminal underground money and participates well in their endeavors, Jurgis is kicked out (300). Marija realizes that the community she lives in keeps her a prisoner by keeping her addicted to heroine and forever….

Jurgis is filled with grief and despair when thinks of how "they had put their very souls into their payments on that house, they had paid for it with their sweat and tears -- yes, more, with their very lifeblood. " (Sinclair). Perhaps the most dreadful of all things is Ona's death. Her death marks a brand new low for Jurgis. Personal hardship is the backdrop for Jurgis' dream. He is learning that things do not always turn out the way we expect them to turn out. Jurgis is realizing that hard work and a good heart do not always lead toward wealth and a better life.
Jurgis also sees his American Dream die to the ways of socialism. As he begins to learn more about socialism, he gains a different sense of self. He is not shy about it and, in fact, he is very vocal about his beliefs.….

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Book Review

Family and Marriage

Sinclair's the Jungle Upton Sinclair's Describes the

Words: 629
Length: 2 Pages
Type: Book Review

Sinclair's The Jungle Upton Sinclair's describes the struggles of immigrant life in his novel The Jungle. The book opens with a wedding scene between Jurgis Rudkus and Ona Lukoszaite, a…

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6 Pages
Term Paper

Literature

Upton Sinclair's Novel Oil And

Words: 2063
Length: 6 Pages
Type: Term Paper

In Sinclair's novel, the whole vision is altered because it focuses mainly on Bunny's perception of his father and of the broader social concerns of the day. Here the…

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7 Pages
Essay

Family and Marriage

Upton Sinclair's the Jungle

Words: 1765
Length: 7 Pages
Type: Essay

Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" 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…

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6 Pages
Essay

Family and Marriage

Upton Sinclair's the Jungle the

Words: 1762
Length: 6 Pages
Type: Essay

He can take a women and use her body for his own pleasure and make threats against her family to get even more from her. It makes me…

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7 Pages
Book Review

Literature

Researched Argument on the Jungle by Upton Sinclair

Words: 2341
Length: 7 Pages
Type: Book Review

Upton Sinclair's The Jungle The Use of Style to Craft an Argument: Upton Sinclair's the Jungle "Sinclair uses language effectively, and in a variety of ways, to shape his characters and…

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2 Pages
Term Paper

Agriculture

Jungle by Upton Sinclair What

Words: 990
Length: 2 Pages
Type: Term Paper

For example, the Lithuanian delicatessen vender, Jokubas Szedvilas, begins by owning his own means of selling foodstuffs in a more healthful and independent fashion that the mechanisms of production…

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3 Pages
Term Paper

Sociology

Jungle Upton Sinclair's 1908 Novel

Words: 889
Length: 3 Pages
Type: Term Paper

Social and cultural capital enable access to educational institutions. Social and cultural capital also offer access to positions of power within organizations. The menial labor jobs that the…

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2 Pages
Term Paper

Urban Studies

Jungle Upton Sinclair Describes Horrific Conditions Within

Words: 616
Length: 2 Pages
Type: Term Paper

Jungle, Upton Sinclair describes horrific conditions within the meatpacking plants, and writes of men falling into tanks and being ground up with animal parts and then made into…

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4 Pages
Term Paper

Government

Jungle by Upton Sinclair

Words: 1346
Length: 4 Pages
Type: Term Paper

Mr. W.H. Moody Dear Mr. Moody This writing is in response to works such as The Jungle by Upton inclair. I believe that Mr. inclair is unfair in his assessment of…

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2 Pages
Book Review

Literature

Jungle by Upton Sinclair the Jungle Written

Words: 663
Length: 2 Pages
Type: Book Review

Jungle" by Upton Sinclair The Jungle written by Upton Sinclair was written in 1901, it talks about corruption in America, Chicago around the twentieth century. The book includes graphic,…

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5 Pages
Essay

Family and Marriage

Upton Sinclair's The Jungle the

Words: 1730
Length: 5 Pages
Type: Essay

He was the typical immigrant who sought to make his way in America but the harsh realities of American capitalist system left him battered and broken with a…

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2 Pages
Book Report

Literature

Jungle by Upton Sinclair Uncle

Words: 656
Length: 2 Pages
Type: Book Report

" Steinbeck's novel was written in a much different style, much more modern, and so it is easier for modern readers to relate to it. Each of the novels…

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2 Pages
Essay

Mythology

How Sinclair Helped to Clean Up the Stockyards in Chicago

Words: 642
Length: 2 Pages
Type: Essay

Meatpacking Industry: Progressive Reforms and the Shaping of National Policy In 1906 the Pure Food and Drug Act was passed in the United States. This was the culmination of…

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6 Pages
Essay

Family and Marriage

Moral Behavior Community Is Impossible

Words: 1797
Length: 6 Pages
Type: Essay

The money he earns doesn't go to his relatives but to drink. Teta Elziebta and Marija also give up their hopes of a successful marriage, of family. They…

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4 Pages
Thesis

Family and Marriage

Life of an Immigrant Explored

Words: 1126
Length: 4 Pages
Type: Thesis

Jurgis is filled with grief and despair when thinks of how "they had put their very souls into their payments on that house, they had paid for it…

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