The Jungle Essay, Research Paper
Sinclair’s book ,The Jungle probably had to do the most with the fact
that he himself was a Socialist. He was brought up in Baltimore, and
his family was considerately poor. His father was not very successful
at his job and for this reason it seems good to believe he became a
Socialist because in communist countries it is said that all people are
treated equal. An opposite of this book would be "?Animal Farm", which
Sinclair has probably never read. This other novel shows the bad sides
of Socialism and it ends with the rules saying, "All animals are
considered equal, but some are more equal than others". In this book it
shows that a hard worker is not rewarded and is only disposed of once
he becomes a burden. The life of Sinclair and his book is reflected
upon only because he uses his opinions in the book. In his book, he
made a financial breakthrough and had his first successful novel.
Sinclair has written many books dealing with the problems of capitalism
and the solutions of communism which is not fair because he writes
nothing good of capitalism and it’s benefits. He also wrote
other books on his wisdom he had gained and relegion. He frequently
tried for office but never succeeded. H
made mostly by publishing them himself.
The story itself takes place in Chicago with a group of immigrants.
They come to the U.S. and discover it’s a cruel, harsh world. First,
though, this group goes through a series of trials. The first is a marr
iage which costs much money, and the second is a death. After this,
comes a house which is sold to the one couple for three times the value
of the house. It’s at this time that the parents and other groups move
into this house. One character goes into a meat packing business where
he learns of unsanitary conditions. The second is a musician which is
currently down on his luck and his wife goes out to work. After a while
the first character breaks his arm and loses time at work and is then
not received back. He learns at this point when you are new, they will
accept you, but once injured they throw out the crippled. At this point
this character talks to a Socialist and begins to travel to meetings.
But first he returns to his job. And at the point of return he becomes
a manager. After his first Socialist rally, he listens mainly to two
people, one a ex-professor whose has become a philosopher and the other
who is currently an evangelist who has become a traveler.