The Jungle

Rating:
Summary: An Antiquated, And Flawed View, But A Worthwhile Read
Review: Having read this as a high school freshman, I decided to take a new look at "The Jungle". "The Jungle", a model of the propongandistic novel, is the tale of Jurgis Rudkus, a Lithuanian immigrant to the Packing house district of Chicago. Written in 1905, it tells the story of Jurgis' working class family which had come to America in search of a better life.

Arriving full of hope, Jurgis sought advancement through a home with the family, the Lithuanian Community, the Church, the industrial machine and politics. Time after time, the naive workman was taken by those whom Upton Sinclair regarded as the oppressors of the people. Every time Jurgis thought that he was a cog in the machine, he ended up being discarded when he was no longer useful to those in whom Jurgis had placed his trust.

Upton Sinclair was disappointed with the results of his book. Intended to win converts to socialism, it was his description of conditions in the packing houses which aided in the enactment of the Pure Food and Drug Act.

"The Jungle" can be appreciated on a number of levels. The action is well paced and holds the reader's interest. As a work of propaganda, it is a model specimen. As an historical insight, it lets the reader into the mind of an early Twentieth Century Socialist reformer. As a report of the life of the early industrial worker, it is entertaining, even if its details are exaggerated for effect. As a political statement, "The Jungle" is in the eyes of the reader. For the true believer, it conveys the truth. For the modern conservative, it is an antiquated and flawed view of the world, which, as time has shown, proposed a remedy which was never right. Which ever camp you fall into, or somewhere in between, "The Jungle" is worth a first, or a second, reading.

Rating:
Summary: Good History, Good Story
Review: So I had to read Sinclair's The Jungle for my history class, and through lack of a physical book I ended up reading most of it in one night and on my computer, since it's in the public domain now.

The book itself is pretty good. Rather easy to read in terms of language, and it draws you into the story of a family of Lithuanian immigrants and their struggles to survive in the early 1900's in Chicago. It tells of how the common worker is screwed at every corner, with scams of buying a house, losing his jobs at a moments notice, having to buy substandard, nutritionless food, and the dangers of working in factories with no concern for their safety or well-being. It was far too easy to get into an accident and lose a hand or get crushed it seems.

Jurgis, the main character, moves to America with the family of his love, Ona, to make their way in a new world. Having lost most of their prospects in their country, they decide to try and make it in America, a land rumored to be full of opportunity; there Ona and Jurgis could finally get married. Unfortunately, they didn't realize that most of the opportunities in America were not granted to honest workers. The book tells the entirely tragic story of the family as it is brought to its knees and torn apart, all the while exposing the treacheries of the industries in Chicago, mainly the meat packing business.

I don't want to give away too many details, so I won't go into specifics about the story of all that befalls poor Jurgis, but I do want to talk about the end a little bit. No worries, it has little to do with the story line. In the end, he discovers socialism through a town meeting, and the last portion of the book is devoted to a discussion of socialism, and how it will be America's saving grace. Through other character's speeches and discussions we hear all the good arguments for socialism, and are left with the feeling that it will take over the country. Obviously, this didn't happen, so looking back on it historically is a bit odd - seeing that Sinclair's hope for the country never came true. Also, it is interesting to note that the book's main message was that of socialism, yet it's main impact came from it's description of the meat packing industry. He later said: "I aimed at the public's heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach." This book caused quite the uproar and helped get a more thorough inspection of meat-packing practices throughout the country.

While I think Sinclair had a worthy goal of trying to promote his political ideas, I finished the book at a bit of a loss. We never really get a conclusion of Jurgis' story. While I'm not sure how the book should have been ended, and what should have happened to the characters, not discussing it at all didn't seem right. I understand that he wanted to leave it with an optimistic view of the rise of socialism, but in doing this he ignored the wonderful story he had built up over the last couple hundred pages.

At any rate, I think it's a book worth reading, especially for those of us who could use a better look into our history, and you get a great, albeit depressing story in the meantime.

Rating:
Summary: Book that must be read!
Review: This is one of the best books of the 20th century. Read it. You will enjoy it. !

Rating:
Summary: Excellent...A masterpiece
Review: This novel has so many meanings...Not only is it the story of a man that goes to America in search of a better life- it's the harsh critique of the reality of the American society. It depicts the struggle of the social classes that strive to achieve a better life, submissed in poverty, and despair...A confrontation between two powers- the rich and the poor.

This book makes us take notice in many things that are a reality in society, and not just that occured back in 1904, on the contrary, are still occuring...That gap that exists between people, although living in the same place, but are miles apart.

This book is not only about the conditions of a meat house plant. Look beyond. Read between the lines. You will find so many messages in this book. If you read carefully you'll notice. Bravo Upton... God bless "America."

Rating:
Summary: Thought provoking, descriptive, and stiflingly original
Review: Upton Sinclair transports us into a realm beyond our imagination. "The Jungle", which takes place in the Chicago stockyards in the early 1900s, adequatley shows the cruel treatment of immigrants and poor working and living conditions of proletariat in that era. Descriptive passages on the preparation and lack thereof of meat in the stockyards will undoubtably make your stomach churn (I didn't even want to eat meat for days). The novel made me laugh and cry, and it is indeed a great classic to be enjoyed and reflected upon for decades to come.
The true beauty of this novel is in the subtle style in which Sinclair implanted his Socialist political views. After being gently set up throughout the text of the novel, Sinclair drives home Socialist views in the last two chapters. Later books, such as George Orwell's "1984", highlights the dangers of a Socialist government that ultimatley discredits Sinclair's opinions. Though I disagree with Socialist principles, the style in which they were presented in "The Jungle" is incomparable.
I recommend this novel to anyone who is looking for a good read. This is one book that can go as deep as you want it to, whether you're reading it for pleasure or for English class. It will always be one of my personal favorites, and will hopefully become one of your's as well.

Rating:
Summary: Sinclair's Shocking Novel
Review: Upton Sinclair's The Jungle is the most shocking piece of literature that I have ever read. This almost compares with literature I have read about the Holocaust death camps, except that the immigrants are not murdered directly by their brutal slave drivers, instead they die from the poverty, disease, and starvation that envelopes them because of their low-wage jobs or unemployment. The novel is easy to understand and follow with many metaphors and straight forward writing that makes the story all the more horrifying.
The slaughtering of the hogs is like the treatment of the immigrant workers by their employers. They are worked until they will no longer produce a large profit and then they are discarded. It's all very dehumanizing, so much so that they were treated about as poorly as the Jews in prison camps were; only they were not shot or gassed.

I couldn't put the book down. As horrifying as it all is, I just had to keep on going and learn more. I recommend that anyone and everyone should read this book, especially those who are interested in history. As horrible as it sounds, I really liked reading this book because it makes me feel more aware of how things were at one time. I feel like I'm witnessing the horrible circumstances in memory of all of those immigrants who died in vain. We all should do that in honor of those who did not experience the "American dream" because we are lucky enough to be able to enjoy it.