The Jungle
The Jungle is a story about the American worker at the beginning of the twentieth century. It shows the hardship of the lower class during these times. It also shows the horrible things mankind did to one another. Sinclair's purpose in writing the jungle was to get people to favor more socialistic ideals. The topics covered in The Jungle range from corruption to class division. The book shows the horrible practices of the beef industry during the time period. The book shows the dark side of the social Darwinism that was practiced during the late nineteenth century. The main topic of the book is to show the evils of capitalism and why socialism is the better economic system to use. In The Jungle Sinclair shows the corruption of the time period. One specific example is when the real estate agent sells Jurgis a bad house. Jurgis doesn't even own the house and if he misses a payment he will be kicked out of the house. When Jurgis goes to a lawyer to ask about the contract the lawyer says nothing is wrong with it. The lawyer was a friend of the real estate agent. Another example is when the man at Jurgis' work tricks him into selling his voting rights. He becomes an American citizen in order to vote, a
nd unknowingly sells his votes to the man. The characters' in the book are also vividly described. No one tries to kick him out and the speaker calls him comrade. The book vividly describes the harsh landscape of Packingtown. Sinclair tries to say that Capitalism destroys the good in a man. He stops caring about anyone else but his own family. Sinclair shows how Capitalism continues to beat down Jurgis and his family. Whenever Jurgis believes that he has found something to help sustain him and his family he loses it. The detail describes the harsh life of Chicago at this time. Jurgis is easily a representation of the average workingman. He gets into a life of crime, and mugs a few people. The Jungle also tries to make it seem that you can only succeed through Capitalism if you use other people. The Jungle shows the horrible practices of the meat industry. It portrayed the cattle being led to the slaughter emotionally and thought provokingly. He stumbles upon a socialist meeting and hears the speaker speak of the problems he knows all too well.
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Acceptance Essays
