Upton Sinclairs The Jungle
Upton Sinclair's The Jungle is the tale of a Lithuanian immigrant, Jurgis Rudkus, and his family. Jurgis and his family move to the United States in the middle of the Industrial Revolution, only to find themselves ill-equipped for the transition in the workplace and in society in general. Jurgis faces countless social injustices, and through a series of such interactions, the theme of the book is revealed: the support of socialism over capitalism as an economic and social structure.Jurgis learns soon after transplanting his family that he alone cannot earn enough to support his entire family, in spite of the intensity of his valiant efforts to work harder. Soon his wife and the rest of his family are working as well, all attempting to chip in to cover family expenses. However, such exposure proves itself to be too dangerous and detrimental to the Rudkuses. Jurgis becomes hardened by his negative experiences as he realizes that, in a capitalist society like the one he was living in, there is no justice. Hard work is not justly rewarded, and often times corruption is rewarded in its place. Through and through, he sees that capitalist life is not fair. Soon he is injured on the job and i
After receiving $100 dollars from Freddie Jones, the son of rich Old Man Jones, he goes into a bar to get change and gets into another altercation, this time with the bartender, and is again arrested. He learns at that meeting what the working class can do to make a difference. By pure luck he wanders into a socialist meeting while looking for food and/or a place to sleep. Jurgis, in a rage, attacks the man at the Packing house and is arrested for battery. However, another chance encounter with Connor, his wife's boss and seducer, brings out his true self again, the man who stands up for his moral convictions, even when it harms him to do so. Within a month of the time Jurgis gets out of jail, everyone has lost their jobs and the house they struggled so hard to keep is lost. His son drowns, many family members have died and the remainder are scattered with no semblance of the family they once were. Jurgis becomes a beggar and a vagrant. In truth, corruption can be found in any and every type of economic and social-political structure in existence ever throughout history and in the future. Hi wife is pregnant, his family is working themselves to the breaking point, and the bills are getting the best of them. I feel that this book is a ridiculously oversimplified look at socialism and a very sinister look at capitalism. Jurgis takes to the country to become a tramp, but as winter approaches he knows he must return to the city - to "the jungle" - once again. While I applaud Sinclair's efforts to illustrate the injustices of capitalism, socialism does not hold the simple solution to everything like it seemingly did for Jurgis in The Jungle. Jurgis is sidelined from work for two months, and upon his return he finds himself replaced by another worker.
Common topics in this essay:
Jack Duane,
Rudkuses Jurgis,
Industrial Revolution,
Soon Ona,
Jurgis Jungle,
Freddie Jones,
Jurgis Rudkus,
Sinclair's Jungle,
Word Count,
family jurgis,
jack duane,
easy life,
life crime,
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