The Jungle1
A French philosopher once said that the greatesttyranny of democracy was when the minority ruled themajority. Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle gives the reader a great example of exactly this. A man who earns his living honestly and through hard work will always be trapped in poverty, but a man who earns his living through lies and cheating will be wealthy. The Jungle portrays a Lithuanian family stuck in a Capitalistic country. It shows the ongoing struggle of a lower class that will never get farther in life as long as the minority of rich people rule over them. The Jungle conveys a struggle between Capitalism and Socialism. Socialism is the best way out for the peasants, but a Capitalistic America has already trapped them. When Jurgis Rudkus and his family first come to America, they do not know how it was run. Once Jurgis begins working in the stockyards, he finds out that the upper class dominates over the lower class. Supposedly America is a democratic nation, but this is not true. Capitalism rules the nation. The upper class bosses rule what goes on in the peasants lives. It is a form of slavery. Sinclair writes: Things that were quite unspeakable went on there in the packing houses all the time, an
Capitalism versus Socialism is a common theme throughout The Jungle. Yoder writes: By the end of [The Jungle the protagonist] has become a thoroughly convinced socialist, part of the social movement that he and Sinclair expected to turn Chicago into a place fit for Americans. The Socialists’ plan is to bring down Capitalism and run the Beef trust properly. The real estate agent tells him that it is a brand new house, but this is a lie. When they first came to America, they had to pay many fees because they were foreigners and did not know better. He becomes heavily involved with Socialism during this period. It is Capitalism along with greed and power that leads to the corruption in government. He thinks he is getting a good deal, but in reality is not. This was a common thing among many bartenders. Sinclair reveals that men of a higher status were able to steal freely from others and get away with it. Curley, Dorothy Nyren and Kramer, Maurice, eds.
Common topics in this essay:
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Beef Trust”,
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Jon Yoder,
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,
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critic writes “the,
sinclair writes “it,
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Acceptance Essays
