Background
One of the socialists was the writer Upton Sinclair, who joined the muckraker’s movement. The purpose of their activity was to expose the vices of society (the machinations of monopolists in the market, corruption in municipalities and courts, the counterfeiting of food and drugs, and cooperation between the police and thieves) through various investigations and the study of documents. This movement seems to be quite an interesting phenomenon for historiography. First, it is a phenomenon of American society; second, it has played a certain role in the history of the development of society.
A distinctive feature of Sinclair’s writing strategies was the image of an altruist who did not seek commercial success. He was much more interested in the availability of his publications to the widest range of readers than in royalties. As an entrepreneur, Sinclair was often unsuccessful, and instead of income, his projects involved him in expenses. He invested three thousand dollars in the production of the play The Jungle, two thousand dollars in a nomadic socialist theater, and several thousand dollars in the gold mines of his friend Wilshere; all these businesses went bust.
The Novel’s Essentials
In the US, in the second half of the 19th century, a civil war broke out. It had a number of consequences, one of which was the development of the economic sphere. The industry developed rapidly; various factories and plants were opened all over the country. However, a feature of American industry has become the monopolization of production. This form seemed more profitable and more stable in front of competitors. Soon, the processes of the conglomeration of factories unfolded throughout the country. Some of the most famous were: Rockefeller’s oil trust, Morgan’s steel trust, and a number of others. But the fact was that the trusts were even too resistant to competitors – thousands of small and medium-sized producers went bankrupt. The capitals of the trusts grew, but their production was not always “pure.”
However, in order not to lose their profits, the monopolies paid off. Over time, they became not only rich but also powerful. They dictated the prices of products throughout the country and soon took over politics. Some officials were “sold out” to the owners of monopolies; the rest were simply dismissed, appointing “their own” people in their place. America was overwhelmed by arbitrariness and corruption. The police and the courts were also bribed. People, as it turned out, had nowhere to wait for help. That’s when the muckrakers’ movement was born. They were interested, for example, in the sources of income of monopolists, directly the organization of production, that is, something that is not visible at first glance (Slotnik). This movement was made up of journalists and writers. In view of this, the problem of hacking seems to be very relevant and modern. After all, it was the journalists, that is, the only media at that time, who, through articles in magazines, exposed dishonest monopolists and tried to convey the truth to the population.
Upton Sinclair was also a muckraker; his position was that businessmen, with their monopolies and the capitalist system as a whole, are an evil that corrupts society and leads to its decay. During his long life, he repeatedly visited the Soviet Union, admired the socialist structure of the country, and in it, he saw the salvation of society (Feldstein 111). The novel describes the situation in the slaughterhouses of Chicago. It is based on real events. For the sake of writing it, Sinclair himself worked for some time in slaughterhouses and saw everything with his own eyes. The purpose of the author was to show the public the arbitrariness that reigned there. Trying to convey the truth to people, the author thereby exposed the owners of the monopoly. Of course, a novel is a work of art, which does not exclude the possibility of some kind of fiction. Perhaps the author had a motive to somewhat aggravate the situation. However, the novel seems quite plausible since the situation in the cities is really depressing, and many of his “colleagues” – writers and journalists – showed a similar situation.
Through the mouths of his heroes, Sinclair tells about the organization of the slaughterhouses of Brown’s monopoly. What struck the writer the most? First, the terrible working conditions of the workers. The slaughterhouses were huge rooms that were not heated so that hands became frosty in winter. Shifts lasted twelve to thirteen hours, with only one lunch break (Derrick 91). For skipping a work shift, regardless of the circumstances, a person could lose his job. Moreover, being late even for a minute “ate” the salary for a whole hour since the payment was hourly.
There were also inspectors who examined the skinned carcasses for their health. However, the inspector by no means seemed overworked; he was clearly not tormented by the fear that while he was checking one pig, he might overlook another (Graf 906). And meanwhile, he had a beautiful silver badge and a solid appearance. Secondly, there was discrimination in the wages of women and children in the slaughterhouses. Despite the fact that children performed the same duties as adult workers, they received three times less. The labor of women, performing far from simple work, was valued at half the price of men.
But the most striking was, perhaps, the direct production of meat products. So, sick cattle went to canned food; meat could lie on the floor, and rats ran over it. Canned food was made from dyed offal, bull throat, unpeeled potatoes, and only a small fraction of meat. The security measures were zero. For example, a worker could slip and fall into a vat of boiling water, cut off a finger, which, by the way, fell into canned food along with meat, finally, just catch a cold in the cold shops. In addition, various chemicals were widely used, the inhalation of which was by no means safe. However, there could be no question of compensation for harm caused to health.
Obviously, this was real exploitation, but people were happy and such work. Every day, thousands of unemployed people pounded the gates of the slaughterhouses. If an employee was fired, another one took his place within an hour. Here, a person was valued cheaper than a dollar. It can be seen that the production was dangerous for the workers and the produced goods for the buyers. However, people had nowhere to complain, and nowhere to wait for help – all public institutions were riddled with corruption (Folsom 244). The courts and the police were subordinated to business, which, in turn, was subordinated to making a profit, for the sake of which it was possible to turn a blind eye to many things.
Thus, we see a really cruel, inhumane organization of production. Strict discipline, strict control – everything worked for production, for the benefit of the owner. People’s rights were not respected. There was no respect for these people, the inhabitants of the city outskirts, in fact – the plebs. They were treated like labor, not free, but very cheap (Pickavance 94). As can be seen from the source, the owners of monopolies were absolutely indifferent to the people as such. Everything was subject to profit. Profit from people’s health. Apparently, only this can explain the fact that food was produced in such unsuitable conditions.
Therefore, it is impossible not to notice that the activities of the muckrakers in the United States still bore fruit. In many states, shocked people won the election of new, reform-minded governors. The Senate also created a commission for product quality control. In addition, by 1908, more than ninety legislative acts had been issued throughout the country, limiting the arbitrariness of monopolies. Finally, in 1914, under the presidency of Wilson, the Clayton Act was passed, which strengthened the antitrust laws (Pickavance 110). Thus, having stirred up the public, muckrakers were able to start reforming society.
Plot
Members of the intelligentsia emerge as secondary characters in The Jungle on a periodic basis. The employees, and especially Jurgis, play a key part in the narrative. Jurgis is a fresh image for the writer, one that is both unique and representative of a wide range of employees. Jurgis, a Lithuanian emigrant, and others close to him came to America with high hopes and aspirations (Sinclair 15). They thought about a more prosperous life and happiness, as well as found there the most severe exploitation, the bestial struggle for existence, lies, and betrayal. The fate of the heroes of the book is striking in its tragedy.
It is no coincidence that scholars call The Jungle a cabin of wage slaves. This book is full of living truth; there is some animal vitality in it. Many misfortunes fall on the lot of Jurgis – his loved ones are dying, and he himself suffers. But at the same time, there is a process of cognition of reality, with which he gets acquainted both his own sad experience and the example of other people. The author, along with the hero, forms a judgment on American reality by presenting him with several faces that introduce him to life. The Jungle rejects and acknowledges the current society as unfair, based on tyranny and exploitation, and carries out the notion of establishing a new system.
In many respects, The Jungle was a fresh work in the setting of American reality, much like Jack London’s Iron Heel (Øverland 13). Not just in terms of socialist substance but also in terms of the format needed by the new material, this book is groundbreaking. One of the novel’s primary aspects is that it contains a lot of content – a lot of facts, details, and other types of information that are closely linked to Sinclair’s subject of interest. In particular, this is evident from the most detailed description of the Chicago slaughterhouses. The author describes the animals that appeared during slaughtering, the division of corpses, and the processing of flesh in great detail. The book provides a comprehensive history of the killings, complete with data and facts. The well-known factual nature gives grounds to speak of Sinclair’s “reporting.”
The Novel’s Significance
The sociologism of Sinclair’s technique is one of its most distinguishing qualities. Many critical difficulties are resolved in a rather simplified, schematic manner by the author, who subordinates them to one basic aim – the revealing of the central societal topic. Criticism has repeatedly reproached Sinclair that he does not have complex human characters, there is almost no love theme, and he pays little attention to revealing the psychology of his characters (Shaduri 42). There is much truth in these accusations. Of course, this is not to say that Sinclair completely ignores human psychology. But the inner world of a person is illuminated by him somewhat one-sidedly.
In The Jungle, there is no indifferent, cold attitude towards people, events, or facts. Likes and dislikes are very clearly defined. Because the author sympathizes with his heroes, he frequently inserts accusing tirades into the characters’ lips, forcing them to deliver outraged remarks. The author’s discourse occasionally blends with the direct speech of one or more characters. Such a state of affairs may be observed, for instance, in the depiction of the slaughterhouses or in the scenario simulating a socialist gathering when Sinclair utilizes the orator as his megaphone. This technique allows him to speak frankly, considerably sharpening the topic.
The Jungle is not only about the amazing dirt and unscrupulous techniques used in the production of canned food. The book also deals with other issues: the author traces the tendencies of socialism and introduces into the environment those who wish to improve and reform society. Seeing in the person of Sinclair, a socialist writer calling for a change in a society based on injustice, one can emphasize the accusatory nature of The Jungle, their critical orientation, as opposed to the protective tendencies of apologetic American literature (Feldstein 118). The emotional richness of the novel was also noted, with artless descriptions, warmed by an ardent love for working people and restrained hatred for their enslavers.
Social Injustice Issue
The more developed a society, the more it seeks to avoid social contradictions –introducing social support, various benefits, taxes on luxury, and so on. However, sometimes these distortions occur, and the difference between the rich and the poor becomes truly colossal. This situation also developed in the United States towards the end of the 19th century. It was during this period that the industry developed especially rapidly. A feature of the United States was that the labor force was formed mainly from the flow of immigrants from Europe and Asia. Factories have always required labor, but still in a certain amount. Those who failed to get a job were doomed to wandering, vagrancy, and starvation.
Through the fate of the main characters, the author seeks to draw the reader’s attention to the problem of the plight of the workers. Work shifts lasted 12–13 hours; there was only one day off – Sunday (Derrick 98). There were no holidays at all. The physical labor was hard. At the same time, there was a so-called spurring system: the craftsmen made sure that the pace of work not only did not decrease but also gradually increased. Hard work and long shifts were paid minimally. There were no safety precautions in production: it happened that carcass breakers chopped off their own fingers from loss of sensitivity in cold shops. Enraged beasts that weren’t stunned enough would break out and trample people or hurt them with their horns. The marinades that soaked the meat consisted entirely of chemicals that harmed both the buyer and the worker. There was no heating in the workshops. But the owners of the production did not care much. Their entire business was organized for profit, and people were only a means to achieve it. Death at work was common. According to Sinclair, such phenomena were not surprising or exceptional in those ghettos where the workers lived.
The workers were practically powerless – there were no social guarantees and security. In case of illness, not only was the sick leave not paid, but it was even possible to lose your job. This is what the life of ordinary workers looked like six tedious working days a week, a long walk home, and meager salaries. Getting to the slaughterhouses, the workers almost doomed themselves to lifelong service. However, this work was also successful – the loss of it meant the beginning of vagrancy.
Conclusion
The writer shows the rigid polarization of society: poor and disenfranchised workers and the well-to-do and unpunished life of monopolists, businessmen, and businessmen. Exposing the vices of capitalist society and criticizing the capitalist way of life, he wanted to raise the people to reforms. He succeeded: the novel The Jungle produced a wide public outcry. The result of Sinclair’s novels and the work of other muckrakers was the creation by the Senate of an inspection committee to check the quality of meat, and a law was passed restricting the activities of monopolies.
Works Cited
Derrick, Scott. “What A Beating Feels Like: Authorship, Dissolution, and Masculinity in Sinclair’s The Jungle.” Studies in American Fiction, vol. 23 no. 1, 1995, p. 85–100.
Feldstein, Mark. “A Muckraking Model: Investigative Reporting Cycles in American History.” Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, vol. 11, no. 2, 2006, pp. 105–120.
Folsom, Michael. “Upton Sinclair’s Escape from The Jungle: The Narrative Strategy and Suppressed Conclusion of America’s First Proletarian Novel.” Prospects, vol. 4, 1979, pp. 237–266.
Graf, Rüdiger. “Truth in the Jungle of Literature, Science, and Politics: Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle and Food Control Reforms during the Progressive Era.” Journal of American History, vol. 106, no. 4, 2020, pp. 901–922.
Øverland, Orm. ““The Jungle”: From Lithuanian Peasant to American Socialist.” American Literary Realism, vol. 37, no. 1, 2004, pp. 1–23.
Pickavance, Jason. “Gastronomic Realism: Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, the Fight for Pure Food, and the Magic of Mastication.” Food and Foodways, vol. 11, no. 2, 2010, pp. 87–112.
Shaduri, George. “Walking Through The Jungle: Upton Sinclair Against Capitalism”. Journal in Humanities, Vol. 1, no. 1, 2012, pp. 41–46.
Sinclair, Upton. The Jungle. Doubleday, Page & Company, 1906.
Slotnik, Daniel. “Upton Sinclair, Whose Muckraking Changed the Meat Industry.” The New York Times, Web.