Sinclair's "The Jungle"

In the early 1900s, the United States saw major changes in certain areas of the Industrial Revolution, especially in the meat packing industry. The meat industry seemed as if it was getting out of hand. There was something that needed to be done about this. One socialist muckraker stepped in to take action. In 1906, “The Jungle” was published. It tells the story of an immigrant family working under harsh extremely conditions in Chicago meat packing plants. Hearing the truth about these meat packing industries stunned many Americans. It also made me realize how horribly these people working in the meat packing industries lived their lives.

After reading excerpts from Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle,” I was absolutely shocked. I didn’t realize how terrible the conditions in meat packing plants. One specific part of “The Jungle” that really struck me was, “It was stupefying, brutalizing work; it left her no time to think, no strength for anything. She was part of the machine she tended, and every faculty that was not needed for the machine was doomed to be crushed out of existence.” The way that Sinclair described how this one woman named Elzbieta felt about working in the meat packing plant really touched me. It is hard to imagine what she was going through. At times, I feel as if I have no time to think and have no strength. I’m positive that the situation in the meat packing industries and what this woman was going through were much worse. When Sinclair says, “She became part of the machine she tended,” it really moved me. It was hard to hear that these people put all of their time, effort, and their existence into this horrendous job.

Another excerpt from “The Jungle” that appeared very difficult was when Sinclair talked about a man named Jurgis. He said that he never even seemed to knowledge his own existence. Sinclair says, “He was working in the steaming pit of hell; day after day, week after week--until now, there was not an organ of his body that did its...