Welcome to The Jungle, baby Background of, and impact from, Upton Sinclair’s muckraking novel

Upton Sinclair Completed 8 grade levels in less than 2 years Passed entrance exam to College of the City of New York at age 13 Became socialist thinker Published more than 90 books and articles

Definitions of Socialism any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods a system of society or group living in which there is no private property a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done

The Jungle is an expose on The meat-packing industry at the turn of the century (1900-ish) Lack of sanitation and slave wages

Sinclair lived with the meatpackers For 7 weeks He recorded what went on, and wrote the book, which prompted President Roosevelt and Congress to pass The Meat Inspection Act in 1906 and the FDA

Louis Pasteur’s work with germs and microbes was not very well-known yet So people didn’t know they could contaminate food and water in so many ways

The meatpacking companies Who make up the “Meat Trust,” really an oligopoly (industry dominated by a small group of sellers) , are Swift and Armour, who still package meat today

Swift and Armour Both arrived in Chicago in the same year, l875 Swift created America's first vertically integrated company. This is a firm that reaches out to control the supply, production, and distribution of its products. In meatpacking, that meant controlling everything from the purchase of western steers to their delivery as steaks to the local butcher shop.

At the end of the novel, we see Sinclair’s solution to the slave wages and dangerous conditions: Socialism Marxist Socialism was increasingly popular as the laissez faire system made the rich get richer and the poor get poorer

Socialism stops capitalist greed and Exploitation of the worker (according to Sinclair) He paints the worker as a “cog” in the “machine” and disposable when worn out

The metaphor of the hog slaughtering assembly line Compares what happens to the hog as it is slaughtered to what happens to the worker

How is The Jungle similar to The Grapes of Wrath? Both address the need for government intervention to stop abuses Both criticize profit over human lives Both show how simple “hard work” is not enough for the American Dream

Both lived with the oppressed workers they wrote about Both impacted government policy and public attitude Both showed the impact of unions

Setting/Exposition Chicago, 1900’s Wedding reception in a saloon Story of how Jurgis and family migrated from Lithuania to America Comparisons to GOW? Explain “Boarding house” and “Stock yards”

Characters Marija- cousin of Ona’s, Lithuanian, assertive woman Ona- young bride, kind and optimistic Jurgis (Yoorghis)- groom, works on the killing beds, determined and loving Dede- Jurgis’ father, proud, old man Tamoszius- best musician Teta Elzbieta- Ona’s stepmother Jonas- Teta’s brother who encourages them to come to America

Reading Quiz on Friday!!! Chapters 1-5, same type of questions as your Crucible quiz Be prepared because this time you are not allowed to use your book for help…