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//The Jungle// by Upton Sinclair Kyleigh Sacco



Aim: Upton Sinclair seemed to have three different intentions when writing //The Jungle//, though only one is often acknowledged when discussing the piece. In an article discussing Sinclair and the impact that his book had on American society it states, “He intended that his readers would recognize that the horrors portrayed in his book were the result of corporate greed and exploitation and that the meatpacking industry was but a microcosm of capitalism—that the jungle was actually industrial capitalism” (Cherny). Sinclair’s most prominent goal was to inspire a socialist revolution within American. Through //The Jungle// Sinclair hoped to expose America’s capitalistic society and inspire a revolution to combat malpractice within the society, however, this aspect of the novel is often ignored. Instead Sinclair is cited as the man that exposed the meatpacking industry and inspired the FDA; in this Sinclair has fulfilled his other aims of becoming a notable author and exposing the malpractice present within the meatpacking industry within America. The intentions behind //The Jungle// play an important role in the impact that the novel ultimately played, for without the drive to become a successful author and socialist ideals the book would not have been nearly as powerful. It is the factors that compelled Sinclair’s writing that allowed for him to create a book littered with such stark detail that it was enough to awaken a nation.

Audience: The way in which //The Jungle// came to be plays a major role in the audience targeted by Upton Sinclair. In an article discussing //The Jungle// it says, “Originally commissioned for serialisation by the radical American journal Appeal to Reason, //The Jungle// catapulted Sinclair to international prominence and placed him at centre of a radical social movement that sought to resist the acceleration of monopoly capitalism during the ‘Progressive Era’ in early twentieth century America” (Trott). //The Jungle// was intended (even before it was written) to expose the meatpacking industry - in order to do this successfully the intended audience had to be large. To write a piece that targets the whole of the American people is a very bold endeavour, but Sinclair was able to get it done. In making the exposé fictitious with stunningly excruciating detail Sinclair was able to open his audience to more people than just those directly impacted and influence the entirety of the American people. Through //The Jungle// Sinclair is able to make the consumers realize the evil within the corporations and upset or disgust them enough to inspire them to change the society surrounding them.

Historical: //The Jungle// was able to make a profound impact on the society into which it was released due to the intense details and imagery used by Sinclair. In an article discussing the profound impacts of //The Jungle// it states, “President Theodore Roosevelt was sickened after reading an advance copy. He called upon Congress to pass a law establishing the Food and Drug Administration and, for the first time, setting up federal inspection standards for meat” (Blackwell). At the time of release //The Jungle// served as a stark awakening regarding the food Americans would eat and made an immense historical impact because of this. //The Jungle// influenced change within American government and lifestyle that made a major impact at the time. With //The Jungle// came a shift within American life that changed the course of history; it led to the instillment of the FDA and ultimately awakened Americans to the treatment of employees within the corporate system. The waves made with the release of //The Jungle// are still rippling today. In fact, the impact that this novel made was so significant that it is taught in modern history classes.

Cultural: The release of //The Jungle// marked a change in the way of American life that has withstood the test of time. In an article discussing the impact of Sinclair’s work it states:

Sinclair’s work broke with the mold established by previous exposés in two ways. First, his was a work of fiction that followed one family over a period of years and, in the process, detailed unsanitary food preparation, exploitation of workers, sleazy real-estate practices, political corruption, and much more. Second, where many previous authors had suggested that the reform of the abuses they described could be accomplished by the election of honest men, Sinclair had a larger goal: the rejection of capitalism and the victory of socialism. (Cherny)

//The Jungle// completely changed America. Not only did the book pave the way for improving and regulating the food that people eat, but it also served as major turning point in the role that exposés play in society. The book served as a rude awakening that made people pay attention in a way that they hadn’t necessarily done before and was able to inspire a change within people that ultimately lead to a change in society. Today’s America would not be what it is without the release of //The Jungle.// Upton Sinclair has impacted people that may not even know his name; it is his book that has inspired the creation of a safer food industry that people are still working towards today. //The Jungle// is the ultimate testament that one person’s work can make big change.

Blackwell, Jon. “1906: Rumble over ‘The Jungle’”. capitalcentury. Capital Century, n.d. Web. 6 January 2016. Cherny, Robert W. “The Jungle and the Progressive Era”. History Now. The Gilder Lehman Institute of American History, n.d. Web. 6 January 2016. Trott, Steve. “Upton Sinclair and The Jungle”. worldsocialism. The Socialist Party of Great Britain, November 2006. Web. 6 January 2016.