Customer Reviews

The Jungle (Enriched Classics)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" is one of the handful of books throughout all of history, perhaps, that have encapsulated the crying voices of the oppressed. While many readers and politicians at the time of its publication (and since) have focused on the intolerable conditions in which American food products were produced, the major thrust in "The Jungle" is not in regards to the ill-treatment of our food; it is in regards to the ill-treatment of our workers.

The repeated sufferings of Jurgis and his family are akin to an overwhelming symphony of sorrowful songs. As his family is driven deeper into debt, his body worn down, and his life's zeal and love slowly strangled, Jurgis' desperation becomes palpable, and if you can't sympathize with his feelings at the loss of his family's home--a structure they worked so hard for--check your pulse. You might be dead.

The book contains some of the most horrific depictions in all of literature, including a mercifully oblique reference to a child's death by being eaten alive by rats. Although the novel focuses on Jurgis primarily, it is the children--the laboring little people--who elicit the most sympathy in this reader's view. Struggling to support their family, escaping extremely dangerous situations (one little girl is nearly dragged into an alley and raped), sleeping on the street, and begging desperately for food--the appalling conditions being visited upon children as described in "The Jungle" still have the power to arouse strong anger and outrage, over a century after its initial publication.

One of the greatest social novels ever written, "The Jungle" is a moving tribute to the millions of immigrants who did come here legally, who did find jobs, who were ready to work for their slice of the American Dream, and who survived (barely) despite being swindled, stolen from, lied to, oppressed, turned out, ignored, and abused, almost from the very first step they took into the United States. The recent punditry over immigration that has dominated the national debate should serve as a reminder of the timelessness exhibited in Upton Sinclair's seminal masterpiece.

Of the numerous editions of The Jungle that are in print, this version is reasonably good and presented in a scholarly form. However, this version of The Jungle is not the original form. It has been drastically cut in length, with much of the slaughterhouse gore removed and the ethnic material cut way back. Readers would be better to get the "Uncensored" verion of the novel put out by See Sharp Press.

Perhaps one of the most significant and influential American novels written, The Jungle by Upton Sinclair reveals the flipside to the American Dream. Jurgis Rudkus, the main character, is a Lithuanian immigrant who is at first gleeful and awed by his new homeland, America. Jurgis and his family travel to Chicago and settle in Chicago's Packingtown, one of the largest meat packing cities in the United States. As Jurgis and most of his family are employed in their inhospitable jobs, their ignorance about the American Dream is agonizingly chipped away as they experience first hand the abuses of a capitalistic, greedy, and monopolistic society. And, as they pack the rotting and rat infested meat, they revealed what Americans were really eating. Through their harrowing experiences, Capitalism is portrayed as man's enemy that viciously exploits and manipulates its workers for a profit. Jurgis eventually understands after losing his job, losing his family, being arrested, and becoming a criminal and political crook that Capitalism must be eliminated and that Socialism must be established for the betterment of man. The Jungle continues to embody the spirit of reform because issues such as forced prostitution, child labor, false advertising, unhealthful living conditions, and unsanitary food preparation continue to riddle societies throughout the world. After Sinclair admitted, "I aimed at the public's heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach," Americans went on a crusade to reform society and rid it of its ills. Whether one is eating a hamburger, or buying a product from a store, they can thank Sinclair that they are not eating freshly ground rats with synthetic ketchup.

Back in high school I read this book and absolutely hated every page of it. The other day I decided that it was time for a re-read so I pulled it back out and started reading.

Short Summary: Jurgis and his extended family migrate to America from Lithuania in search of the American Dream. When they arrive they discover that the American dream may not be available to them, what is available to them is scam after scam, starvation, freezing winters, and slave labor for pitiful wages.

The first chapter of the book is generally enough to make all but the most dedicated readers consider turning back. It is an extended wedding scene with little to know explanation as to who these people are that we are reading about. Though we do meet up with many of the characters later in the book, it's really not the most desirable place for us to leap into the story. The wedding between Jurgis and Ona is a happy affair that nearly breaks their pitiful bank. After this chapter we leap back to the family coming over to America, fumbling about to find a place to stay, trying to learn enough English to get by, and attempting to find jobs.

The family does not have an easy time of it... there are thousands of people in the Chicago area starving for lack of work, the slaughterhouses have their pick of employees, can pay them almost nothing, and can turn them out to the streets with no notice. Women and children are forced to work as well, trying desperately to make ends meet, keep food on the table, and keep coal in the stove for heat.

The bulk of this novel focuses on the horrors of life in that time, particularly the atrocities committed by the slaughterhouses and the meat packing industry. I assure you that after reading this book you will think before you take your next bite of beef or pork (especially sausage). The horrors that this novel brings to light are almost unbelievable in this day and age, but they were true. One cannot even imagine going through the days and nights as this family does. Every time they begin to believe that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, it is extinguished again. This book follows the tragic breaking down of the human spirit, the death of the soul, and the degradation of humanity on such a scale as to be almost unbelievable. Sinclair takes us to the brink of despair, we want this family to make it, we want their spirits to soar! We want to see hope glimmering in their eyes and food in their bellies. Such vivid characters and such terrible scenes will stick with the reader long after the book has been closed.

But that is just the first 3/4 of the book... of all of the classics that I have read, both modern and ancient... so far this one has the least satisfying ending. In the last 5 or so chapters of the book, Jurgis is swept up by the socialist movement, and from that point on the reader simply reads speech after speech of socialist propaganda so thick that Sinclair almost leaps out of the book and bashes you over the skull with it. Page after page of brand new, came out of nowhere characters - people we know nothing about theorizing and pontificating over the joys and hopes that the socialist movement is bringing to the people. Page after page of how material wealth should be government run and intellectual wealth should be free, and how the whole concept of Socialism will solve everyone's problems and we can all live happily ever after should we vote socialist.

Now I have nothing against socialism, heck the good old US of A is a socialist country, even though they'll fight you rather than admit it. But I don't like anyone's theories jammed down my throat... especially after they have just drug me through the gutter and have me all emotional about the horrible lives the poor characters are living. I almost took offense to the ending - Jurgis and his family deserved a better ending to their story than that!

I am giving this book 3 stars, the first 3/4 of it is 5 star material, the last couple of chapters was 1-2 star material the appeared out of nowhere, so I'm splitting the difference. I remember now that my hatred of this book back in high school was for the same reason, and I recall arguing with my teacher that this book could have been great if he had let me rip the last 3 chapters off of it... or if Sinclair had woven his socialist theory throughout the book rather than slapping it on at the end. Still I highly recommend reading this book, even if you don't bother reading all of the speeches at the end.

As you can probably tell from the title of my review THIS IS MY FIRST REVIEW. So I thought why not start off reviewing books with one of my absolute favorites. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair is actually one of the very few books I've read that has managed to blend action, history, and a meaningful conveyance of the human condition.
This book blew away my expectations. Honestly the first chapter was kinda of boring *(But this might be to me having ADHD and not be able to get focused until the action kicked in, which it immediately did), but it stuck through the first 20 or so pages and the book provided great dividends for me. This book was very, very clear in depicting what a supposed immgrant had to deal with and the author did this so perfectly. HEY i'm running out of things to say *(I don't see how people can write a 3 page summary of a novel-my goal initially-) so instead of wasting your time I'll end with one last sentence. I don't see how an author could write such a great book if all he was trying to do was be a catalyst for change in the meatpacking industry through social reform *(which he accomplished).

Ok so i'm done and if you see anything wrong with my first review then let me know.
PS once you are done reading this the book I chose to read after was The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck.
Have a good day everybody :)

'The Jungle' is certainly a novel of historical importance but noy necessarily the sort of book worth recommending. It is about an extended family immigrating to the USA (Chicago) circa 1900 to find the American dream. Well instead they discovered the nightmare of living in the squalor of Packington. Absolute horrors at every turn. If meat packing is a dangerous business now it was downright homicidal one hundred years ago. The author drags the reader through all the atrocities these people witness; an exhausting and depressing experience. In the end the head of the household turns to socialism ... like, can you blame him?

Although I suppose I'm glad I read The Jungle I think it could have been 30% shorter, and have been a better read. The author blathers on too much about socialism, obviously something he believed in strongly. But such preachings come off disjointed from the main story, especially during the last fifty pages of the book.


Bottom line: interesting from a historical perspective but a rather tiresome read. A toss-up.

I'm not a literature major nor am I coinsurer of early century American novels. Rather, I was compelled to read The Jungle for four reasons: 1) to read about part of Chicagoan history I've never read about, 2) to gain an understanding of immigrants' struggles in a foreign land, 3) to see how Sinclair weaves in Socialism and 4) to pessimistically concede that capitalistic greed has not changed in 110 years.

Being from a small Illinois town near Chicago, I never fully understood what place the Packers held in the history of Chicago. Through the eyes of Sinclair, I witnessed and understood the social corruption of everything from voting to saloon keeping to labor unions to sweeping up the rotting entrails only to place them back into the sausage hopper. Sinclair makes the history of this social decay believable through the trials and tribulations of an immigrant, who experiences perpetual sorrow.

Being a migrant worker myself, seeking an a better life outside of America (sort of the opposite of Jurgis's migration) I sympathize with the harrowing details of confronting life in a different country when everyone is out to steal your dollar. Jurgis's ignorance and naivety was similar to mine when I entered the country... trusting that everyone is altruistic and looking out for you only to be smote once and again until his social skin becomes course with learned calluses.

This tough social skin leads him eventually to the arms of Socialism, a hypothetical answer to all the problems he has confronted during his time in Chicago. I understand the lead-up to this inevitable conclusion for poor Jurgis, but Sinclair's prose is flawed when he abruptly shifts the paragraphs of Jurgis's sorrow to a manifesto for the Socialists party. Socialism wasn't woven into the story at all (except for means to an end), merely thickly slapped on at the very end. Jurgis's experiences in Chicago streets, in the packinghouse, in low income housing, with managers, with lawyers, with thieves and with the demons he faces.

Flash-forward 110 year later and I ask myself what has changed: immigrants are still targeted and swindled, major companies are still persuading politicians and voters, loan sharks are still circling in the waters and we still don't know what's in a hot dog let alone what's in a `potted ham.' From what I've read, Chicago is still just as politically dirty and a little bit too close to Washington lawmakers.

Reading the above, it's no surprise that I simply relished in the tale of Jurgis and how he confronts each and every setback with a unique determination. It's also no shock that I didn't like the Socialism flag-waving manifesto at the end as I mentioned previously, which may be surprising to some because I'm a registered Social Democrat.

I always wanted to read this because of the fact that it's a classic and nearly everyone and their mother knows about Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle". I suppose it was not a good idea jumping from the satirical work of Vonnegut to the depressingly realistic work of Sinclair. Truly, one does not read this book for the story since Sinclair seems unable to make you feel, against your will, for the characters inside the book. I could not, for the life of me, feel much sympathy for the individual only for the masses of the early 1900s.

What is moving is the bleak, terribly real view of Chicago. The book was named well for the details it has to offer. Not only does Sinclair investigate the slaughterhouses but how every high-end, gold-lined pocket has its meandering tendrils around every corporation in the city. From buying houses, to going into saloons to drink ones sorrows away, to jail, to work and to the pain that everything eventually dishes out. There is sympathy for the millions of workers that slaved day in and day out for a few pennies to maybe buy a some food for their starving children.

I have to respect this book for what it did for the United States; open the eyes of ignorance to what was really happening in cities around the country and invoke change. But I certainly cannot read this for the connection with the characters.

This book is about an immigrant family from Lithuania. They are expecting to come to an industrialized and modern country with money, if they work hard. They end up in Chicago working in the meat-packing industry. All sorts of tragedies unfold.
This is an amazing book which inspired even President Theodore Roosevelt. I would wait to read it until high school though, since I'm in junior high and it's a little difficult for me.

Using the word "beautiful" to describe Sinclair's "The Jungle" is a bit tedious, and something of an oxymoron. I mean, let's face it: it's a down-and-dirty book, a brutally honest portrayal of Chicago's turn-of-the-century Packingtown. The novel traces Lithuanian immigrant Jurgis Rudkus and his family, as they seek a new life in America--and fall into a trap of immorality and despair. It is not an easy read, in the sense that the imagery Sinclair uses is not watered down; you are made to wince, you are made sick to your stomach. I cannot imagine what this was like for readers at the time it was published, before the Pure Food and Drug Act (the passing of which was a direct result of this novel). Most of "The Jungle" flows along smoothly; it works very well as a novel, even one with a Socialist agenda (the last thirty pages read like a Socialist pamphlet; but then again, that was Sinclair's point, so we can forgive him for that).

Now for the "bonus features" (obviously, I am of the DVD generation). The "Introduction," which offers a brief bio of Sinclair, as well as a brief analysis of the "protest novel"'s role in literature, is a worthy read. The "Interpretive Notes" are a joke, I'm afraid. The Notes are somtimes helpful (if it weren't for one note, we wouldn't know Sinclair was referencing his friend and fellow Socialist, Jack London), but more often simply get in the way (did we really need a refence stating that the "lake" referred to is Lake Michigan? I mean, it's Chicago, for God's sake!). Kudos to the "Suggestions for the Interested Reader" and "Critical Excerpts" sections, for including listings that actually go against Sinclair's views. Combine that with the "Questions for Discussion," and I'd say that this book would be handy in the classroom. I read it outside of class, for the exerpience (and a pleasant one at that), but I can easily see this edition being used in one of my college literature courses (I'd suggest high school, but let's face it, no high school student would be all that interested). So for you Teachers of the World, I highly suggest using this edition of the text. For those of you who simply want to experience Sinclair's classic novel--by all means, dig in. You'll be a bit squeamish in spots, and you might get tired of having Socialist ideals pounded into your skull, but you'll enjoy the experience, and will hopefully come out a richer person because of it. At the very least, you'll thank God somebody had the balls to take on the Beef Trust, and make dinner time a safer place for the rest of us.