Socialism In Upton Sinclai's The Jungle

In The late 19th century and early 20th century United States was experiencing great economic change and population growth due to the rise of industrialization and the increase of immigration. However, even though the primary benefit and purpose of industrialization is economic growth, in this period of time the economic and social gap between the rich and the poor grew more than ever before, leading to the surge of socialist groups that demanded reform in workers’ conditions and salary. On the other hand, the early 20th century America was characterized for the strong implementation of capitalism and the belief in social Darwinism, which made it very difficult for poor immigrants to pursue any type of economic success, or even decent living conditions. The Jungle, by Upton
They took the task of exposing political corruption and unfair labor practices. Such journalists were often called muckrakers, and they usually exposed misconduct in order to push for reform. Sinclair’s uses muckraking techniques and the opportunity to expose corruption to encourage his readers to open their eyes to the alternative that would generate change: socialism. Thus, the last four chapters of The Jungle are defined more as political propaganda, rather than part of a muckraking novel.
Sinclair’s main purpose was to express his discomfort with capitalism and to expose the discrimination and lack of support that immigrants were receiving from the government. Sinclair also blames capitalism for allowing business owners to abuse workers. He tried to expose health violations and to show the poverty and hopelessness of the working class during America’s gilded age. More than that, Sinclair also proved that during the late 19th century America was glittery in the surface, but corrupt underneath. These were years of industrial economic growth, industrial completion and big exploitation of