A Book Review Of Upton Sinclair's 'The Jungle'
Alexandra Ayres
History
April 13, 2013
Book Review of The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
The Jungle is a 1906 novel written by the American journalist and novelist Upton Sinclair, and it first appeared in a Socialist newspaper. It has become a classic not only for the heart-rending story in the pages, but because of deeper social and political commentary within it. It tells a sad story of the harsh realities that awaited many immigrants as they came over to America in the early 1900’s. It is not known how much of this is based on truth, and how much was for an entertaining aspect or to hook the reader. At the time of the story America was blooming and industrializing. It was becoming the talk of the world, and many foreigners were coming over with …show more content…
He finds that she was been dishonest about where she was and when she comes home he flies in a rage until she finally confesses that her boss had raped her, and made her job dependent on her giving him sexual favors. Jurgis immediately storms out and attacks her boss Connor, resulting in arrest and imprisonment. The family then is unable to support themselves, and is on the verge of starvation when they lose the house. When Jurgis is released from jail he tracks down his family to see the Ona is quite ill and giving birth to the baby. There are complications because they were unable to get a doctor, and Ona dies during childbirth with the baby. Jurgis goes on a drinking binge, but he soon finds work to support his other child Antanas. One day, Antanas wanders into the street and drowns. Jurgis reaches his breaking point and runs away to live in the countryside doing work for farmers for food and …show more content…
Jurgis is really used to gain sympathy for the situation in the novel because he does not really possess any character flaws. At the beginning of the novel, he is strong, motivated, optimistic, and devoted to his family. Whenever anything goes wrong, he promises to fix it by working harder because he believes that he can achieve the American dream through hard work. Any time that he acts uncharacteristically, such as drinking or leaving his family, it is because of oppressive conditions of Packingtown. He completely represents a portrait of the working class and how capitalism fails this
History
April 13, 2013
Book Review of The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
The Jungle is a 1906 novel written by the American journalist and novelist Upton Sinclair, and it first appeared in a Socialist newspaper. It has become a classic not only for the heart-rending story in the pages, but because of deeper social and political commentary within it. It tells a sad story of the harsh realities that awaited many immigrants as they came over to America in the early 1900’s. It is not known how much of this is based on truth, and how much was for an entertaining aspect or to hook the reader. At the time of the story America was blooming and industrializing. It was becoming the talk of the world, and many foreigners were coming over with …show more content…
He finds that she was been dishonest about where she was and when she comes home he flies in a rage until she finally confesses that her boss had raped her, and made her job dependent on her giving him sexual favors. Jurgis immediately storms out and attacks her boss Connor, resulting in arrest and imprisonment. The family then is unable to support themselves, and is on the verge of starvation when they lose the house. When Jurgis is released from jail he tracks down his family to see the Ona is quite ill and giving birth to the baby. There are complications because they were unable to get a doctor, and Ona dies during childbirth with the baby. Jurgis goes on a drinking binge, but he soon finds work to support his other child Antanas. One day, Antanas wanders into the street and drowns. Jurgis reaches his breaking point and runs away to live in the countryside doing work for farmers for food and …show more content…
Jurgis is really used to gain sympathy for the situation in the novel because he does not really possess any character flaws. At the beginning of the novel, he is strong, motivated, optimistic, and devoted to his family. Whenever anything goes wrong, he promises to fix it by working harder because he believes that he can achieve the American dream through hard work. Any time that he acts uncharacteristically, such as drinking or leaving his family, it is because of oppressive conditions of Packingtown. He completely represents a portrait of the working class and how capitalism fails this