The Jungle

Lore & Background

In 1904, Sinclair spent seven weeks gathering information in the meat packing district of the Union Stock Yards in Chicago for the socialist newspaper Appeal to Reason, which published his novel in serial form in 1905. In 1906, the novel was published in book format by Doubleday. The book portrays working-class poverty, immigrant struggle, lack of social support or welfare, harsh living and dangerous working conditions, generating hopelessness, cynicism, and cruelty among the powerless.

These elements are contrasted with the deeply rooted corruption of people in power. A review by Sinclair's contemporary, writer Jack London, compared The Jungle to America's most famous novel written to expose a cruel system, by calling it 'the Uncle Tom's Cabin of wage slavery.' While Sinclair's goal in describing the meat industry and its working conditions was to advance socialism, the novel's most immediate impact was to provoke public outcry over passages exposing health issues and unsanitary practices in the American meat-packing industry.

This led to sanitation reforms including the Meat Inspection Act, Pure Food and Drug Act, and other product safety legislation.

Reader's Guide

The plot follows Jurgis Rudkus, who marries his sweetheart, Ona Lukoszaite, in a joyous traditional Lithuanian wedding feast. They and their extended family have recently immigrated to Chicago due to financial hardship in Lithuania, then part of the Russian Empire. They have heard that America offers freedom and higher wages and have come to pursue the American Dream. Despite having lost much of their savings being conned on the trip to Chicago, and then having to pay for the wedding—and despite the disappointment of arriving at a crowded boarding house—Jurgis is initially optimistic about his prospects in Chicago.

Young and strong, he believes that he is immune to the misfortunes that have befallen others in the crowd. He is swiftly hired by a meatpacking factory; he marvels at its efficiency, even while witnessing the cruel treatment of the animals. The women of the family answer an ad for a four-room house. Ona, who came from an educated background, figures that they could easily afford it with the jobs that Jurgis, proud Marija, and ambitious Jonas have gotten.

While they discover at the showing that the neighborhood is unkempt and the house doesn't live up to the advertisement, they are taken in by the slickness and fluent Lithuanian of the real estate agent and sign a contract for the house. However, with the help of an old Lithuanian neighbor, they discover several unexpected expenses in the contract that they must pay every month on time, or else face eviction—the fate of most home buyers in the neighborhood.

To meet these costs, Ona and thirteen-year-old Stanislovas (whom the family had wished to send to school) must take up work as well. While sickness befalls them often, they cannot afford not to work. That winter, Jurgis's father, weakened by exposure to chemicals and the elements at his job, dies of illness. Some levity is brought to their lives by the arrival of a musician, named Tamoszius, who courts Marija, and the birth of Jurgis and Ona's first child.

However, this happiness is tempered when Ona must return to work one week after giving birth, and Marija is laid off in a seasonal cutback.