Upton Sinclair's The Jungle: Meatpacking or Socialism?

The success that Upton Sinclair gained from his book, The Jungle, was most likely due to a fluke that had little to do with his original intent in writing the book. Today, the book is remembered for its achievements in bringing the horrible state of the meatpacking industry to the nation's attention-an excellent example of muckraking literature. It is not, however, remembered for its author's strongly socialist agenda, which is a very real part of the book. Perhaps Upton Sinclair actually did intend to expose the meatpacking industry in writing The Jungle, but he was probably using that specific societal problem as a vehicle or tool to promote the bigger agenda of socialism.

The opposite of a socialist economic system is, quite obviously, a capitalist economic system, and, since a capitalist economic system is what was in place at the time, Sinclair first sets out to point out its flaws. The primary method that Upton Sinclair uses in accomplishing this is getting his readers to sympathize with the immigrants who had come to America to make a better living. Specifically, he gets the reader to connect and sympathize with the lives of one immigrant family. This makes the reader a bit more emotionally attached to the characters and story than warranted given the author's intentions for writing-some may even call it unfair. The story starts out with a traditional Lithuanian wedding reception amid all the squalor and hopelessness of Chicago. It is easy to sympathize with the family as they try to have fun and listen to a few local music performers despite their poverty. Then, we are told of their motivation for first coming to America-they had high hopes of rising out of the poverty that was prevalent in their old country. The reason that America was "all the rage" and the destination of anyone with any hope for their financial future (like this family) was because of everyone's hopes for such an open, free, and capitalist market. In doing this, Upton Sinclair establishes the appealing promises of capitalism as people saw them.

Next, the author sets out to point out the faults of this system. Much of this consists of Sinclair showing Jurgis and family suffering horrible fates at the hands of (not just) the meatpacking industry. Over the course of the book, their position goes from bad to worse, and eventually to unimaginable. Marija, the person that anyone would last suspect of such a thing, eventually resorts to prostitution. This is the character that, at the beginning, was so outspoken about making sure everyone paid to dance with the bride. And Jurgis, the ever strong and optimistic superman in the beginning, becomes a thieving alcoholic later on after abandoning his family. There is death in abundance. All of this is the result of the capitalist system, which is portrayed as a cruel world where everybody steps on one another in pursuit of a happiness that no one ever reaches. It is, in effect, a ruthless jungle.

Actually, this may very well be the source of the name of the book. The capitalist system, particularly in this period, was very, very unregulated. That may be where the meat industry came in for Upton Sinclair. He was probably using it to show the atrocities that are allowed to occur in such free, unfair, and unregulated systems. Any number of pig carcasses with tuberculosis go by unchecked, and even more rotten meat is willingly doctored and sold as normal. The particularly nasty (and scary) effects of this industry on nearly every family in America were probably why this was chosen. People are out to make a profit for themselves like this everywhere in Packingtown, and they could care less about the other people who get left in the dust. This environment truly does resemble a jungle.

The last portion of the book seals the deal. At this point, Jurgis has pretty much completely abandoned his family. The reader has been numbed by all of the death and sorrow so far, so this adjustment is not too radical. He starts attending socialist meetings and becomes very involved very quickly. Almost magically, the second that he joins the socialist party and finds a few socialist friends, he gets a better job in a hotel. Whether this is realistic or not, we may never know, but it is clear that Sinclair's socialist message is clearest in this portion of this book-the part where he drives it home.

Upton Sinclair did a fine job of exposing the meat industry, even if that was never his original plan. His muckraking skills captured for American audiences what many were already seeing in all its gory detail. He is remembered today for his achievement in changing the meatpacking industry, not our society's views on capitalism and socialism (goodness knows the rest of the century would see enough of that debate).

Sources:
Book - The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair, Signet Classics edition