Five-minute digest

The Jungle

Upton Sinclair

Summary

The Jungle, published in 1906, is Upton Sinclair's novel about immigrant workers in the meatpacking district of Chicago, and it is one of the most influential American novels ever written. It opens at the wedding feast of Jurgis Rudkus and Ona Lukoszaite, Lithuanian immigrants who have come to America with Ona's family, hoping for prosperity. Jurgis, young and strong, finds work in the packing plants of Packingtown and believes that he can overcome any difficulty; his answer to every setback is that he will work harder. The family is cheated in the purchase of a house sold on deceptive terms, and the dangerous, filthy work in the plants injures and sickens them. The guides tell visitors that the packers use everything about the hog except the squeal, and Sinclair describes diseased meat, rats and chemicals going into the products. Jurgis is injured and loses his job; the children are sent to work; Ona is forced into sexual submission by her boss, Phil Connor. When Jurgis learns of it, he attacks Connor and is jailed, and the family loses the house. Ona dies in childbirth, and later Jurgis's little son Antanas drowns in the muddy street. Jurgis leaves the city, becomes a tramp, returns to Chicago, works in a steel mill and a harvester works, becomes involved in crime and in corrupt machine politics, and falls further. At last he wanders into a socialist meeting and is converted by an orator's speech; the final chapters present socialist arguments for a new economic order. Sinclair intended to win readers to socialism, but the public was most shocked by the conditions of the meat. He famously said that he aimed at the public's heart and by accident hit it in the stomach. The novel helped bring about the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. Its scenes of poverty, sexual exploitation and death make it suitable for upper high school.

Top Lessons

Reform through fiction
Sinclair's novel changed federal law. Students can study how literature can affect public policy.
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Jurgis's hopes meet harsh reality. The book asks what a just society owes newcomers.
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Verified Quotes

“They use everything about the hog except the squeal.”

— Upton Sinclair, The Jungle, Chapter III (Project Gutenberg #140).Quote card

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“I will work harder.”

— Upton Sinclair, The Jungle, Chapter I (Project Gutenberg #140).Quote card

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The Jungle

Summary

Top Lessons

Reform through fiction

The immigrant dream

Hope and despair

Verified Quotes