_frosphate_'s review against another edition
3.0
I honestly think that "The Jungle" will haunt me for the rest of my life. I found it depressing and disturbing. Sinclair ultimately aimed to promote socialism, however I found his arguments to be overshadowed by his horrific portrayal of the meat industry. Sinclair actually worked for a meat processing plant while doing research for his story, and the subsequent publication of his book helped lead to the passage of legislation enacting further regulation of the meat industry.
One instance I did not fully understand was how the main character, Jurgis, arrived to find his family after being released from prison. In the passage it describes his hair as being a mess when he arrived, but a previous passage described Jurgis speaking to a boy at the house he previously rented, in which it states that the boy could tell that Jurgis was just released from prison due to his shaved head. Perhaps I misunderstood, but both passages seemed to me to occur on the same day, but contained contradictory descriptions of Jurgis.
One instance I did not fully understand was how the main character, Jurgis, arrived to find his family after being released from prison. In the passage it describes his hair as being a mess when he arrived, but a previous passage described Jurgis speaking to a boy at the house he previously rented, in which it states that the boy could tell that Jurgis was just released from prison due to his shaved head. Perhaps I misunderstood, but both passages seemed to me to occur on the same day, but contained contradictory descriptions of Jurgis.
books_n_bananas's review against another edition
4.0
This book was not at all what I thought it would be.
First introduced to me in high school in American History, this book was presented as a deep look into the meat industry; the basis of the FDA and labor laws today; a book that changed our practices with food, workers, and most of all, meat.
Well, holy shenanigans, it's a lot more than that. What I have discovered is that Upton Sinclair is, apparently, the American Tolstoy-- this story he created is a sequence of heartbreak and of truthtelling. He may have dramatized the facts, but it is the story of immigrants finding what most of us know to be true about America in the early 1900's: that the American dream wasn't so dreamy-- there was corruption, pain, struggle, and starvation.
Like Tolstoy (or Game of Thrones), Sinclair doesn't seem to falter to kill off most of his main characters in brutal and tragic ways.
And like Tolstoy, he was a huge supporter of Socialism, as made evident in the last chapter(s) of the book.
My take aways:
1. This book is NOT a bore. I could hardly put it down! It was a wonderful story and great narrative that will have you aching with grief and disgust.
2. This book won't necessarily make you feel the need to go vegan immediately, but it may make you sympathize with the meat packing industry and realize that it's not really the best work situation there is... because obviously there aren't humans falling in our lard anymore... not that I would ever choose to eat lard.
3. It really is remarkable what Sinclair accomplished in his time. Highly recommend.
First introduced to me in high school in American History, this book was presented as a deep look into the meat industry; the basis of the FDA and labor laws today; a book that changed our practices with food, workers, and most of all, meat.
Well, holy shenanigans, it's a lot more than that. What I have discovered is that Upton Sinclair is, apparently, the American Tolstoy-- this story he created is a sequence of heartbreak and of truthtelling. He may have dramatized the facts, but it is the story of immigrants finding what most of us know to be true about America in the early 1900's: that the American dream wasn't so dreamy-- there was corruption, pain, struggle, and starvation.
Like Tolstoy (or Game of Thrones), Sinclair doesn't seem to falter to kill off most of his main characters in brutal and tragic ways.
And like Tolstoy, he was a huge supporter of Socialism, as made evident in the last chapter(s) of the book.
My take aways:
1. This book is NOT a bore. I could hardly put it down! It was a wonderful story and great narrative that will have you aching with grief and disgust.
2. This book won't necessarily make you feel the need to go vegan immediately, but it may make you sympathize with the meat packing industry and realize that it's not really the best work situation there is... because obviously there aren't humans falling in our lard anymore... not that I would ever choose to eat lard.
3. It really is remarkable what Sinclair accomplished in his time. Highly recommend.
leasummer's review against another edition
4.0
I had a hard time starting this after listening to people tell me it was about the horrors of the meat packing district. I was fully prepared to be sick to my stomach.
Surprisingly, I found the book to be about the American Dream gone wrong, horrid working conditions, Socialism, and the fight for survival that most people don't know exists still today. I can see why instead of effecting social change it horrified people about what they were eating, just further proof that humans care mostly about themselves.
Surprisingly, I found the book to be about the American Dream gone wrong, horrid working conditions, Socialism, and the fight for survival that most people don't know exists still today. I can see why instead of effecting social change it horrified people about what they were eating, just further proof that humans care mostly about themselves.
meganchair's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
xgigglypuff's review against another edition
emotional
informative
4.25
very important historically, very impactful --although very depressing and discouraging at times, it needed to be said
written in a unique journalistic style, a little difficult to get into at the beginning
President Theodore Roosevelt wrote that "radical action must be taken to do away with the efforts of arrogant and selfish greed on the part of the capitalist."
"Even though the packing houses knew of their visit in advance, the inspectors discovered that conditions were just as bad—or even worse—than depicted in The Jungle. “We saw meat shoveled from filthy wooden floors, piled on tables rarely washed, pushed from room to room in rotten box carts…gathering dirt, splinters, floor filth and expectoration of tuberculous and other diseased workers,” they reported. Neill found Chicago’s stockyards so repulsive, he refused to feed his family meat unless it came fresh from local farms." - Christopher Klein
The novel had significant impacts on the meatpacking industry and the FDA and food safety regulations. Unfortunately, the American public was only concerned with what happened to the food that they consumed... and not what happened to the people who made it on an unlivable wage.
About 70% into the novel, it really slows down but picks up again and becomes interesting later with the strike and labor union movements.
The ending is very heartwarming, with Jurgis finally finding a community and a cause, after losing so many people that he loved. The last 50 pages are goofily cheery and made me smile—I’m glad he found hope and purpose.
“Into this wild-beast tangle these men had been born without their consent, they had taken part in it because they could not help it; that they were in jail was no disgrace to them, for the game had never been fair, the dice were loaded. They were swindlers and thieves of pennies and dimes, and they had been trapped and put out of the way by the swindlers and thieves of millions of dollars.”
written in a unique journalistic style, a little difficult to get into at the beginning
President Theodore Roosevelt wrote that "radical action must be taken to do away with the efforts of arrogant and selfish greed on the part of the capitalist."
"Even though the packing houses knew of their visit in advance, the inspectors discovered that conditions were just as bad—or even worse—than depicted in The Jungle. “We saw meat shoveled from filthy wooden floors, piled on tables rarely washed, pushed from room to room in rotten box carts…gathering dirt, splinters, floor filth and expectoration of tuberculous and other diseased workers,” they reported. Neill found Chicago’s stockyards so repulsive, he refused to feed his family meat unless it came fresh from local farms." - Christopher Klein
The novel had significant impacts on the meatpacking industry and the FDA and food safety regulations. Unfortunately, the American public was only concerned with what happened to the food that they consumed... and not what happened to the people who made it on an unlivable wage.
About 70% into the novel, it really slows down but picks up again and becomes interesting later with the strike and labor union movements.
The ending is very heartwarming, with Jurgis finally finding a community and a cause, after losing so many people that he loved. The last 50 pages are goofily cheery and made me smile—I’m glad he found hope and purpose.
“Into this wild-beast tangle these men had been born without their consent, they had taken part in it because they could not help it; that they were in jail was no disgrace to them, for the game had never been fair, the dice were loaded. They were swindlers and thieves of pennies and dimes, and they had been trapped and put out of the way by the swindlers and thieves of millions of dollars.”
curlsandcrime's review against another edition
dark
informative
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
caitlyn_baldwin's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75