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A review by xgigglypuff
The Jungle: The Uncensored Original Edition by Upton Sinclair
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.”