When Upton Sinclair’s novel “The Jungle” was released on the 26 th February 1906, it did not only become an instant best-seller making Sinclair a celebrity; the book also sparked immediate public outcry owing to its revelations of the working conditions in Chicago’s meatpacking industry. A notable recipient of this uproar was President Theodore Roosevelt. After reading the book, President Roosevelt embarked on addressing the issues raised in it. A labor exposé, “The Jungle” sought to initiate discourse on the improvement of working conditions for the American workforce. However, according to an editorial observer at The New York Times , the readers “were less appalled by Sinclair’s accounts of horrific working conditions than by what they learned about their food” (Cohen). Using “The Jungle” and its post-publication campaign, Sinclair brought to fore the dangers in America’s food industry while underscoring the need for the government to put measures in place to guarantee public safety. Against this backdrop, what is the book’s portrayal of management and its relation to modern big business structures, and what is the impact of literature on cultural change?
“ The Jungle” is a fictionalized story of the meatpacking industry in Chicago’s Packingtown. In using this title, Sinclair sought to convey his opinion of the brutality that he witnessed in the business. The narrative is centered on Jurgis Rudkis, a young man who together with eleven friends and relatives recently emigrated from Lithuania to Chicago. Initially, this group is filled with energy and hope despite their challenging journey to Chicago. For instance, on their way, they are conned and cheated. Nevertheless, they eventually get employed in the factories of Packingtown and Union Stock Yard. Their initial success in securing jobs provides the reader with a glimpse of the pursuit of the American dream.
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The decision to move was informed by Jonas, an old friend who reckoned that America is where a worker could make a fortune easily. This is because at Chicago’s stockyards is “ where a friend of his had gotten rich” (Sinclair, 1906). At the outset, Jurgis’ energy is undeniable. When told horrible tales of Chicago’s stockyards and their impact on men before him, Jurgis only laughed about it. He reckoned that such ordeals were beyond him, arguing that “That is well enough for men like you, Silpnas, puny fellows—but my back is broad” (Sinclair, 1906). Describing Jurgis’ energy and zeal further, Sinclair cites that “ when he was told to go to a certain place, he would go there on the run. When he had nothing to do for the moment, he would stand round fidgeting, dancing, with the overflow of energy that was in him. If he were working in a line of men, the line always moved too slowly for him, and you could pick him out by his impatience and restlessness” ( Sinclair, 1906). However, this energy diminishes throughout the novel, justifying Sinclair’s account of the ills of the meatpacking industry.
Owing to his physical strength, Jurgis easily secured a job at Durham, a prominent meatpacker in Chicago. Jurgis was filled with hope for a better life. He married soon after and acquired a house on credit. Despite these feats, Jurg is’ joy was short-lived. He soon realized that Durham’s assembly line was deliberately sped up with the aim of getting the employees to work more for the same amount of salary. The company also lied to workers by not compensating them for working overtime. Further, employees were exposed to inhumane working conditions, which resulted in various forms of injuries and ailments (Sinclair, 1906). For example, in the pickling room, it was common to see men suffering from skin diseases. Likewise, due to the sped up assembly lines, men would lose fingers frequently. Some crippled their backs as a result of carrying heavy chunks of meat. The author also describes instances of sick workers, who as a result of tuberculosis would cough and spit blood on the floor. Moreover, workers were forced to use toilets that neither had soap nor water for cleaning their hands. These toilets could be located next to where the meat was being processed. In some cases, no toilets were provided. No lunchrooms were provided in other cases, forcing workers to eat in their working environments. These revelations show how inhuman the working conditions were for the workers in Packingtown.
The author also went ahead to describe the horrible state of the meat products. He cites that bad, contaminated and diseased meat products would be processed, mislabeled and doctored using chemicals and sold for public consumption. The injured, dead or sick animals would be processed after regular working hours in the absence of meat inspectors. Mislabeling was also common, in which case beef scraps and pork fat would be sold as potted chicken. Sinclair also describes the dirty conditions under which meat for sausages and canning was handled suggesting that what ended up in Americans’ plates was pure filth. Another appalling bit of Sinclair's narration was his revelation that what was sold as Durham's Pure Leaf Lard may have been composed of dead human parts (Sinclair, 1906).
Packingtown’s horrid working conditions did not spare Jurgis despite his energy. This is because he eventually got injured while working on the assembly line. Durham lacked any form of workers’ compensation and was not responsible for any injuries suffered by workers while on the job. Subsequently, he lost his job, house, wife and even son. He later secured a job as a porter in a hotel. Due to the hotel owner’s socialist leanings, Jurgis soon found himself at the heart of the socialist movement (Sinclair, 1906). It is based on Jurgis’ socialist advocacy that Sinclair submits his support for socialism, the need to end capitalism and the greed that comes with it, as well as ending wage slavery. The book has a hopeful end, where Jurgis attends an election victory for a socialist candidate, whereby calls for the people to organize so as to stamp out capitalism dominate. The speech is given by a former head of Chicago’s relief bureau who had witnessed the corruption and misery in the stockyard.
Sinclair’s message in “The Jungle” was consistent with what progressives had, for many years, set out to address in America’s labour market. For instance, such big corporations as U.S Steel, Standard Oil and Armour had come under heavy criticism due to their unjust practices ( Gould , 2014). These companies employed unorthodox means of eliminating competition and setting market prices for their products. They also treated their employees as ‘wage slaves' ( Duvall , 2002 ). The other notable attribute was their preference for immigrants in their operations. Besides Lithuania, other workers in the meatpacking companies were Polish and Slovaks amongst others. Thus, by writing about the ills of Chicago's meat-packing business, Sinclair aimed at exposing the moral evil and physical torment that associated with industrial capitalism. He reckoned that the system could only be reformed through political action. However, as manifested through the operations of modern big businesses, some of the vices pointed out in "The Jungle" are still rampant to date.
Today, Americans, and by extension citizens in many parts of the world, are still fighting the same capitalism-driven economic, political and cultural issues highlighted in “The Jungle.” For instance, while such aspects as the cleanliness of factories and food products might have improved, structurally, not much has changed. The structure of the global labour market seeks to favor modern big businesses ( Cueto , 2017). This is by encouraging them to get the most out of the workforce with minimal compensation. Likewise, due to the neoliberal economic policies, multinationals are allowed to search the globe and set up operations in countries with the most favorable investment opportunities. Often, this is only available in the developing countries. Subsequently, these multinationals fuel a reduction in minimum wage while offering poor working environments. Also, by instilling fear in their employees, labour is kept cheap while labour unions are rendered voiceless. This ‘race to the bottom’ is responsible for fueling inequality in the world as the big companies take advantage of the available cheap labour ( Cueto , 2017) . The firms are also involved in tax evasion and using power to influence politics. As the world experiences unprecedented migration from Africa and other less developed nations, modern big businesses are at the center of the debate. This is because these firms are likely to employ the immigrants and pay them minimum wages ( Orrenius et al., 2008) . This is especially likely in fast-food chains, restaurants or retail stores.
The public outrage that following the release of “The Jungle” resulted in the formulation of laws to address the issues raised by Sinclair. Bowing to public pressure, President Roosevelt signed the Meat Inspection Act and The Pure Food and Drug Act on the 30 th June 1906 ( Kantor, 1976 ) . Besides increasing consumer confidence, the laws were aimed at regulating the food and drug industry. This exemplifies the impact of literature on cultural change. By using the book to highlight such issues as socialism, meat-eating, greed and the struggles of the working class, Sinclair shows that the role of literature in fanning cultural change cannot be overstated. This way, literary work can play a much more important role in the society besides being a form of art. This is appealing to the peoples’ minds and hearts. Literature can empower human beings, in the process initiating change and resistance. Overall, the success of Sinclair’s “The Jungle” shows that literature can be used to change the world.
References
Cohen, A. (2007). 100 Years Later, the Food Industry Is Still ‘The Jungle.’ Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/02/opinion/02tue4.html
Cueto, J. C. (2017). Reducing the race to the bottom: A primer on a global floor for minimum wages. Investigación económica , 76 (300), 33-51 .
Duvall, J. M. (2002). Processes of Elimination: Progressive-Era Hygienic Ideology, Waste, and Upton Sinclair's The Jungle. American Studies , 43 (3), 29-56.
Gould, L. L. (2014). America in the progressive era, 1890-1914 . Routledge.
Kantor, A. F. (1976). Upton Sinclair and the Pure Food and Drugs Act of 1906." I aimed at the public's heart, and by accident, I hit it in the stomach". American Journal of Public Health , 66 (12), 1202-1205.
Orrenius, P. M., & Zavodny, M. (2008). The effect of minimum wages on immigrants. Industrial and Labor Relations Review , 61 (4), 544-563.
Sinclair, U. ( 1906 ). The Jungle. Retrieved from http://z-m-l.com/go/jjngl/jjngl.pdf
