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A review by keimre734
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
4.0
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair is a book that I’ve been meaning to read for a while. I actually picked it up at a used bookstore several years ago and it’s been sitting on my book shelf ever since.
I knew before I started this book that The Jungle helped to create the Food and Drug Act which is still being used in America to this day. I also knew that Sinclair’s story had to do with the terribly unhygienic conditions which were commonplace in the meat packing industry during the turn of the century.
However, I didn’t realize that Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle to help educate people about communism instead of educating people about the unhygienic conditions that were rampant in the meat packing industry at the time.
The first half of the book was very interesting. I felt deeply with Jurgis and his family as one thing after another didn’t go their way. I was disgusted when I learned about so many of the stories regarding the meat packing industry in Chicago. (I’ll let you go ahead and read the gruesome parts for yourself.)
But once Jurgis decided to leave his family, I began having a hard time connecting with him as well. He up and walked out on his family, without so much as an explanation, and I couldn’t help but feel bad for his family and not Jurgis. I wanted to learn what happened to his family, but instead the story followed only Jurgis for the most part.
I understand that Sinclair wrote the book to help people better understand Socialism and maybe even encourage readers to become Socialist. With this knowledge, I can understand why Sinclair wrote the second half of the book the way he did, but I can’t help but wish he would have written it differently.
I knew before I started this book that The Jungle helped to create the Food and Drug Act which is still being used in America to this day. I also knew that Sinclair’s story had to do with the terribly unhygienic conditions which were commonplace in the meat packing industry during the turn of the century.
However, I didn’t realize that Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle to help educate people about communism instead of educating people about the unhygienic conditions that were rampant in the meat packing industry at the time.
The first half of the book was very interesting. I felt deeply with Jurgis and his family as one thing after another didn’t go their way. I was disgusted when I learned about so many of the stories regarding the meat packing industry in Chicago. (I’ll let you go ahead and read the gruesome parts for yourself.)
But once Jurgis decided to leave his family, I began having a hard time connecting with him as well. He up and walked out on his family, without so much as an explanation, and I couldn’t help but feel bad for his family and not Jurgis. I wanted to learn what happened to his family, but instead the story followed only Jurgis for the most part.
I understand that Sinclair wrote the book to help people better understand Socialism and maybe even encourage readers to become Socialist. With this knowledge, I can understand why Sinclair wrote the second half of the book the way he did, but I can’t help but wish he would have written it differently.