The Jungle
Ratings73
Average rating3.6
15
Ratings73
Average rating3.6
Upton Sinclair's dramatic and deeply moving story exposed the brutal conditions in the Chicago stockyards at the turn of the nineteenth century and brought into sharp moral focus the appalling odds against which immigrants and other working people struggled for their share of the American dream. Denounced by the conservative press as an un-American libel on the meatpacking industry, the book was championed by more progressive thinkers, including then President Theodore Roosevelt, and was a major catalyst to the passing of the Pure Food and Meat Inspection act, which has tremendous impact to this day.
Reviews with the most likes.
This book is both historically important and engaging. The beginning, especially, was well-written and so sad. The book depicts a society of pervasive corruption and greed which decimates the Rudkus family. It's hard not to be thoroughly cynical by the end, so that even the Socialist ray of hope of the last two chapters (the only hope Sinclair won't dash in the pages of the novel) seems very dim. My interest in the book flagged half-way through; the continuous failures, disappointments, and gruesome, meaningless deaths, although perhaps realistic, get a bit repetitive.
Unrelentingly grim. I couldn't make it through, kudos to those that do.
Fantastic book; the powerful message is not delivered at the expense of a good story. However, the last three chapters were fairly slow moving; Upton's pitch for Socialism.
There's a point in every person's teenage years where they come to the realization that there's more to life than the next concert they're going to or who so-and-so is dating that week. THE JUNGLE was that turning point for me. This book was assigned to one of my high school classes (xx years ago) and it immediately had an impact. The treatment of immigrants to the United States, the horrendous working environments...this was all hard for a fairly comfortable, middle class white girl to digest.
The conditions that Sinclair describes are vivid and, on occasion maybe a bit over the top, but the point is clear: the ‘American Dream' was, for most, just that. And although this book is set in the early 20th century, the themes & ideals are just as relevant now as they were over 100 years ago. A classic and a must read.
