The Jungle- Depicted as a Failure to Me

The 20th century brought the world technological advancement and opportunity. New inventions such as the automobile, telephones, and mechanization of factories created an America of industry and big business. But behind this mask of wealth was a bitter truth, one of despair and crushed dreams. Immigrants, particularly from Eastern Europe, were living in filth as the wealthy were securing more money. Almost all immigrant families were forced to live in suffocating buildings and many starved within a year of their coming. The factory work was horrifying, almost all workers eventually caught a disease or were worn down by the process of '"'wage slavery.'"' Upton Sinclair, a famous muckraker (journalist who exposes misconduct in society), exposed the truths of this hidden world to the public in The Jungle: '"'It was too dark in these storage places to see well, but a man could run his hand over these piles of meat and sweep off handfuls of the dried dung of rats. These rats were nuisances, and the packers would put poisoned bread out for them; they would die, and then rats, bread, and meat would go into the hoppers together'"' (Sinclair 148). This novel was written for the purposes of bringing to the eyes of the American people the exploitation of immigrant workers, unsanitary conditions in factories, and the theory of socialism. However, as only one of these goals truly inspired the public to act, the novel should be considered a failure.

Big business, a theory that began with the success of industrialism, effectively controlled the population in the early 1900"'"s. Businesses were able to control public opinion through newspapers and also through their own workers. However, as business competition increased, the need for skilled labor decreased due to mechanization. This led to an increase of pressure on the laborers to find employment. Mechanization was

built on two key factors: innovation and efficiency. It was a period in which most factories were transformed into efficient, critical warehouses of mass-production. Companies no longer had a need for skilled labor, only for labor that was repetitive and unceasing. This hurried mass production, of course, led to hazardous and unhealthy conditions. The general public tended to believe in the system because it seemed to represent progress, producing an abundance of cheap goods that seemed to be raising everyone's standard of living. The gullible public believed the companies"'" advertising, which, as a new art form, presented only the positive aspects of modern industrial production and ignored what was truthfully happening. Corruption became rampant throughout all aspects of industry: '"'The officials who ruled it, and got all the graft, had to be elected first; and so there were two rival sets of grafters, known as political parties, and the one got the office which bought the most votes.'"' (Sinclair 101). Wealthy packinghouse owners controlled nearly all aspects of life in industrial cities, such as Chicago. They were able to buy votes through the immigrants and had a hold on the police as well. As an immigrant, one could merely work for the meat packers or become their enemy, a position that would almost always be deadly.

The meat-packing business, one of the larger industries, grew rapidly in the beginning of the 20th century due to railway transportation (with refrigerator cars), mechanization of factories, and the more efficient use of animal by-products. This rapid industrial growth led to a declining meat quality, because big businesses aimed to get the maximum production from the minimum investment in labor and materials. A general competition evolved between corporations in which the company which was able to

produce the most efficiently would make the most profit. This led to a downward spiral in food quality and an overall disregard for the welfare of the American people. Contributing to this decline was a practice in which scientists were hired by corporations to doctor meat (chemically altering food to make it seem healthy), producing a deadly product. However, as The Jungle exposed these exploits and stirred general unrest, the government went into action. The Heyburn Bill (1906) was the first major federal consumer law, prohibiting the selling of contaminated meat. Soon after were the Meat Inspection Act (1906) and the Pure Food and Drug Act (1906), which further regulated food quality: '"'The Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act were together the strongest regulations Congress had ever imposed on the food industry'"' (Tompkins 98). Both laws were enforced by the Department of Agriculture and improved the general health of the public. The joint progress of the President and the Congress in both of these laws showed the American people how serious this issue had become.

Although improving the sanitation of the meat industry was a specific goal of Sinclair"'"s, it was not a large one. He devoted only a few pages to describing meat quality and mainly focused his novel on his more valued principles: socialism and working conditions. However, the public became most concerned with meat packing conditions. This was partly due to the fact that the public was already swaying on the issue because of similar writings by earlier muckrakers. Sinclair"'"s success in this subject is shown by how the novel affected the public: '"'Its responsibility for significant improvement in the food industry merits its reputation as the most effective expression of social concern in American fiction'"' (Beetz 2227). The largest effect of the novel was that it prompted

major changes from Theodore Roosevelt, the president at the time. After reading The Jungle, he created the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), and also began major funding for the Dep. of Agriculture to enforce the new laws. Because of how much it changed the meat packing industry, the novel was an extreme success.

Another one of Sinclair"'"s goals was to correct the appalling work conditions that factory workers faced. Meatpacking workers, usually immigrants, could toil for up to 14 hours a day in an unheated factory, knee-high in blood. This inevitably led to a high death and disease toll. Also, workers were not paid overtime for their extra work and were blacklisted among all factories if they attempted to challenge the rules. Children were not exempt from the struggle either. By the 1900"'"s the worker"'"s situation had become desperate and all attempts for salvation were made, including sending their small children to work in factories: '"'In 1900 more than 250,000 children