Themes

• Exploitation of immigrants and workers

• Corruption in business and politics

• Harsh realities of industrialization

• Struggle for survival in poverty

• Loss of innocence and hope

• Critique of capitalism

• Rise of socialism as a solution

Setting

Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle is set in the early 1900s, during the height of America's Industrial Revolution. This era was characterized by rapid economic growth, technological innovation, and massive waves of European immigration to the United States. The story unfolds against the backdrop of Chicago's meatpacking industry, which was notorious for its harsh working conditions and lack of regulations.

The primary geographical setting is the stockyards and slaughterhouses of Chicago, Illinois. Specifically, much of the action takes place in “Packingtown,” a fictional neighborhood based on the real-life Back of the Yards district. This area was home to numerous meatpacking plants and the immigrant workers who toiled within them. The novel vividly depicts the gritty urban landscape, crowded tenements, and unsanitary conditions that defined life in this industrial hub.

Within Packingtown, Sinclair takes readers inside the factories themselves, providing a detailed look at the various workrooms and processes involved in meat production. From the killing floors to the canning rooms, the author exposes the unsettling realities of early 20th-century food processing. The novel also ventures into other parts of Chicago, including downtown areas and affluent neighborhoods, to highlight the stark socioeconomic contrasts that existed within the city during this time period.

Characters

• Jurgis Rudkus: The protagonist, a Lithuanian immigrant who comes to America seeking a better life. Jurgis is hardworking and idealistic at first, but becomes disillusioned and bitter as he faces the harsh realities of life in Chicago's meatpacking district. He experiences numerous hardships and tragedies, including exploitation at work, the loss of family members, and a descent into alcoholism and crime, before eventually finding hope in socialism.

• Ona Lukoszaite: Jurgis's wife and the love of his life. Ona is gentle and kind-hearted, but struggles with the brutal conditions of their new life in America. She faces exploitation at work and tragic circumstances that eventually lead to her death, leaving Jurgis devastated.

• Elzbieta Lukoszaite: Ona's stepmother and a resilient matriarch of the family. Elzbieta endures numerous hardships but remains a steadfast and nurturing presence, holding the family together through their many trials and tribulations.

• Marija Berczynskas: Ona's cousin, a strong and determined young woman. Marija initially finds work in the meatpacking plants but later turns to prostitution to support the family after losing her job and savings.

• Teta Elzbieta's Children: Including Stanislovas, Kotrina, and others. The children face the harsh realities of child labor and poverty in industrial Chicago, with some meeting tragic ends.

• Connor: A foreman at the meatpacking plant who sexually harasses Ona. His actions lead to conflict with Jurgis and contribute to the family's downfall.

• Phil Connor: A political operative who exploits immigrants. He plays a role in Jurgis's arrest and imprisonment.

• Mike Scully: A corrupt politician who manipulates immigrant workers for votes. He represents the entrenched political corruption in Chicago.

Quick facts

• The book was originally published as a serial in the socialist newspaper Appeal to Reason in 1905.

• Sinclair spent seven weeks working undercover in Chicago's meatpacking plants to research the novel.

• The book's vivid descriptions of unsanitary conditions in meatpacking plants led to the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906.

• President Theodore Roosevelt coined the term “muckraker” in response to Sinclair and other reform-minded journalists of the era.

• Sinclair famously said of the public reaction: “I aimed at the public's heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach."

• The novel was translated into 17 languages within months of its release in the U.S.

• Sinclair used proceeds from the book to establish a socialist colony called Helicon Home Colony in New Jersey.

• The original manuscript was much longer, with portions cut from the published version recently rediscovered and republished.

• Jack London called it “the Uncle Tom's Cabin of wage slavery."

• While researching, Sinclair adopted a family of Lithuanian immigrants as real-life models for his fictional characters.

About the Author

Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. was a prolific American author who wrote nearly 100 books across various genres in the first half of the 20th century. Born in 1878, Sinclair achieved widespread fame in 1906 with the publication of his muckraking novel The Jungle.

In addition to his fiction, Sinclair was known for his muckraking journalism. His 1919 exposé The Brass Check criticized “yellow journalism” and the limitations of press freedom in the United States. The book helped spur the creation of the first code of ethics for journalists four years later. Sinclair was also politically active, running unsuccessfully for Congress as a Socialist and for governor of California as a Democrat in 1934.

Sinclair won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1943. He is remembered for coining the famous quote: “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon him not understanding it.” The Jungle remains his best known work and has stayed continuously in print since its initial publication over a century ago.