Meet the Author

Born into a poor family but his mother came from an affluent background

His father fell to alcoholism due to financial hardships

Moved to New York at the age of 10

Started pursuing writing at the age of 14 producing routine and dull novels for popular magazines

Upton Sinclair 1878-1968

He developed a passion for moral and social justice through a relationship with minister Reverend W.W. Moir

An editor of a weekly socialist newspaper commissioned Sinclair to write about the conditions of the Chicago stockyards

Sinclair lived in Chicago for nearly 2 months studying the people and working conditions – these observations became The Jungle in 1906

Sinclair published his own book because publishers demanded that he delete offensive passages

Common ownership: the resources of the

world will be owned in common by the entire global population

Democratic control: everybody will have the right to participate in the social decisions that affect them

Production for Use: the sole object of production will be to meet human needs and this would include an end to buying, selling, and money.

Free Access: everyone will receive the goods and services that they need for free

Socialism

The man in the cartoon is a socialist.

• What do you notice about the man in the cartoon? What do his features imply?

• What else do you notice?

• What do you think the cartoon is saying about the “Anti-Capitalism” or “Socialism” system?

Attempted a political

career but failed Due to his political

views, critics did not receive his works as well as the general public

His peers, such as Jack London, were more popular

The Jungle is the only one of his books that is still widely read today

Change was evident in everyday life as

consumers began to buy mass produced goods instead of local products.

Before this period, the typical American consumer purchased goods from a nearby producer or a family-owned store, or produced for herself whatever she required.

As distant factories began mass-producing goods on an industrial scale, however, the consumer no longer knew the product’s origin or quality with any intimacy

Progressive Era Food Conditions

The Jungle exposed the atrocities of the

meatpacking industry’s food production AND labor practices

After reading this novel, the American public demanded government intervention against the monstrous conditions

This led to the Pure Food and Drug Act and the establishment of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Public Outcry

The Pure Food and Drug Act of June 30, 1906, is a United States federal law that provided federal inspection of meat products and forbade the manufacture, sale, or transportation of adulterated food products and poisonous patent medicines.

He did not get the reaction that he wanted

from the public: “I aimed for the public’s

heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach.”

Turn to a partner and discuss what you believe that this quote means

Author’s Reaction

Imagine that you are an immigrant guest at

Ona and Jurgis’ wedding. Write about your experience & emotions.

What is your background? (When did you immigrate to the US? Where do you work?)

How do you feel about participating in such an expensive but wonderful event?

Exit Slip