In a time when the current political landscape and national conversation heavily features the deeply polarizing topic of immigration, Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle” remains relevant even though it was written 120 years ago. Sinclair takes an unflinching and tragic look at the issues many major American cities faced in the early 1900s, including extreme poverty in immigrant neighborhoods, dangerous working conditions, the rise of labor unions and unsanitary food processing practices. Unfortunately, many immigrants in America today are still dealing with some of the same issues immigrants were facing 120 years ago.

“The Jungle” was originally released in serial format in 1905, a once popular method of publishing novels in weekly or monthly installments via newspapers, but it was also published as a single volume book in 1906. Prior to the release of the Jungle, Sinclair had started to develop a reputation as a muckraking investigative journalist, which caught the eye of an editor at Appeal to Reason, a socialist newspaper based in the American Midwest that was in publication from 1895-1922. The editor at Appeal to Reason commissioned Sinclair to author a novel about the immigrant experience in Chicago’s meat packing industry, which resulted in Sinclair going undercover in a meatpacking plant for seven weeks in 1904.

Although the immigrant experience was what Sinclair was supposed to investigate and highlight in the novel, he also discovered horrid labor conditions and sickening food safety practices. Due to its graphic and horrific depiction of the unsanitary and wildly unsafe conditions in the meat packing industry, “The Jungle” sparked public outrage and pressure for change after it was released, which directly led to both the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act in 1906.

The direct changes in food safety laws that “The Jungle” inspired makes it one of the most important and influential novels of the 20th century, but its gritty look at the immigrant experience in Chicago at the time is equally as disturbing and significant. Some of the issues facing immigrants in Chicago in the early 1900s are still prevalent for many immigrant families living in major cities today, including crippling poverty, cramped living conditions, immoral labor practices and the anti-immigrant sentiment.

All of these issues are explored in vivid detail, which results in a powerful but unpleasant reader experience, which isn’t necessarily a negative. Important works of art and literature are often necessarily uncomfortable for their audiences to handle, but they are designed that way to help drive home the themes, “The Jungle” being no exception.

The story is told through the eyes of characters in a fictional Lithuanian family, who are based on stories Sinclair was exposed to during his time undercover in the meat packing plants. The family has just recently immigrated to Chicago, and the novel starts off with a hopeful tone, which includes the wedding of Jurgis Rudkus and Ona Lukoszaite, two of the novel’s main characters. Like many immigrants of then and now, Jurgis, Ona, and members of her extended family have moved to Chicago with hopes and dreams of a better life. After the wedding reception, the couple realizes that due to poverty their guests have not left them money to cover the cost of the reception, which is customary in Lithuania. Even though their story gets off to a rocky start, Jurgis still maintains his positivity and vows to work as hard as he can to make their American dream become a reality.

Jurgis’ belief in the American dream starts off strong but slowly wavers as he becomes an employee at a meat packing plant and is engulfed in dangerous and exploitive working conditions, next to nothing wages, and what seems like never ending tragic occurrences. Jurgis is not alone in his misfortune, as every member of the family deals with hardship and heartache throughout the novel. The book ends on an extremely sour note, which leaves readers to wonder if they should yell in anger or sob in sadness, or perhaps even both.
Sinclair’s writing approach is far more journalistic than it is literary, with a focus on purpose rather than deep character development or artistic sentence structure. His goal seems to be to shock his readers with content based on his observations as an investigative reporter rather than impress them with beautiful storytelling. If this is in fact his goal, he certainly accomplishes it. The portions of the novel highlighting the rodent infestation and meat contamination that is rampant in the meat packing plant certainly shock the reader, perhaps even to the point of trying vegetarianism for a while.

“The Jungle” is a wonderful fictional historical perspective of life in major American cities in the early 1900s, but it is far more than just a period piece. Despite being 120 years old, The Jungle still has plenty of significance today. Although not at the same level as it was during the time of the release of “The Jungle”, many immigrants in America today still deal with low under the table wages, no health insurance or sick pay and anti-immigration rhetoric on a daily basis.

Some recent criticism “The Jungle” has received has been based on accusations that Sinclair used his platform to sensationalize the fictional events of the novel to push his political Agenda. This criticism is somewhat fair since Sinclair had a failed run for Governor of California in 1934, which was largely based on a socialist platform. It is also somewhat evident in his consistent use of tragic irony, which at times is laid on a little thick. Sometimes it feels like Sinclair is trying to beat his audience over the head with a journalistic hammer in order to nail down his ideas.

Overall, “The Jungle” is still an extremely important and relevant book. It stands the test of time right now, and most likely still will 120 years from now. Many Americans today enjoy the fruits of Sinclair’s labor when they shop for food in grocery stores that has been properly handled and inspected based on laws resulting from the novel.

For what Sinclair lacks in literary prowess, he makes up for in hard-hitting journalistic command. “The Jungle” is mostly known for exposing poor food safety practices and the gut-wrenching experiences of impoverished immigrants, but at its core it is a social commentary on how rugged capitalism can lead to a shattered American dream. Like Jurgis and his family in “The Jungle,” the story of some immigrants today starts with the American dream but ends with the American nightmare. “The Jungle” is not for the faint of heart, but it is certainly worth reading, even if it makes readers swear off meat for a few weeks.