Analysis of a book The Jungle: Poor Working Conditions and the Employers' Struggle

Upton Sinclair wrote the book “The Jungle” published in 1906, to expose the poor working conditions in the meat-packing industry. His book surprised the public and led to new federal food safety laws. It was also an important part of the Progressive Era. The Jungle explained the poor working conditions such as health and safety and several other important issues such as immigration. Immigrants were unable to reap the benefits of this movement like the upper-class did. It is important that all students should be required to read The Jungle to learn about the history behind it and its significance.

The working conditions in the United States in the 20th century was difficult since workers struggled to survive every day. The employers were not concerned with the safety of their workers, they were always at a high risk of getting sick or injured. The workers would also lose their jobs and health benefits from getting sick or injured. During this time, there was no laws that protected the workers that suffered. For example, Jurgis injured his foot at work and was sent home, being left without work or pay. “They sent for the company doctor, and he examined the foot and told Jurgis to go home” (95). His employer did not offer him any kind of compensation. A lot of workers who used knives often lost their fingers, some would lose their fingers because of acid, workers who hauled 100 pounds of meat crippled their backs, and the most horrific of all, some men fell into the steaming lard vats “and when they were fished out, there was never enough of them left to be worth exhibiting, sometimes they would be overlooked for days, till all but the bones of them had gone out to the world as Durham’s Pure Leaf Lard!” (82).

The Jungle also exposed outrageous health concerns in the meat-packing industry. The workers would use the bathroom and not use any soap or water to wash their hands. In some areas where they worked, there was no toilets, so the workers had to use the bathroom in a corner. They also didn’t have lunch rooms, so the workers had to eat where they worked. There were workers with skin diseases working, and some with tuberculosis coughing and spitting blood out onto the floor. Diseased, rotten, and contaminated meats were processed with added chemicals and sold to the public. The workers would also process diseased, dead, and injured animals to be sold. The meat used for canning and for sausage sat in a pile on the floor before the workers would carry it off in the carts “There would be meat stored in great piles in rooms; and the water from leaky roofs would drip over it, and thousands of rats would race about on it.” (112).

After “The Jungle” was published, meat sales dropped quickly. Sinclair said, “I aimed at the public’s heart and by accident I hit it in the stomach.” President Roosevelt pushed the Meat Inspection Act of 1906. This law authorized inspectors from the United States Department of Agriculture to stop any bad meat from reaching commerce. The same day Roosevelt signed the Meat Inspection Act, he signed a law regulating foods and drugs. The Pure Food and Drug Act also led to the formation of the federal Food and Drug Administration known as the FDA.