The jungle WRITING
Content The Jungle was written by Upton Sinclair in 1906 to shed light on the horrible working conditions in the meatpacking industry. What was the importance of the Jungle and how has it affected the food industry today? Learning Outcomes Learn about Upton Sinclair and his muckraking. Read about his most famous work, The Jungle. Discuss modern-day social problems. www.english-maestro.mn 1
The Jungle is a novel written by Upton Sinclair in 1906. The novel was written to shed light on the exploitation of immigrants in Chicago and other industrialized cities. At the same time, however, The Jungle revealed the incredible lack of sanitation in the American meatpacking industry at the time. www.english-maestro.mn 2
Upton Sinclair was considered to be a muckraker, which was a term used to refer to investigative journalists whose writings exposed social ills and political corruption. Most commonly associated with the Progressive Era of the United States, muckrakers tackled issues such as child labor and crooked politicians. The Jungle revolves around a Lithuanian immigrant in Chicago named Jurgis Rudkus. Seeking freedom, Jurgis moves his family to the United States and gets a job working at a slaughterhouse. Unfortunately, the working conditions are terrible. www.english-maestro.mn 3
Inside the slaughterhouse, the lack of sanitation is shocking. At one point, a worker accidentally falls into the meat rendering tank. His body is mixed up with animal parts and ground into lard. www.english-maestro.mn 4
Meanwhile Jurgis' family lives in a slum house, which they are conned into spending their entire savings to pay for. Eventually they are evicted and the entire family is forced to seek work. They end up all being taken advantage of by various employers, which leads to overwhelming catastrophe. Jurgis ultimately is forced to leave the city, becoming a hobo. He works at a farm, but is sent off after the harvest is completed. Upon returning to Chicago, he discovers a group of socialists, who provide him with a sense of community and a new job through a socialist employer. www.english-maestro.mn 5
In response to the book, American President Theodore Roosevelt ordered an investigation of some Chicago meatpacking facilities. Even though the owners were made aware of the investigation ahead of time and, as such, thoroughly cleaned their factories beforehand, the conditions were still found to be revolting. www.english-maestro.mn 6
As a result, laws were passed regarding sanitary food practices and the Food and Drug Administration was established. However, Sinclair himself stood in opposition to many of the new laws. His book was largely misunderstood as simply being an attack on the meatpacking industry rather than a social critique. www.english-maestro.mn 7
exploitation immigrants hobo catastrophe sanitation lard meatpacking slum muckraker social ills slaughterhouse investigative journalism political corruption www.english-maestro.mn 8
1) to take advantage of 2) to con 3) to evict 4) to exploit 5) to tackle (an issue) 6) to shed light on 7) to stand in opposition to www.english-maestro.mn 9
Were there any other words or phrases that you found difficult or have questions about? www.english-maestro.mn 10
Writing Answer the following question(s). What were some of the issues Upton Sinclair addressed in The Jungle? Which of these do you think are still problems today? www.english-maestro.mn 11
Writing Compared to 1906, how do you think the problems addressed in The Jungle have been solved or changed? 1906 2015 www.english-maestro.mn 12
Writing Answer the following questions What are some of the most ignored social problems today? If you were to be a modern-day muckraker, what would you write about? www.english-maestro.mn 13
1. The Jungle 1906 novel by Upton Sinclair addressing social problems 2. muckraker investigative journalists who sought to expose social ills 3. slaughterhouse a place where animals are killed and prepared to be eaten 4. social ills problems in society, such as poverty and corruption Upton Sinclair's The Jungle was written in 1906 to expose the exploitation of immigrants in industrialized cities. Today it remains an example of muckraking and an attack on social ills. www.english-maestro.mn 14
Writing Match the verbs to their meanings. 1. to expose 2. to kick out 3. to take advantage of 4. to deceive 5. to confront a. to con b. to exploit c. to evict d. to shed light on e. to tackle (an issue) www.english-maestro.mn 15
Speaking Fill in the blank with the appropriate word(s). slaughterhouse slum muckraker sanitation immigrant corruption hobo catastrophe 1) Someone moving from another country is a(n). 2) A is a place where animals are killed for meat. 3) Someone who wrote to expose social ills was known as a. 4) A is an unfortunate or terrible event resulting in damage or suffering. www.english-maestro.mn 16
Speaking Fill in the blank with the appropriate word(s). slaughterhouse slum muckraker sanitation immigrant corruption hobo catastrophe 1) A homeless person is sometimes referred to as a. 2) The meatpacking facilities described in The Jungle were exposed as having an extreme lack of. 3) A is a dirty and overcrowded urban area. 4) Some muckrakers attacked crooked politicians, exposing their. www.english-maestro.mn 17
Writing Answer the following questions In The Jungle, the character Jurgis Rudkus finally finds an answer to his problems in the form of socialism. Do you think that socialism can prevent the social problems addressed by the book? Why or why not? www.english-maestro.mn 18
Writing True or False Upton Sinclair's main goal in writing The Jungle was to expose the unsanitary conditions of meatpacking facilities. a) True b) False The Jungle was so influential that it was addressed by the president. a) True b) False Muckrakers sought to expose social ills through their writings. a) True b) False www.english-maestro.mn 19