The Jungle (Upton Sinclair)

First published in 1905, ‘The Jungle’ was written by Upton Sinclair, an American writer, political activist, and the 1934 Democratic Party nominee for Governor of California who wrote nearly 100 books and other works in several genres.

Sinclair wrote the novel to portray the lives of immigrants in the United States in Chicago and similar industrialized cities. Many readers were most concerned with his exposure to health violations and unsanitary practices in the American meatpacking industry during the early 20th century, based on an investigation he did for a socialist newspaper.

The book depicts working class poverty, the lack of social support, harsh and unpleasant living and working conditions, and hopelessness among many workers. These elements are contrasted with the deeply rooted corruption of people in power. A review by the writer Jack London called it, “The Uncle Tom's Cabin of wage slavery.”

Upton Sinclair was born September 20, 1878. He was a bestselling American author and journalist who penned more than one hundred books, plays, and journalistic articles during the course of his career. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Literature in 1943. Time magazine called him “a man with every gift except humor and silence.” He died on November 25, 1968. Upton Sinclair was a journalist and the author of over two dozen books, including The Brass Check, King Coal, and Oil!. He was a prominent social and political activist who narrowly missed being elected governor of California in 1934.