The Jungle's Portrayal of Working Conditions

Upton Sinclair described the terrible working conditions he saw facing those working in the meat-packing industry at the turn of the century in his novel The Jungle, with the immigrant Jurgis following the American dream and finding working conditions inhuman. The work ethic is shown to be strong in this society, causing many of the workers to accept their lot as if this were just the way things have to be.

The characters in The Jungle are the immigrants who flocked to America in search of a better life and more opportunity, and part of the poignancy of the novel is in the way they are disappointed at the reality that confronts them. Part of the optimistic American myth is that American business is a benign institution that offers opportunity to workers and that is a positive value in American life. What the immigrants in this novel find is an American business community that is dedicated to greed, to exploitation, and to self-serving goals. Jurgis and Ona are immigrants newly arrived in Chicago. They see America as a land of opportunity and are rewarded when Jurgis gets a job easily. Jurgis starts his work with high hopes and enthusiasm, but he is quickly disillusioned by the nature of the work and by the terrible conditions in the plants. When Jurgis sprains his ankle and can no longer work, he is ignored, left to his sense of despair.

In the beginning, Jurgis accepts the work and has a view of the packing plant in Packingtown as a wondrous place he describes

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echoed with the thuds in quick succession, and the stamping and kicking of the steers (68). The description goes on at some length to explain how the animal is killed and how it fights every step of the way. The work is intense, and each worker has specific task so that the work is also repetitive: "generally this would consist of only two or three specific cuts, and he would pass down the line of fifteen or twenty carcasses, making these cuts upon each" (69). Sinclair says that this work is "something to be seen and never forgotten" (69). The floor is covered with blood, and yet the workers are so intent on what they are doing they do not notice how slippery it must be. The carcass continues down the line, with workers to cut it and strip it and divide it into the different parts that are used for different purposes. As Jurgis encounters these jobs, he is all the more amazed at the wonder of this place and the job he has acquired. The horror of the situation seems evident to someone like Sinclair, but he knows that many of the immigrants only see the fact that they can work and make more money than they did at home and so ignore the hardships, which is precisely why they can be exploited as they are. Similarly, Jurgis

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