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Born into a poor family but his mother came from an affluent background His father fell to alcoholism due to financial hardships Moved to New York at the age of 10 Started pursuing writing at the age of 14 producing routine and dull novels for popular magazines . Meet the Author .
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Born into a poor family but his mother came from an affluent background • His father fell to alcoholism due to financial hardships • Moved to New York at the age of 10 • Started pursuing writing at the age of 14 producing routine and dull novels for popular magazines Meet the Author Upton Sinclair 1878-1968
He developed a passion for moral and social justice through a relationship with minister Reverend W.W. Moir • An editor of a weekly socialist newspaper commissioned Sinclair to write about the conditions of the Chicago stockyards • Sinclair lived in Chicago for nearly 2 months studying the people and working conditions – these observations became The Jungle in 1906 • Sinclair published his own book because publishers demanded that he delete offensive passages
Socialism • Common ownership: the resources of the world will be owned in common by the entire global population • Democratic control: everybody will have the right to participate in the social decisions that affect them • Production for Use: the sole object of production will be to meet human needs and this would include an end to buying, selling, and money. • Free Access: everyone will receive the goods and services that they need for free
The man in the cartoon is a socialist. What do you notice about the man in the cartoon? What do his features imply? What else do you notice? What do you think the cartoon is saying about the “Anti-Capitalism” or “Socialism” system?
Attempted a political career but failed • Due to his political views, critics did not receive his works as well as the general public • His peers, such as Jack London, were more popular • The Jungle is the only one of his books that is still widely read today
Progressive Era Food Conditions • Change was evident in everyday life as consumers began to buy mass produced goods instead of local products. • Before this period, the typical American consumer purchased goods from a nearby producer or a family-owned store, or produced for herself whatever she required. • As distant factories began mass-producing goods on an industrial scale, however, the consumer no longer knew the product’s origin or quality with any intimacy
Public Outcry • The Jungle exposed the atrocities of the meatpacking industry’s food production AND labor practices • After reading this novel, the American public demanded government intervention against the monstrous conditions • This led to the Pure Food and Drug Act and the establishment of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
The Pure Food and Drug Act of June 30, 1906, is a United States federal law that provided federal inspection of meat products and forbade the manufacture, sale, or transportation of adulterated food products and poisonous patent medicines.
Author’s Reaction • He did not get the reaction that he wanted from the public: • “I aimed for the public’s heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach.” • Turn to a partner and discuss what you believe that this quote means
Exit Slip • Imagine that you are an immigrant guest at Ona and Jurgis’ wedding. Write about your experience & emotions. • What is your background? (When did you immigrate to the US? Where do you work?) • How do you feel about participating in such an expensive but wonderful event?
