April 6, 2009
The Jungle
Written by Upton Sinclair
“Relentless, remorseless, it was; all his protests, his screams, were nothing to it—it did its cruel will with him, as if his wishes, his feelings, had simply no existence at all; it cut his throat and watched him gasp out his life."
—Chapter 3, page 37
Fun Facts
- When writing The Jungle, Sinclair had intended to bring attention to the exploitation of workers in the meat packing industry, instead readers fixated on the abhorrent food safety regulations.
- Public outrage inspired by the novel sparked the creation of two acts of legislation which ultimately established the Food and Drug Administration.
- The Jungle was a criticism of laissez-faire economics that Sinclair felt encouraged greed in our society.
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