Essay On The Jungle By Jacob Riis

Improved Essays
The writers of these excerpts are correctly describing the housing conditions of immigrant workers. The first one at least, describes it completely and uses honest words. He is describing the household to the reader for specific information on how badly the lowest class is living because of how small of a payment they are cheaply given can hardly provide a proper bed, and that they are needed to live in such tiny rooms with the largest of families. With progression to the new ara we can clearly see how a class society can be formed. This Muckraker, Jacob Riis, proves that he is a progressive because this response to the living quarters for the low class, is accurate to the industrial society.

In the book titled The Jungle, Upton Sinclair

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    will work harder!” Have you heard this before? This phrase implies that no matter what one will persevere and keep on keeping on. Many people in the world today live by this phrase. It was also the motto held by the main character in the book by Upton Sinclair entitled: The Jungle.…

    • 854 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    During the early 20th century, swarms of immigrants began coming to America, in hopes of a better life. They were soon exposed to several forms of corruption--although many did not know of this. This was because most immigrants came from poverty, and did not have a high end education. Many of them did not speak English, and therefore could not exactly comprehend the U.S. government laws, community rules, and the way businesses worked. In The Jungle, Upton Sinclair presents a wide range of corruption involving blacklisting, political scams, and the mishandling of meat.…

    • 377 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “The Jungle”, written by Upton Sinclair, was one of the most well known books to emerge during the Progressive Era. The publication of this piece is known to have influenced the passing of two federal laws concerning food health and safety, the Federal Food and Drugs Act of 1906, and the Federal Meat Inspection Act. During the time of its' publication, it had evoked an immediate and powerful effect on Americans and federal policy. It had paved the way for federal laws regarding food health and safety that we now follow in today's day and age.…

    • 582 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Book Summary: The Jungle

    • 1860 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The Jungle Antanas Rudkus- Jurgis’s and Ona’s oldest son. Very much loved and cared for, by his family. Antanas, just as his father was portrayed as a strong, well-built boy. Unfortunately, after Ona’s death while Jurgis was at work, he drowned in a puddle of mud. Ultimately ending the little hope Jurgis had left.…

    • 1860 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Throughout the second half of the 1800s, Congress had been the most powerful branch of government. Even though the presidency began to amass more power during the late 1880s, it was not until Theodore Roosevelt that the transition to a strong, and effective executive was completed. Since, he not only extended the federal government power, but he also made the president center of American politics, instead of Congress or political parties. Which he did through a desire to make society more fair and equitable by endorsing a square deal that consisted of a control of corporations, consumer protection against contaminated food and medicine, and a conservation of natural resources. Roosevelt believed that the government had the right and responsible to regulate the economy so that it actions did not negatively affect the general public, is why he had been the most progressive president during that time.…

    • 952 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Throughout the Progressive Era, immigrants flooded into the United States with the hope of achieving the “American Dream.” They thought that America, the land of new life and opportunities, would give them a steady job to support their families. However, the dream soon proved to be an illusion. Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle described the story of the fictional character Jurgis Rudkus, an immigrant from Lithuania, as he tried to endure endless, repetitive low-paying jobs and family deaths.…

    • 123 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The turn of the 20th century marked the beginning of many opportunities for various types of people and corporations. It became a chance to start one’s life again from a fresh page; whether that be immigrating to a new country or starting a business from the ground. The industrial revolution had just begun in the United States, and it seemed to be a perfect time to get involved with the industrial business. It was almost as if one could easily “strike gold” while in the US. In fact, the blanket of perceived safety could not have been more false.…

    • 1124 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    While there has always been substantial immigration from countries around the world, Mexican immigrants dominate the statistics. Between 1820 and 1930, Mexicans constituted over half of the documented immigrations. Like many immigrants before them and certainly after them, they experienced discrimination in the United States. Stereotyping and bouts of xenophobia sparked deadly riots against the most prominent minority group in the United States. Early experiences for foreign-born Mexican immigrants, and even first-generation Mexican Americans, was filled with discriminatory behavior aimed at them by police authorities and other citizens of the country.…

    • 1041 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The poor in the cities were not nearly as lucky. They had to live in appalling conditions. Most city residents couldn't afford rent on a nice place but had to live in the tenements, referred to as slums. Jacob Riis, an immigrant himself, worked as a newspaper photographer and published a book How the Other Half Lives, which shocked many Americans. It showed just how bad the living conditions were of those having to stay in the tenements.…

    • 579 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The high prevalence of injustices among members of lower socioeconomic classes in the late 1800s influenced the launching of the Progressive Movement. In the 19th century, there was a large influx of immigrants entering the United States from the eastern and western coasts. Many immigrants fled their countries to escape political corruption, religious persecution, and economic hardships. Although immigrants were forced to live in treacherous conditions, the Progressive Movement was a successful attempt in reforming the way immigrants lived in the United States. Many muckrakers exposed the realities of poverty-stricken immigrants to those who were unaware of the lifestyles that many were forced to live in.…

    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Introduction The author of Evicted, Matthew Desmond, exposes the restrictions those in extreme poverty may face daily. Based in Milwaukee Wisconsin, Desmond takes his readers into the lives of those living in poorly maintained housing where tenants experience health problems, eviction, and at times even death. The property owners are wealthy and thrive off profits made by those less fortunate, yet do minimal maintenance to preserve their rental units. The families residing in the rentals cope with roach infestations, poor plumbing, and broken windows.…

    • 1818 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Allan Johnson’s book The Forest and the Trees, he notions that in order to understand the concept of social life, we have to not only look at the individual, but also at the environment the individual is placed and how they interact and create social systems. Johnson explains that “a forest is simply a collection of individual trees, but it is more than that. It is also a collection of trees that exist in a particular relation to one another, and you cannot tell what that relation is by looking at the individual trees.” (Johnson 2014) By using the imagery of the forest and trees, he shows how social systems and people influence each other.…

    • 1153 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Milwaukee’s predominately black inner-city neighbourhoods one in 14 renters are evicted every year. Being kicked out of a house into the streets is a very common occurrence for those living in poverty. Eviction is a problem that many are facing in today’s economy that rarely gets evaluated. Matthew Desmond analyzes the problems surrounding eviction in his piece “Eviction and the Reproduction of Urban Poverty”. There are many shocking statistics throughout the piece that provide clear examples of the issues with housing in America.…

    • 1465 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    However, the tenants due have a right to complain because majority of the houses in The Flats are in terrible conditions (Stack). Stack’s finding shows that it is not the black community, themselves that is deviant, but it’s actually the landlords and the condition of the houses that make such situations deviant. Unlike most researchers, Stack is not perpetuating stereotype through her finding, but instead showing how they become deviant and it is due to the treatment of the members of the larger…

    • 914 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Alienist

    • 957 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Alienist Essay The Alienist, a novel written by Caleb Carr, takes place in 1896 New York City. The novel follows John Moore, a reporter for the New York Times and an unlikely candidate for the events that proceed in this novel. With the help of Teddy Roosevelt, an alienist named Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, a couple of young detectives and a secretary within the New York State police department, Moore finds himself deeply involved in his increasingly dangerous pursuit of a serial murderer. Through the misadventures of John Moore, Caleb Carr argues that late 19th century New York City and America as a whole was on a collision course for disaster. This period of time, coined the ‘Gilded Age,’ is marked by intense social oppression of foreign children.…

    • 957 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays