Ever since America became an independent nation, people from all over the world are dying in order to pursue their idea of the American Dream. Although full fledge freedom is expected upon arrival in the United States, often times lives of despair and poverty bestow the new immigrants. In the early 1900s, immigrants struggle and end up dealing with the toil and trials of having to obtain a job and maintain it. Similar to the real world, authors use ideas such as immigration to America and poverty within their literary works too. In The Jungle, Upton Sinclair displays a social issue of poverty throughout his novel through different literary elements in order to show the theme of a falsified American Dream. While several political and social
…show more content…
Upton Sinclair set the novel in Chicago, an industrialized city full of factories and workshops. Since Chicago is one of the top meat-producing cities within America, the streets of the city are filled with people outside of all of the factories begging for a job (Sinclair). The setting of the novel is meant to represent the bitterness and routine of a factory, along with the poor working conditions of the workplace as well. In the factories, the workers work long hours with low wages that barely allot for affording food or other necessities. Similar to most industrialized cities, overpopulation and poverty is bound to occur due to the fact that factories allow for thousands of cheap jobs. It is also known that factory jobs do not pay enough to support a family because a company only has so much to pay the thousands of workers in their factory. Therefore, an industrialized environment fits best with the issue of poverty and the conditions of the workers. Life in a factory is full of crowded areas with no heat, smells, and rotten floors. Workers usually die at a younger age because of the factory chemicals and nonstop work which can be exhausting. Not only does setting display the poverty in Chicago at that time, intricate figurative language aides in showing poverty too. Although Chicago does have most factories, the little place called Packingtown actually contains most …show more content…
The symbol of the little town goes to show just how awful life is in the factories. Immigrants who move to America are bound to end up poor and jobless because the only jobs available are the ones with endless hours and terrible working conditions. Paid-time off and benefits do not exist and if a worker were to call in sick due to and emergency, he would be fired. However, workers cannot go and obtain a different job because all the town has is the cages of animals and factories to slaughter and package them. It may be strange to compare helpless hogs to humans full of life, but if a person is to immigrate to Packingtown, he or she would most likely end up working in the factories because all the other jobs are for the people of higher class. Also, poverty is an issue due to the factories because Packingtown is so crowded that people are competing for jobs in order to try and bring home a little bread for their families. For them, it is awful to have to rally for a job, but in most scenarios, it is the only way. Another literary element Sinclair strategically places in the novel is the point of view of the characters and descriptions of the city. Third person omniscient is shown throughout the novel with the narrator
Upton Sinclair set the novel in Chicago, an industrialized city full of factories and workshops. Since Chicago is one of the top meat-producing cities within America, the streets of the city are filled with people outside of all of the factories begging for a job (Sinclair). The setting of the novel is meant to represent the bitterness and routine of a factory, along with the poor working conditions of the workplace as well. In the factories, the workers work long hours with low wages that barely allot for affording food or other necessities. Similar to most industrialized cities, overpopulation and poverty is bound to occur due to the fact that factories allow for thousands of cheap jobs. It is also known that factory jobs do not pay enough to support a family because a company only has so much to pay the thousands of workers in their factory. Therefore, an industrialized environment fits best with the issue of poverty and the conditions of the workers. Life in a factory is full of crowded areas with no heat, smells, and rotten floors. Workers usually die at a younger age because of the factory chemicals and nonstop work which can be exhausting. Not only does setting display the poverty in Chicago at that time, intricate figurative language aides in showing poverty too. Although Chicago does have most factories, the little place called Packingtown actually contains most …show more content…
The symbol of the little town goes to show just how awful life is in the factories. Immigrants who move to America are bound to end up poor and jobless because the only jobs available are the ones with endless hours and terrible working conditions. Paid-time off and benefits do not exist and if a worker were to call in sick due to and emergency, he would be fired. However, workers cannot go and obtain a different job because all the town has is the cages of animals and factories to slaughter and package them. It may be strange to compare helpless hogs to humans full of life, but if a person is to immigrate to Packingtown, he or she would most likely end up working in the factories because all the other jobs are for the people of higher class. Also, poverty is an issue due to the factories because Packingtown is so crowded that people are competing for jobs in order to try and bring home a little bread for their families. For them, it is awful to have to rally for a job, but in most scenarios, it is the only way. Another literary element Sinclair strategically places in the novel is the point of view of the characters and descriptions of the city. Third person omniscient is shown throughout the novel with the narrator