During the early 20th century, increased industrialization and urbanization led to overcrowding, competition for jobs, poor living conditions and disease. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair captures the corruption within cities and the hardships which city residents endured. While critics say that The Jungle is an exegaration of how life in the cities was, it is one of the most influential pieces of American litature and deserves its place in American cutlure.
While Sinclair's goal in writing the novel was to expose poor working conditions, the main impact the book had was on the regulation of processing and packaging food. The Jungle led to the passing of the Meat Inspection Act (1906) and the Food and Drug Act (1906). Overall, Sinclair is deserving of being remembered as one of the most famous American muckrakers and The Jungle is an important piece in American culture, literature and history. |