Summary of The Jungle

The Jungle is Upton Sinclair's 1906 muckraking novel that exposed the horrors of the American meatpacking industry in the early twentieth century. Set in the back alleys and stockyards of Chicago, the novel follows Jurgis Rudkus, an impoverished immigrant from Lithuania, who comes to the US with his family in search of the American Dream. Jurgis soon finds that the reality of life in America is far different than what he had imagined, as he and his family face grueling labor, dangerous working conditions, and rampant corruption in the meatpacking industry. Despite their hard work and determination, Jurgis and his family members are constantly exploited by a system that is rigged against them. The Jungle paints a bleak picture of life for the working class, and shows the desperate need for government regulation and labor reform.