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Comprehension Questions
1. Why would Upton Sinclair be considered a “muckraker” based on what you read in this excerpt?
Sinclair_________________________________________________________________________________________
is a "muckraker" because he exposed and criticized social and political issues, specifically the harsh
conditions and exploitation of workers in the meatpacking industry, aiming to bring about reform.
2. What do you find most surprising about Sinclair’s account of the meatpacking industry, and why?
the unsanitary and hazardous working conditions, the reuse of rejected meat, and the lack of hygiene
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standards
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3. How do you think readers reacted when this was first published, and why?
Readers likely reacted with shock, disgust, and anger. The vivid portrayal of unsanitary practices and
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health violations in the meatpacking industry would have triggered a strong emotional response, leading
to public outcry and a demand for reforms.
4. What does the publication of “The Jungle” tell you about the progressive movement?
"The Jungle" publication epitomizes the Progressive Movement's drive for reform in working conditions,
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food safety, and industrial practices during the Progressive Era.
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Diving Deeper
5. Why do you think workers continued to work in these unsafe and unsanitary conditions?
Workers endure unsafe conditions due to economic necessity, limited job options, fear of job loss, and
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restricted rights, especially for immigrants facing language barriers and exploitation.
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6. If you were a member of the government, what would you do to fix this problem after reading this story?
stricter regulations, improving workplace inspections, enhancing workers' rights, and creating legislation
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to ensure food safety and hygiene standards.
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7. Do you think the Pure Food and Drug Act, or the Meat Inspection Act would have passed without the public
attention these issues received after the publication of “The Jungle”? Explain.
"The Jungle" spurred support for the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act, prompting
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lawmakers to address food safety and working conditions in the meatpacking industry.
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Excerpt: “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair
The Jungle is a 1906 novel written by the American journalist and novelist Upton Sinclair. Sinclair wrote the novel to
portray the harsh conditions and exploited lives of immigrants in the United States in Chicago and similar
industrialized cities. His primary purpose in describing the meat industry and its working conditions was to
advance socialism in the United States. However, most readers were more concerned with his exposure of health
violations and unsanitary practices in the American meatpacking industry during the early 20th century, greatly
contributing to a public outcry which led to reforms including the Meat Inspection Act. Sinclair famously said of the
public reaction, "I aimed at the public's heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach." Upton Sinclair is often seen as
one of the most successful muckrakers of the Progressive Era.
There was never the least attention paid to what was cut up
for sausage; there would come all the way back from Europe old
sausage that had been rejected, and that was mouldy and white—it
would be dosed with borax and glycerine, and dumped into the
hoppers, and made over again for home consumption. There would be
meat that had tumbled out on the floor, in the dirt and sawdust,
where the workers had tramped and spit uncounted billions of
consumption germs. There would be meat stored in great piles in
rooms; and the water from leaky roofs would drip over it, and
thousands of rats would race about on it. It was too dark in these
storage places to see well, but a man could run his hand over these
piles of meat and sweep off handfuls of the dried dung of rats.
These rats were nuisances, and the packers would put poisoned bread
out for them, they would die, and then rats, bread, and meat would
go into the hoppers together. This is no fairy story and no joke; the
meat would be shovelled into carts, and the man who did the
shoveling would not trouble to lift out a rat even when he saw one—
there were things that went into the sausage in comparison with
which a poisoned rat was a tidbit. There was no place for the men to
wash their hands before they ate their dinner, and so they made a
practice of washing them in the water that was to be ladled into the
sausage.
There were the butt-ends of smoked meat, and the scraps of corned beef, and all the odds and ends of
the waste of the plants, that would be dumped into old barrels in the cellar and left there. Under the system of
rigid economy which the packers enforced, there were some jobs that it only paid to do once in a long time, and
among these was the cleaning out of the waste barrels. Every spring they did it; and in the barrels would be dirt
and rust and old nails and stale water—and cart load after cart load of it would be taken up and dumped into
the hoppers with fresh meat, and sent out to the public's breakfast. Some of it they would make into "smoked"
sausage—but as the smoking took time, and was therefore expensive, they would call upon their chemistry
department, and preserve it with borax and color it with gelatine to make it brown. All of their sausage came
out of the same bowl, but when they came to wrap it they would stamp some of it "special," and for this they
would charge two cents more a pound. . . .
Extension Activity: Based on the reading, what is the meaning of this political cartoon? What do you notice in
this picture? Can you make your own political cartoon of this period?