Shut down, in Chi-town!

Sinclair was aware of who his audience was when he wrote chapter 14. He knew that those with an education would read it, and he knew that those who could afford an education would be the ones that would handle the issues that he brought to our attention in his book. But before he continued the very vivid description of how the meat was prepared in Packingtown he took a break from the story of a family and said "This is no fairy story and no joke... (141)." Of course it was not a joke because it was real preparation of deadly food that would be distributed all throughout Chicago. Ms.Romano warned me about this part, but never before have I felt so disgusted from what I read. The possibility of inserting quotes to talk about this important yet disgusting chapter in the book is not possible, the words would not hold as much worth to you if I copied and pasted them because to understand the truth you need to read it in context with all of what Sinclair wrote. 

Sinclair dedicated a good page to talk about the truth when the meat is being prepared. He is very descriptive which is good and helps a lot when you want to expose the horrors of what happens at a place like Packingtown. But Sinclair did something different. Usually, he inserts something about one of the characters because it is their story, but he takes the time to say what needed to be said. I know that sounds weird, and you say "That's what an author does". But the way it read, was almost like a report of what happened in the yards. Almost as hi he was a health inspector. The one page account of what happened did not say anything about it being a Chicago thing. Poor standards for food preparation was a problem that everyone had, everywhere. It was the first time something like this happened, and there were not any standards that were established to keep anything sanitary. But with Sinclair's one page account, he exposed the truth to politicians who would change everything for the better. 

The truth of how the meat was prepared was the most unsanitary thing possible. I have heard that Sinclair's intent of the book was to expose the harsh treatment of the workers, not the way the meat was being prepared. Nevertheless, Sinclair's account of the meat preparation brought about significant changes in how the meat was prepared. The Food and Drug Association was established in 1906, the same year The Jungle was published. If health inspectors back then, did their jobs like those of today, the stock yards in the Industrialization period would get shut down immediately. Sinclair's novel brought about change that created a standard that will last for many centuries. I am grateful to Sinclair for bringing about such a significant amount of change in the country's standards of how things were done.