While reading the first third of The Jungle by Upton Sinclair you can't help but make certain assumptions about what might happen. If you have not read the book you definitely must have heard of it in a history class discussing the Industrialization Period starting in the 1880's. This is the book that exposed many truths about the harsh treatment of workers, children, and of course what people were ingesting at the time period. But what people ate is going to be saved for a different day. Characters and plot assumptions will be made today and I could be wrong, but that is the fun of reading: making assumptions and seeing if you are right. Well, that's what I like to do when I read because I am an avid guesser.
In the first chapter there are a lot of names to keep track of, my head hurts just thinking about how they are important. We meet Ona and Jourgas on their wedding day in Chicago. These two love birds are from Lithuania and are hoping to get a taste of the "American Dream" when they work in Packingtown or the stock yards. Its a very happy occasion with food, family, and alcoholic beverages. There is a lot of talk about beer and the bartender in this chapter, so maybe alcohol is something that I should keep an eye on. Anyway, since the book opens up with a communion of both families, we know that the book will be about their journey searching for the "American Dream" and the family unfortunately seeing the truth of certain things.
Speaking of unfortunate things, I got the first glimpse of what Sinclair's world looked like when it came to what was happening in the stock yards. They mentioned in Chapter three inspectors who would check the meat, but when an inspector showed up what happened was unfathomable, yet true. He was a very social person which is fine, however, "while he was talking with you...dozens of carcasses would go past him untouched (41)". Why was he touching the carcasses? To check for tuberculosis! TB was an illness that was killing many people in the country, and it was an illness that attacked the body in a way that eventually made it useless. If the human body was becoming useless (from meat that should be useless if it has any trace of TB) then its presence in the novel might have other reasons besides being an illness of the time period. That makes sense, but maybe we can save that discussion if I find any more issues of illness it in the book. But I know that this was not the last time I heard something as grotesque as this. I know that there will be more. I just hope that I am ready for it.
No comments:
Post a Comment