Fading Of The American Dream in The Jungle Essay

Fading of the American Dream

Upton Sinclair clearly states how the belief of the American Dream faded away from many immigrants in the early 1900s. In a time where capitalism and greed were at their peak, many people were starving and freezing in the streets. This book depicts the harsh and cruel world of the early 1900s for immigrants trying to improve their life. Jurgis Rudkis a Lithuanian immigrant comes to America to improve his and his familys quality of life, however his transition to America is anything but a dream. Jurgis has begged for food, stolen food to survive, worked long hours every day, gone to jail for crimes he did not commit and lost his loved ones. He has been only six months in America, and the change has not dome him good(14). In the early 1900s the American Dream was to start from nothing, and to live a life better than the country you immigrated from. In the early 1900s, immigrants came to America in search of a better life, but were struck by the empty and unforgiving land of America.

They had dreamed of freedom; to see their child grow strong(138). One of the themes of The Jungle was the fading of the American Dream. In the beginning of the novel, it stated that America was a place where men were free and if they could manage the money for their travels, they could count their troubles to an end. However, for Jurgis and Ona, reality struck. It is a tradition in Lithuanian weddings, for the guests to pay for the newly weds wedding. However, this was not the case for Jurgis and Ona. They were married at a church in Chicago; because of the poverty of many of their relatives, the relatives did not pay them. This placed them in an early $300 debt to start their lives. Conditions for the family would only decline. The working conditions were also very bad. For example, it is said that if a worker was one minute late, they would be docked an hours pay, and if they were late by twenty minutes then they would lose their jobs. Over Jurgis life he has worked at many places, such as a meat factory and fertilizer factory. In the meat factory, the workers were ordered to use any meat possible even if the meat was from a diseased pig or a dead fetus. The tedious work broke down even the strongest men at that time. The pay was about 15 cents an hour. The conditions at that time were very bad, for example the odor was horrible and kids were playing in garbage. The boarding house in which Ona and Jugis lived in was very small and they had a communal bathroom. One day Jurgis and his family saw an advertisement for a house. They are interested and agree if they work long hours every day, they could pay the down payment and monthly pay for the house. However, when they see the house for the first time it is not how they saw it in the advertisement. The house symbolizes the American Dream; not how it seems to be. However, they realize they were cheated, the agent that sold them the house did not mention all the additional fees they would have to pay. Jurgis family suffered to pay the monthly money for the house. Many of the family members lamented and regretted their decision of coming to America. The conditions were very bad, many of the family members got sick, and could not work. Many of the children died from frostbite and other diseases. Once Jurgis goes to jail, everything plummets. He learns that many of his family members have died from diseases and they sold their house. Ona, Jurgis wife, died while giving birth to a child, and Jurgis then become addicted to alcohol, spending the familys entire money on alcohol. Jurgis started a life of crime, just so that he could provide his family with the food they needed just to stay alive. Jurgis came to America for a change and a new life, however reality took his dream away. The other theme of The Jungle was the corruptness of capitalism. For example, Jurgis and his family were cheated of a lot of money, when they bought their house. At the end of the novel, there was a bartender who stole the last $99 of Jurgis money landing him and his family on the street, begging for money. The corruption of capitalism made Jurgis life and his familys miserable, making them desperate and destitute in their lives in America.

The Jungle has many strengths and weaknesses. For example, it did a very good job portraying and showing the emotions and depression of the family. The book made me feel sorry for the characters and the people who suffered in their transition to America. Another strength of this book is how realistic it is. The Jungle is fiction, but it realisticly depicts the struggles of the middle/lower classes of immigrants during the early 1900s. There were many people just like Jurgis, who envisioned a new life for their family, but were struck by the reality and hollowness of the American Dream. Another strength is the themes of the book, such as the decline of the American Dream and the evil of capitalism. The themes in the book are very powerful, and it helps the readers show the lack of morals and cruelty of the early 1900s. However, there are some weaknesses. One weakness is that the book gets a little repetitive. For example, the book constantly relates to Jurgis life and does not explain the struggles others faced also.

Upton Sinclair was born into a impoverished family on September 20, 1878. This tells us that Sinclair experienced the poverty and aura of the early 1900s. Since his family was not rich, he could have gone through the same struggles as Jurgis. It is a possibility that he could have substituted Jurgis into his own life. Upton Sinclair wrote the book when he was around 15 years old to gather some money for his family and to show everyone the cruelness and inhumane treatment of immigrants in Chicago. The experience of living in the 1900s clearly helped Sinclair write this book so descriptively and realistically. This book made me appreciate the people who immigrated to America, with nothing but the clothes on their backs, but changed their life. It also made me commiserate the struggles and suffering of the immigrants who came to America, but were mistreated.

Upton Sinclair clearly states how the American Dream faded away from immigrants. He realistically depicts the inhumane treatment and struggles of the people, by using Jurgis an example. Sinclair has many strengths in the book, by writing so descriptively and realistically. Since Sinclair was born into an impoverished family in the late 1800s, he could relate to the characters in the book. This was very helpful when he wrote the book. This book changed the way I felt about the whole 1900s. It made me feel the struggles of the immigrants.