One hundred and twenty years ago, The Jungle was published. This book would have a profound impact on food safety, but it didn’t have the intent the author, Upton Sinclair, had hoped for. He is quoted as saying, “I aimed at the public’s heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach.”
The Jungle follows the story of Jurgis, a Lithuanian immigrant, who moves to the U.S. with the hope of a better life. He finds work in a slaughterhouse and experiences how cruel the people in the U.S. can be toward immigrants and workers.
The Jungle had a serious impact on me, and sadly not much has really improved since its publication in 1905.
I read the book in high school, and it hit me hard — reading about the immigrants and workers and the suffering of the non-human animals was heart-wrenching.
Some notable quotes from the book:
Immigration
"By the time the immigrants realize that the cost of living makes the high wages immaterial, they are trapped…”
"They are trapped in the cycle of poverty, facing the constant threat of eviction and starvation."
"The foreigners are treated like slaves and women are forced into prostitution, but there is no way out because of judges like 'Growler' Pat that despise foreigners."
Workers
“This was in truth not living; it was scarcely even existing, and they felt that it was too little for the price they paid. They were willing to work all the time; and when people did their best, ought they not to be able to keep alive?”
“And, for this, at the end of the week, he will carry home three dollars to his family, being his pay at the rate of five cents per hour..."
"They were beaten; they had lost the game, they were swept aside. It was not less tragic because it was so sordid, because that it had to do with wages and grocery bills and rents.”
Non-human animals
“Was it permitted to believe that there was nowhere upon the earth, or above the earth, a heaven for hogs, where they were requited for all this suffering? Each one of these hogs was a separate creature. Some were white hogs, some were black; some were brown, some were spotted; some were old, some young; some were long and lean, some were monstrous. And each of them had an individuality of his own, a will of his own, a hope and a heart's desire; each was full of self- confidence, of self-importance, and a sense of dignity. And trusting and strong in faith he had gone about his business, the while a black shadow hung over him and a horrid Fate waited in his pathway. Now suddenly it had swooped upon him, and had seized him by the leg. Relentless, remorseless, it was; all his protests, his screams, were nothing to it— it did its cruel will with him, as if his wishes, his feelings, had simply no existence at all; it cut his throat and watched him gasp out his life. And now was one to believe that there was nowhere a god of hogs, to whom this hog personality was precious, to whom these hog squeals and agonies had a meaning? Who would take this hog into his arms and comfort him, reward him for his work well done, and show him the meaning of his sacrifice?”
Slaughterhouses are not good for anybody.
The Jungle has been banned for various reasons in the U.S., but since it ends with the main character understanding that the means of production should be equal among society and that everyone should have access to food, housing, and healthcare, and that even employment should be a human right, it does make me wonder about the real intent behind wanting it banned.
I want to draw attention to this powerful book as it does a fantastic job of illustrating the connections of various issues and working to make them more relatable. Sadly, I also want to highlight that little has changed in more than 100 years.
For this blog, I want to take a look at the city of Chicago where The Jungle takes place as there is some incredible revolutionary activist history to shine a light upon.
More than 20 years ago, my first trip to Chicago was to use it as a hub to do investigations of duck farms in Indiana, Wisconsin, and Ohio with some of my activist friends. We not only made time to liberate a suffering duck, but also took the time to drive by some important sites in history – thanks to one of my friends in the know.
May Day
The oldest was Haymarket Square where in 1886 a huge protest took place; hundreds of people (some estimates say thousands) rallied in support of worker rights and for an eight-hour work day. Although the event was calm, police presence was high, and when they were ordering the crowd to disperse, a bomb went off. A number of activists were convicted and hanged (though one took his own life). Some of them have been posthumously pardoned; however, the day is considered historic in U.S. history and is credited for starting May 1 as the International Workers Day.
The Whole World Is Watching
1968 was a tumultuous year. That was the year that Martin Luther King, Jr., was murdered just as he had started to connect his civil rights message to that of the working poor and against the Vietnam War, and it was the same year that Bobby Kennedy, Jr. (who was running in the Democratic Primary for President) was also murdered with Dolores Huerta nearby. He experienced a change of heart that was more aligned with social justice causes after his brother’s assassination.
It was also around this time that people had the horrors of war brought into their living rooms courtesy of television. We know the Black Panther Party and others were also giving hope to many as well but were being targeted by the FBI.
In August of 1968, the Democratic National Convention took place in Chicago where thousands of protestors were preparing for the various protests set to take place focusing on a variety of issues, including white supremacy, the Vietnam War, and the voting age. There was a heavy police presence, and what took place has since become known as the Chicago Riots in which the public was able to see firsthand how abusive the police were to protesters and even the media, including news correspondents Dan Rather, who were all assaulted by police inside the convention hall.
In March of 1969, seven activists were indicted (they became known as the Chicago 7), including Bobby Seale (co-founder of the Black Panther Party), who was literally bound, gagged, and chained to a chair for his verbal interruptions of the court proceedings. He was tried separately and found guilty.
Legendary Leader
"If you ever think about me, and you ain't gonna do no revolutionary act, forget about me. I don't want myself on your mind if you're not going to work for the people."
We also went to 2337 W. Monroe Street, which I feel holds another dark stain of this country, and I feel it had a future impact on the direction of justice in our country. The Black Panther Party (started in Oakland, California) had a legendary chapter in Chicago, as Fred Hampton was the chair. He was a powerful speaker and spoke of unity among all of the oppressed, including gangs. Due to his powerful influence and ability to help create bridges and show how we are stronger together as he was anti-racist and anti-classist, he was seen as a threat to those who seek to oppress. There are no words to describe what it is like to hear him (or Huey Newton) speak as they just talk with such power and in basic terms about what the problems are and how we can solve them by coming together and seeing the connections in our oppression. But it wasn’t just talk — it was followed by action to empower and uplift.
Unfortunately, his influence created fear and insecurity for those in power, and on December 4, 1969, he was murdered with the assistance of an FBI informant who was recruited to destroy the Black Panther Party.
It is so important to remember that the main goal of the Black Panther Party was self-protection.
There is so much more to witness and learn, but with so much history being erased, I wanted to share these important and historic events.
I hope you appreciate learning about this city and all of its revolutionary history as it is the backdrop of The Jungle.
For my next blog I will take a look at some of the issues that were focused on in The Jungle and how 120 years later we are still dealing with them.
I am hopeful that when we look at the past and face our present, we might do more to change our future.
