The work of
Frank Norris
especially influenced him. He later spoke about how Norris had “showed me a new world, and he also showed me that it could be put in a novel.” Sinclair was also influenced by the investigative journalism of Benjamin Flower, Ida Tarbell, Lincoln Steffens, and Ray Stannard Baker.
Who influenced Upton Sinclair?
The work of
Frank Norris
especially influenced him. He later spoke about how Norris had “showed me a new world, and he also showed me that it could be put in a novel.” Sinclair was also influenced by the investigative journalism of Benjamin Flower, Ida Tarbell, Lincoln Steffens, and Ray Stannard Baker.
Who was involved in Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle?
The main plot of The Jungle follows
Lithuanian immigrant Jurgis Rudkus
, who came to the United States in the hope of living the American dream, and his extended family, which includes Ona, Jurgis’s wife; Elzbieta, Ona’s stepmother; Elzbieta’s six children; Marija, Ona’s cousin; and Dede Rudkus, Jurgis’s father.
How was Upton Sinclair educated?
Young Upton was a shy, thoughtful boy who taught himself to read at age five. The family moved to New York City when Upton was ten, and at fourteen he entered New York City College. He graduated in 1897 and went to
Columbia University to study law
, but instead became more interested in politics and literature.
Who and what did Upton Sinclair investigate?
Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle to
expose the appalling working conditions in the meat-packing industry
. His description of diseased, rotten, and contaminated meat shocked the public and led to new federal food safety laws.
Sinclair was an outspoken socialist and ran unsuccessfully for Congress as a nominee from the Socialist Party. He was also the Democratic Party candidate for Governor of California during the Great Depression, running under the banner of the End Poverty in California campaign, but was defeated in the 1934 elections.
What movement was Upton Sinclair apart of?
End Poverty in California (EPIC) was a political campaign started in 1934 by socialist writer Upton Sinclair (best known as author of The Jungle). The movement formed the basis for Sinclair’s campaign for Governor of California in 1934.
Why is the jungle a banned book?
by Upton Sinclair
The Jungle was banned in Yugoslavia in 1929
due to its socialist views, burned in Nazi fires
, banned again in 1956 in Germany because it harmed communist values and banned in 1985 in South Korea.
What is the largest slaughterhouse in the world?
* 32,000 hogs a day are killed in
Smithfield Hog Processing Plant in Tar Heel, N.C
, which is the largest slaughterhouse in the world.
What is the most awful part of what you read in the jungle?
As a Socialist novel
it’s unconvincing: The ending
, in which Jurgis Rudkus converts to socialism, is the worst part of the book.
Did Upton Sinclair win a Nobel Prize?
The Nobel Prize in Literature 1930 was awarded to
Sinclair Lewis
“for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humour, new types of characters.”
Did Upton Sinclair commit suicide?
Sinclair’s early novels were insufferably high-minded and were generally ignored. He needed to create interest in himself somehow. In 1902, he secretly placed an obituary in the Times announcing
the suicide by drowning
of a twenty-two-year-old “poet and man of genius” named Arthur Stirling.
What are two things that Sinclair uncovered about meat sold to the general public?
Sinclair also uncovered the contents of the products being sold to the general public.
Spoiled meat was covered with chemicals to hide the smell
. Skin, hair, stomach, ears, and nose were ground up and packaged as head cheese. Rats climbed over warehouse meat, leaving piles of excrement behind.
Who were muckrakers and what did they do?
A muckraker was any of a group of American writers identified with pre-World War I reform and exposé writing. The muckrakers provided
detailed, accurate journalistic accounts of the political and economic corruption and social hardships
caused by the power of big business in a rapidly industrializing United States.
What do you find most surprising in Upton Sinclair’s account of the meatpacking industry Why?
There were multiple things that surprised me when reading Upton Sinclair’s account of the meatpacking industry. One of those things was
all the chemicals which were toxic and dangerous that were being put into the food people were eating
. … People were blind to the revolting and disgusting ways their food was being made.
How did muckrakers affect public opinion?
Muckrakers influenced the public opinion
by describing life of the poor and disgusting living conditions
. This helped persuade congress to fix these matters. Muckrakers were journalists who exposed sscandal. They wanted to reveal the truth and expose the political criminals t the people.
