Upton Sinclair

In chapter 9 of Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle,” Sinclair explains not only the horrors and disgusting things that were happening in the Chicago meat packing plants at the time, but also the terrible working conditions for the workers of the meat packing plant itself. Sinclair goes into extreme detail of the disgusting and dangerous working conditions, diseased beef and pork being sold to the public, and even the chance of having human meat in their products in this chapter. This book brought to light these terrible working conditions for the workers and the disgusting and diseased meat that was being used. Sinclair also showed how corrupt the political system was at that time in American history. Their was the Ward Boss Mike Scully who helped Jurgis get his citizenship and the right to vote, but only so that Scully could fix the election to who he wanted to win. These “Ward Bosses,” also called Political Bosses at the time would provide food, jobs, legal aid, etc., in exchange for their vote in political elections. These ward bosses established the pattern for many American cities in voting, elections, employment, etc. in this time period. Many of them were very corrupt and ruthless like Mike Scully, and also established the pattern for many vices in American cities such as prostitution, gangs, violence, etc. at this time.