The Depiction and Function of Ethnicity in Upton Sinclair's 'The Jungle'

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Studienarbeit aus dem Jahr 2009 im Fachbereich Anglistik - Literatur, Note: 2,3, Universität Trier, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: 1. IntroductionThey had dreamed of freedom; of a chance to look about them and learn something; tobe decent and clean, to see their child to grow up and be strong (TJ: 168).1 However, theLithuanian protagonists of Upton Sinclairs novel The Jungle do not have a chance to fulfiltheir dreams. They fail, suppressed by the capitalist elite and the daily distress of survivingin the economic jungle of Chicago at the beginning of the 20th century.With his description of the industrial conditions in the meat-packing industry Sinclairgained recognition throughout the US. But, as a work of modern fiction measured againstthe aesthetic achievements of a Henry James or a William Faulkner or a James Joyce, TheJungle hardly merits any discussion at all.2 The value of The Jungle as a literary productcannot be traced back to certain stylistic devices, psychological density or any other criteriaof so-called high literature. Nevertheless, it is one of the most important novels of itstime and, due to its political impact, even one of the most politically influential books inthe first decades of the last century. The author became a muckraker, stirring up nationwideattention due to the detailed description of the hygienic conditions in the meatprocessingindustry, basing this description on mere facts he gathered from his own observations3which leads to the characterisation as documentary novel.4Those who consider Sinclair insignificant base their rejection upon aesthetic criteria,whereas Sinclair was concerned with the effect of his writings upon his audience a verydifferent matter.5 Directly aiming at the hardships of the Lithuanian and other EasternEuropean immigrants in Chicago, he intended to make literature functional6, i.e. to use itas a device of directing more attention to the economic suppression in Packingtown, thearea around the stockyards.But neither aesthetic aspects nor political implications are the aim of this paper. Instead,the depiction of ethnic Lithuanians, especially the Rudkus family and their leader Jurgis,will be discussed. The questions arising here concern issues such as the function of ethnicbonds and the meaning of family in the new environment and whether old values are stillcompatible with the new society. Especially the relationship of these values respectively the wider ramifications between the immigrants situation in Northern America and socialismhave to be considered. [...]

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