United States History

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History Department

Illinois State University

Marc Becker's Home Page

Marc Becker, Professor
mbecker@ilstu.edu

The Jungle

Study guide and first essay assignment

Note: Jungle grades are now available on the Grade page.

During the first several weeks of the semester we will read Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle. We will discuss the novel in class on Wednesday, September 10, and an essay in which you develop themes related to the novel is due in class the following Friday (September 12). The following questions are designed to help guide you in the reading of the novel.

1) What is the opening scene of the novel? Where and when is it?

2) What does this scene say about the values and culture of the novel's characters?

3) Where are Jurgis and Ona's families from? What kind of life did they have in the "old country"?

4) Where are they living and working throughout the novel?

5) What is Jurgis' job?

6) What are conditions like in the stockyards?

7) Does the family get a good deal on the house they purchase? Why or why not?

8) What happens in Packingtown with each new wave of immigrants?

9) What changes do we see in the family's life as they shift from a peasant to an urban industrial life?

10) What happens during the winter in Packingtown?

11) When Jurgis is first approached by the unions, what does he think? Why does he change his mind? How does the union change his life?

12) What does Jurgis learn about politics in Chicago?

13) What is the "trap" that Jurgis falls into?

14) What has Ona been doing unknown to Jurgis? What happens as a result of this?

15) Where does Jurgis finally find a job?

16) What is the job the settlement worker gets for Jurgis?

17) What is Jurgis' life as a tramp like?

18) What is the purpose of the tunnel that Jurgis helps dig upon his return to Chicago?

19) Describe the nature of his life after he loses that job.

20) How does Jurgis fall into a life of crime? What does he leave it for?

21) What does Jurgis come to understand about power?

22) What happens to change his "plush" lifestyle?

23) Why did Marija turn to a life of prostitution? What is her life like?

24) What happens to change Jurgis' life?

25) What are the socialist goals that Sinclair describes in the novel? What is class consciousness?

26) How are minorities (African-Americans, Indians, etc.) portrayed in the novel?

27) How does the novel end? Why do you think Sinclair ends it this way?

28) Upton Sinclair later said about the novel, "I aimed at the public's heart and by accident I hit it in the stomach." What did he mean by this?

First Essay Assignment

Your assignment is to write a thoughtful, reflective, well-argued and documented essay on the immigrant experience in the United States between Reconstruction and the First World War. What difficulties did immigrants face in the United States? How did their social and economic lives change? Did they find a promised land of milk and honey? How did their experiences differ from those who already lived in the country?

A book review of The Jungle is not acceptable for this assignment. Neither is an essay which simply answers the discussion questions. You are to write an original essay in which you develop and defend your own thoughts and ideas on the immigrant experience. Use The Jungle, other readings, films, lectures, and discussions from this class as sources of factual information and examples to support the arguments you make in your essay. You may also want to include other materials, readings, resources, etc. in the writing of this essay.

Your essay should be about 750 words (3 pages) long, typed, double-spaced, follow proper essay form, and include footnotes and a bibliography as appropriate. Be sure to proofread the essay for spelling, grammatical, and typographical errors. Consult this guide on The Writing of a Historical Essay or Research Paper for additional assistance on the form of the paper. Essays are due in class on Friday, September 12, and I will grade them based on content, organization, clarity of thought, and level of argument. Grades on all late papers will be penalized one-half of a letter grade for each day that they are late.

Additional Internet resources on Upton Sinclair and The Jungle