tomasparra

Not to spoil things for anyone, but this is a fairly depressing read. Fascinating, well-written, ultra-descriptive, but utterly depressing. From one page to the next, anything bad that could possibly happen to Upton's characters - a Lithuanian family, the Rudkus', led by a young man named Jurgis - will happen. But let's talk about what makes the book incredible: it's a social commentary novel with the ambitious aims of exposing what happens in Chicago's filthy "Packingtown" district at the turn of the century - not only what happens with the various meat that is being processed (read chapter 3 for a visceral and graphic account of hog, and then cattle, slaughtering... warning: you may become a vegetarian based solely on the violence inflicted upon the animals), but what happens to the people - the other "livestock". Remember the slogan: "Pork, the other white meat"? Well, Upton Sinclair would probably label Lithuanians -and Irish, Swedes, and other immigrants who were treated as livestock in Packingtown, as "the other white meat" - treated as cruelly as the hogs and cattle that were slaughtered and processed into products for consumption of Americans and Europeans at the turn of the century in Chicago. Interestingly, very late in the story, some blacks are brought in as "scabs" to work the slaughterhouses while the rest of the workers go on strike. Sinclair refers to these people with terms such as "Negro bucks" - at best, for he uses other colorful racial epithets. One gets the distinct feeling that he doesn't like African-Americans when he talks about their laziness, their larceny, and "murderousness". So, for someone who is writing a social commentary novel, trying to improve the lives of the "wage slaves," Sinclair does not do so equally - he's willing to write & fight for the white working man, but not the black. This makes his argument for socialism somewhat hollow, to me. But by the time the communists (and unions) come in to save the day at the end of the novel, we're subjected to the worst behavior of humans treating other humans badly: our lovely family of apple-cheeked Lithuanians are corrupted to the core, having become whores, alcoholics, tramps, beggars, invalids, scamps, mobsters, and convicts. And for some characters, all of the above. But there's something about the way Sinclair writes that is compelling - that keeps the reader going no matter how certain she is that every piece of gold becomes a pile of shit for these characters. I can't recommend this book to everyone, but I think if you have a reason to read it - if, for example, you are interested in Chicago history, or animal processing and welfare, or the plight of immigrants in early America, then definitely read this book. If you are looking for an easy, upbeat read... well, you may want to try some Stephanie Meyers and leave Upton Sinclair alone. I did feel badly for Sinclair after reading some history of him - while I was impressed that he immersed himself so deeply into the dank, dark world of the immigrants, as he himself was an outsider to that world, his massive effort to draw attention to the "wage slaves" was not half as successful as his expose of the meat-packing industry's corruption and, frankly, disgusting practices. The book got the attention of people because it was about the food they were eating, not just who was slaughtering that food. Roosevelt received a copy from Sinclair and instituted what would one day become the FDA. Of course, with the recent upset over peanut butter packaging plants and the disgusting practices there - rats and feces in the peanut grinders - I can hardly see how things have completely improved. On another note: something was familiar about the way Jurgis (the main character) kept saying, "I will work harder!" - this is something he says at the beginning of the story, whenever things get a bit bleak or hard for his family. It strongly reminded me of Boxer the horse, in George Orwell's Animal Farm. I wonder if Orwell borrowed this phrase from SInclair. Jurgis, after all, is a character similiar to Boxer - and their fates are nearly as bleak, although what happens to Boxer is worse in the end. But I haven't been able to find out for certain - if anyone knows, please let me know.

2023-07-25 14:01