The Nymph Vs The Shepard Essay Research

The Nymph Vs. The Shepard Essay, Research Paper

Capitalism:

It’s a Jungle out there

The Jungle, written by Upton Sinclair, is a disturbing tail about the darker side of

America. In this book the reader is introduced to several characters from Lithuania who

have dreams of rising from the depths of poverty, using the American dream to attain a

life full of freedom, finical security, hope and happiness. Instead these characters are

bombarded with slavery, manipulation, depression and hard realizations about “true

American society”. These realizations lead one of the characters to Socialism, a system

Sinclair seems to find more agreeable than capitalism.

In the first chapter of this book the reader is introduced to Jurgis, a hard working,

limited minded young man who is about to wed a young lady named Ona. Jurgis’ big day

is one of the only glimpses of hope that the reader sees in this book. It is the only time

when the future of these people looks decent in any shape or form. The guests are

dancing and the band plays while others drink themselves into a stupor. The general

mood is one of contentment. However, even in this scene Upton Sinclair slowly begins

to integrate the Lithuanian group into America’s harsh society. Teta Elzbieta noted this

phenomenon while at the wedding:

“A trouble was come upon them. The Veselija is a compact, a compact not expressed, but

therefore only the more binding upon all. Every one’s share was different-and yet every one knew

perfectly well what his share was, and strove to give a little more. Now, however, since they had

come to the new country, all this was changing; it seemed as if there must be some subtle poison in

the air that one breathed here- it was affecting all the young men at once. They would come in

crowds and fill themselves with a fine dinner, and then sneak off. One would throw another’s hat

out of the window, and both would go out to get it and neither could be seen again. Or now and

then half a dozen of them would get together and march out openly, staring at you and making fun

of you to your face. Still others, worse yet, would crowd about the bar, and at the expense of the

host drink themselves sodden, paying not the least attention to any one, and leaving it to be thought

that either they had danced with the bride already, or meant to later on.”

On the whole, however, the wedding gave new hope for the future. Hope that Lithuanian

traditions could survive in America and hope that diligence and hard work would allow

this family to survive and prosper. Jurgis tells us this with his very attitude. He is ready

to take on America because he believes that hard work is the only thing that matters in a

capitalistic society.

“Leave it to me; leave it to me. I will earn more money- I will work harder.”

In the third chapter of the Jungle we are introduced to a meat packing plant where

pigs are being slaughtered so that they can be turned into meat. In this portion of the

book the description of the pigs are given human qualities and it seems very obvious that

the reader is suppose to draw some form of symbolism from these humanistic hogs:

“One could not stand and watch very long without becoming philosophical, without

beginning to deal in symbols and similes, and to hear the hog squeal of the universe. Was it

permitted to believe that there was nowhere upon the earth, or above the earth, a heaven for hogs,

where they were requited for all this suffering. Each one of these hogs was a separate creature.

Some were white hogs, some were black; some were brown, some were spotted; some were old,

some young; some were long and lean, some were monstrous. And each of them had an

individuality of his own, a will of his own, a hope and a heart’s desire; each was full of self-

confidence, of self importance, and a sense of dignity. And trusting and strong in faith he had gone

about his business, the while a black shadow hung over him and a horrid Fate waited in his

pathway. Now suddenly it had swooped upon him, and had seized him by the leg. Relentless,

remorseless, it was; all his protests, his screams, were nothing to it-it did its cruel will with him, as

if his wishes, his feelings, had simply no existence at all; it cut his throat and watched him gasp out

his life. And now was one to believe that there was nowhere a god of hogs, to whom this hog

personality was precious, to whom these hog squeals and agonies had no meaning. Who would

take this hog into his arms and comfort him, reward him for his work well done, and show him the

meaning of his sacrifices. Perhaps all of this was in the thoughts of our humble minded Jurgis, as

he turned to go on with the rest of the party and muttered ‘Dieve-but I am glad I am not a hog.

This passage serves three functions in this book. The first, is to strongly imply the

slavery and injustice that is the lives of these pigs. The second, is to give these hogs

huma

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