The Jungle is what radicalized me when I read it during high school.
I know the takeaway for so many people is that food back then was tampered with and that was horrifying. At least, that seems to be all anyone ever talks about.
The story of the family hit me so hard, though. The food impurities thing seemed horrible, but sort of remote. We have laws about it now, and at that age, I didn’t realize that food handling is still pretty bad, but the risk of eating human fingers or sawdust in ground meat is probably not a certainty.
What rocked my world was watching that family get used up. They came in search of opportunity. Capitalism and a cruel and uncaring society ate them piece by piece, until they turn to addiction and begging/prostitution to cope/survive.
It’s a soul-crushing novel. Would recommend.
The Jungle is what radicalized me when I read it during high school.
I know the takeaway for so many people is that food back then was tampered with and that was horrifying. At least, that seems to be all anyone ever talks about.
The story of the family hit me so hard, though. The food impurities thing seemed horrible, but sort of remote. We have laws about it now, and at that age, I didn’t realize that food handling is still pretty bad, but the risk of eating human fingers or sawdust in ground meat is probably not a certainty.
What rocked my world was watching that family get used up. They came in search of opportunity. Capitalism and a cruel and uncaring society ate them piece by piece, until they turn to addiction and begging/prostitution to cope/survive.
It’s a soul-crushing novel. Would recommend.
Congratulations, you got Sinclair’s actual intended message, unlike most people.