The Jungle

"I aimed at the public's heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach."

—Upton Sinclair.

The Jungle is a novel by socialist journalist Upton Sinclair, first published in 1906. It was the result of his muckraking journalism on the horrifying treatment of poor, immigrant workers in the United States, however it is best remembered today for being the catalyst of today's food standards.

Unmarked spoilers ahead!

The novel chronicles the life of Lithuanian immigrant Jurgis Rudkus, who marries a young woman named Ona at the beginning of the novel, and with her and his extended family, moves to the United States to seek new opportunities. Settling down in the Packingtown area of Chicago, Jurgis initially works in the meat packing plants. This job, however hard he works at it, is not enough by itself to support his family, so several of the other members, like Ona's cousin Marija Berczynskas and his brother-in-law Stanislovas (who is only a child), must take up work as well. The family settles in a house they can barely afford and is poorly constructed, and later on, Jurgis is fired from his job.

Several members of the family die over the years. Jurgis, by this point, has had enough, so he leaves town and spends some time wandering the surrounding countryside as a hobo. He eventually returns to Chicago as an itinerant laborer, and for a time, works for the corrupt political machine of the city. When he finally reunites with the family, he finds Marija working as a prostitute to support them. Jurgis eventually joins the Socialist party intended to do something about the plight of the city's workers; the novel ends with a speech that ends with "CHICAGO WILL BE OURS!"

The book was intended to expose the terrible reality of immigrant life, end exploitation of industrial workers, and to promote socialism. However, most readers were concerned only with the revolting conditions in the meat packing industry.

It also likely inspired the Nightmarish Factory trope.

Tropes used in The Jungle include:

Author Tract: In favor of Sinclair's socialist beliefs; this is made especially obvious towards the end.
Bank Run: Marija sets aside money from her job as a meat cutter in a savings account, but is leery of the entire banking system. During a panic, Marija manages to withdraw everything before the bank runs out of cash; others behind her are less fortunate. She then is worried that someone will try to steal from her, after the bank run caused her to miss two days of work to withdraw her assets.
Child by Rape: Quite possibly the child Ona dies giving birth to, given the numerous times she went to visit her former boss for him to rape her, combined with the possible lessening of hers and Jurgis's sex life.
Crapsack World: An archetypal one.
Deus Angst Machina: All manner of misfortune befalls Jurgis and his family, such as the death of his father, his baby, his wife and numerous family members.
Dead Guy, Junior: Little Antanas, the first child Ona and Jurgis have together.
Death by Childbirth: Ona dies giving birth to her second child
Defiled Forever: Ona considers herself to be this as a result of what she does in an effort to ensure the family's financial security. Also, Marija tells Jurgis later on that now that she has gone into the prostitution business, she won't be able to get work anywhere else. It is also played up for drama as this, even if it's not stated outright.
Dystopia: As one can be.
Human Resources: Sinclair's account of workers falling into rendering tanks and being ground, along with animal parts, into "Durham's Pure Leaf Lard"
I Need a Freaking Drink: Jurgis, after Ona's death.
Infant Immortality: Averted hard
Innocent Swearing: Little Antanas learns "God damn" and starts repeating it after his father reacts to his saying it with laughter.
Jesus Was Way Cool: In an argument between two advocates of socialism about whether or not Christianity is benefit or a detriment to society, Schliemann (the anti-Christianity debater) admits that he has no problem with Jesus himself.
Nightmarish Factory: Meat packing industry
No OSHA Compliance: Ditto. Truth in Television, real factory conditions like this were a big part of the reason OSHA was created. All other Sinclair claims could be verified except the Human Resources.
"Not Making This Up" Disclaimer: "This is no joke and no fairy story" precedes the descriptions of what is going into the food.
Sex Slave: Ona is a victim of this, and Marija has seen others get forced into prostitution.
Someone to Remember Him By: Little Antanas, for Jurgis, but not for long.
Steel Mill: Jurgis works briefly in one. Described favorably as a workplace compared to meat packing industry.
Trauma Conga Line: What Jurgis experiences. His father dies and then they have to quickly come up with money to pay for his funeral. The children all have to be pulled out of school to work to support the family, one by one, in spite of their hopes that they would get a decent education. Then Jurgis finds out that his wife Ona has been repeatedly submitting to rape by one of her former bosses to ensure financial security for the family and is now pregnant as well. Jurgis punches out the boss in revenge and goes to jail for it. When he finally gets out, he finds out that his family has been evicted from their house and are now living in a garret. To make matters worse, he can't find work and when Ona is in labor, he goes to find a midwife, who charges a fee that Jurgis can't afford. A short while after the midwife gets there, she tells them that there's nothing she can do and both Ona and her child die. A short while after that, Jurgis's child, the only thing he has left of Ona, drowns when he plays in the street. Jurgis leaves for a while from the stress he's gone through and to look for work and when he gets back, he finds out that Marija has become a prostitute and little Stanislovas is dead.