The Jungle

I'm in the midst of reading The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair. I'm really enjoying it, though it is so, so grim! I'd been intrigued to read the book since seeing references to it in the 8th grade SS textbook, and its significance to industrial reform in the US during Teddy Roosevelt's administration---it was an important factor in his pushing through the Pure Food and Drug Act. That is to say, TR read the book, as did many Americans, and one and all, they were appalled by the conditions of the workers in Chicago's meatpacking industry. Even more so, though, they were shocked and disgusted with the quality and condition of the meat products that were coming out of the 3 big packing companies (for a while, the Beef Trust, til it was busted by the gov't) and landing on their tables. The story focuses on the extended family of Lithuanian immigrant Jurgis Rudkus; the characters maintain their humanity throughout even as they fall prey to the brutality of the Packingtown yards. He details 1st the conditions of the packing plants and the products going out to market---which will make your toes curl---and the daily conditions of the workers (6 1/2 day workweek, often paid by the "piece," rock-bottom wages, 10-hour days with one half-hour break, and that's just the skeletal outline). I'm about midway through the book, and he has shifted to the utter, soul-crushing degradation experienced by the workers, through the experiences of Jurgis and his family. Reading this book, and reflecting on the recent criminal activities of some of our big financial institutions, I am squarely behind a government that regulates business.