The Jungle Paper Summarizing The Novel - High School English - English Paper

The Jungle
Work Cited: Sinclair, Upton, The Jungle, N.Y., BanTam, 1981
In the book The Jungle, Upton Sinclair describes the many illegal tasks that workers were forced to work through by their bosses, and the conditions in which they worked in. One illegal task described was called “speeding up”. Another highly illegal way the slaughterhouse was run was that it was extremely unsanitary for the workers. A third illegal way the bosses ran the slaughterhouse was by forcing the workers to work in a unheated factory.
The first method used in the slaughterhouse, which is illegal today, was called, “speeding up”. Jurgis was shocked at how fast the assembly line pace could move. He easily identifies the “pacemakers”. There are generally one or two pacemakers in the slaughterhouse. These men are strong, highly paid, and work under the bosses eye. These two men practice “speeding up the line” by working inhumanly fast. “and if any man could not keep up with the pace, there were hundreds outside begging to try” (61). This quote from Sinclair is describing how every other worker who does not keep up the pacemakers is thrown out. This was unfair to all the other workers because they were getting paid half as much as the pacemakers to work at the same pace. This impossible pace set for the workers on the line also caused dangerous exhaustion, and even death.
Another way the bosses ran the slaughterhouse, that is illegal today, was that it was highly unsanitary. “He worked in a place where his feet were soaked in chemicals, and it was not long before they they had eaten through his new boots. Then sores began to break out on his feet, and grow worse and worse” (82). This quote is describing where Antanas worked, and how unsafe, and unsanitary it was. Workers did not even have soap or water to clean their hands. Also, the bosses would not allow any worker to go to the bathroom. Therefore, men would just relieve themselves on the floor, or in a corner. This is illegal, inhumane and unfair to the workers.
The last illegal way the slaughterhouse was run, was t...