1. In your opinion, which specific details in this excerpt most convincingly highlight problems in the meatpacking industry in the early 1900s? Why? Use specific passages and quote. Analyze at least five details.
A. "There was never the least attention paid to what was cut up for sausage; there would come all the way back from Europe old sausage that had been rejected, and that was moldy and white—it would be dosed with borax and glycerine, and dumped into the hoppers, and made over again for home consumption" This quote from the text highlights problems in the meatpacking industry in the early 1900s because it shows how the meat that was processed was reused over and over again-even if it went bad. Basically, it didn't matter what was in the meat or what had happened to it, as long as it had meat, they would find a way to make it look presentable and sell it.
B."If you were a sociable person, he was quite willing to enter into a conversation with you, and to explain to you the deadly nature of the ptomaines which are found in tubercular pork; and while he was talking with you you could hardly be so ungrateful as to notice that a dozen carcasses were passing him untouched." This quote from the text highlights problems in the meatpacking industry in the early 1900s because it shows how important workers, such as the government inspector talking about in this quote, were very careless with their jobs. The inspector spoken about here could've possibly just let a diseased carcass go get processed and sold to the public, but he was too busy socializing. This shows how companies needed to crack down on their workers and ensure that the meat that was being processed was safe for selling.
C."This is no fairy story and no joke; the meat would be shoveled into carts, and the man who did the shoveling would not trouble to lift out a rat even when he saw one—there were things that went into the sausage in comparison with which a poisoned rat was a tidbit." This quote from the text highlights problems in the meatpacking industry in the early 1900s because it shows the horrible conditions of the buildings that were involved in the meatpacking industry, and how they were not clean or well taken care of. It also shows how the workers were, again, careless, and were not dedicated to their job at all.
D. "There would be meat stored in great piles in rooms; and the water from leaky roofs would drip over it, and thousands of rats would race about on it." This quote from the text highlights problems in the meatpacking industry in the early 1900s because it also shows some of the terrible conditions within the meatpacking industry, and how all these germs and bacteria could be in the meat that was sold to the public everyday. It also shows how no extra efforts were taken to store the meat in clean places.
E. "It was too much for some of the visitors—the men would look at each other, laughing nervously, and the women would stand with hands clenched, and the blood rushing to their faces, and the tears starting in their eyes." This quote from the text highlights problems in the meatpacking industry in the early 1900s because it shows how what was going on in the slaughterhouses was really horrifying, and even petrified visitors. It was not clean or modest, it involved slit throats and squeals.
2. What is the overall tone of the story?
The overall tone of the story is a little sarcastic, and of disgust, due to what was being seen within the meatpacking industry, and how obviously careless the workers were.
3. Based on your reading of this excerpt, why do you think Sinclair titled his novel The Jungle?
I think Sinclair titled his novel The Jungle because the actions of the meatpacking industries described within the novel were uncivilized and really kind of all over the place; there didn't seem to be strict guidelines either. As well as the fact that the conditions of the buildings were horrendous and uncleanly, and jungles are not clean. And in the jungle, animals are killed for food by other animals, so Sinclair is somewhat comparing humans to animals in this situation.
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