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The Jungle and The Grapes of Wrath appear to be two very different books. One tells the story of immigrants working amidst the horrors of the meat packing plants of Chicago at the turn of the century. The other is placed in California during the Great Depression, depicting one family's struggle to survive. However, they are more alike than they seem to be. This essay will outline some of their points in common, and what makes these novels classics to this day. The Jungle, written by Upton Sinclair is a very vivid book, but at the same time, it is very depressing. The daily struggle of the people living in the Chicago stockyards is heartbreaking. Jurgis Rudkus and his family come to America trying to find freedom, hope, and a better life. Instead, they fall into a trap from which there is no escaping. Cheated at almost every corner, the family tries its hardest to maintain its ideals and still survive. The graphic images show us the conditions that people were forced to toil amidst simply in order to survive. The horrors of the packing plants are many and varied. The meat produced there that goes out to the world is incredibly contaminated, as rats and rat poison are mixed into meat and men fall into giant vats full of lard and are boiled to death until nothing is left of them but their bones. Women, besides being paid less for the same work, are propositioned and harassed; many of them turn to prostitution before they die. Child workers have it especially hard, having to face the bitter cold and dangers that adults are not as vulnerable to. As the book progresses, one begins to see the comparison between the workers and the cattle that they butcher.
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