History of social welfare M2 discussion

Read The Jungle and discuss the following questions. Your discussion should be three (3) paragraphs and please be sure to reply to fellow students a minimum of three times.

Why did Sinclair write this book? What is its value in the context of social welfare history in the U.S.?
Which character jumped out at you/left the strongest impression? Why?
Given what you have read so far on early American life and poverty, and after reading this book, who do you think America is the “land of opportunity” for?
How does Sinclair describe a “ghetto?” Who resides in the “ghettos” in this book?
Place yourself in Jurgis’ and Marija’s shoes. Would you be disillusioned by life in America? Why/why not? Do you believe Jurgis and Marija lose their “moral” grounding? Is it justified? Why/why not?
Discuss your thoughts on the ending of the book and the concepts of Capitalism and Socialism.

ANSWER

History of Social Welfare

Sinclair wrote the jungle with the intention of bringing to attention the poor living and working conditions for immigrants working in the meatpacking industry (Sinclair, 2014). It has value in the context of social welfare in the US as it shows the social disparity between the rich and the poor in the US and how immigrants come to the US to make a better future for themselves only to end up in poverty. The character that left the strongest impression on me was Jurgis. This is because of how much he went through in the workplace, going to jail and still managing to get himself back together to try and provide for himself. When they came to the US, they expected that life would have been better, only to be met by calamity, and that created an impression on me.

I believe that America is the land of opportunity for those who are already well-off. America provides opportunities for the rich, and those who are poor are bound to continue being poor as they cannot fight for their place in society. The American society is only welcoming to those who have it handed to them by rich parents. Those from poor backgrounds often end up poorer. Ghettos are places where the poor people in America reside. It is mainly comprised of the minorities in America and the immigrants.

I would also be disillusioned by life in America, as what I expected was quite different from what I found. Yes, they both lose their moral grounding, but this is because they do not have a choice. They have lost their jobs and received cutbacks, and to such a person, the only choice left is to compromise their morality. The ending of the novel is quite catchy, with the socialist movement winning and declaring that Chicago will be theirs. Either in socialism or capitalism, the poor are still going to suffer under the regulation of the rich.

References

Sinclair, U. (2014). The Jungle:(1906). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.