Preying on the Immigrant Experience: Sinclair's The Jungle Anonymous 11th Grade

During the industrial revolution in America, many immigrant families migrated from countries in Europe and Asia in hope of finding a better life in the land of the free. However, when they arrived by the boatload, they were met with poor working conditions and wages that were nearly impossible to live off of. The immigrants suddenly found themselves working, slaving away with little or no choice on when they would be forced to work because they needed the money so desperately to feed their starving families. This sad state of affairs is reflected by the main characters in Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle. Jurgis and his family found themselves entrapped in the corruption of American society, unwilling to believe that America was anything but the land they had given up their old lives for.

Society taking advantage of the naive immigrants began very shortly once Jurgis’s family began the migration to America. Money was a very important factor in the immigration of many foreign families, for without it they would have an almost impossible time settling into their new home. However, various con artists wait patiently to prey on the innocent immigrants as they make their landing in America. “There was an agent who helped them, but...