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An immigrant family faces brutal conditions in Chicago’s meatpacking industry
1906Steady paceDark
What it is about
Jurgis Rudkus is a Lithuanian immigrant who comes to Chicago with his family hoping for a better life. He finds work in the stockyards and meets with exploitation and danger. The novel exposed the conditions in the meatpacking industry.
Who will enjoy it
Readers who like social novels.
What you will get
Its public impact helped lead to new food safety laws in the United States.
The Jungle Facts: Pages, Genre and Setting
Genre
Classics · Immigration · Labor · Reform
Length
352 pages · ≈ 10 h
More about this book
Characters
Jurgis Rudkus and his family.
Setting
Chicago’s Packingtown, in the early 1900s.
What makes it different
A novel that had a real political effect.
Feel
Harsh, angry and powerful.
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