If I was to say a man was 20 feet tall, I would be referring to a very tall man with the use of exaggeration to progress my point. This kind of exaggeration can be useful in presenting a point just like in The Jungle. Written by Upton Sinclair this novel was intended to bring focus to the workers of the stockyards. However his book was met with great public attention focused on the areas pertaining to the conditions of the factories and their goods. Whatever his original intentions were, his novel had a huge immediate impact that affected the meat packing industry forever. Some people believe that The Jungle was pure unnecessary sensationalism yet evidence suggests that this claim is implausible itself. One of the biggest arguments against…show more content… One political cartoon helps show this in its representations of the misleading and false labels on products by depicting cans and labeling them as “Potted Poison” and “Tuberculosis Lard” and even “Decayed Roast Beef.” (C) Misleading labels and unacceptable preservatives (D) were brought to attention mainly because of the stir caused by The Jungle. The book itself described things such as horses being canned and sold as beef and even the occasional clumsy worker who would fall into a vat. Though it is unlikely that people were accidentally sold as meat, this brought attention to the possibility that the mostly unregulated meatpackers could be lying about what all was in their products. Sinclair’s book also brought into question the sanitary conditions of the industry by describing the illnesses easily spread and the disgusting methods of processing. The Jungle’s portrayal of the workplace brought light to the unjust working conditions which was mainly Sinclair’s goal in his writing even though it did not become the center of attention. Sinclair’s work also exposed the monopoly like state of the meatpackers which caused the questionable production methods because they were cheaper than normal production. (A) Sinclair’s claims in his novel were confirmed in the Neill Reynolds report which furthered the influence of Sinclair’s accusations. (D) Overall, Sinclair’s novel helped to expose some of the realities of the meatpacking…show more content… President Theodore Roosevelt read The Jungle and supported it which was extremely influential in the passage of legislation such as the Meat Inspection Act of 1906 which was later amended by the Wholesome Meat Act of 1967. This act banned the sale of mislabeled meat and ensured that the animals were processed sanitarily. It also required imported products to be closely inspected for unsanitary conditions. The Pure Food and Drug Act was also passed in 1906 due to President Roosevelt’s urgency and threat to release the Neill Reynolds report. (D) Along with the passage of these influential acts, The Jungle also affected the people’s trust of the industry and caused people to be more fearful and cautious. The changes that resulted from The Jungle show that the novel cannot be purely sensationalism because of the clear need for the acts and their passage. The claim that The Jungle is pure sensationalism is sensationalism itself. The exaggerations present in the novel are influential and necessary to expose corruption. The Jungle also helped to expose truths relating to the injustices of the industry. The influential positive changes that resulted from the influence of The Jungle show that the novel was not merely fabrication. Overall, The Jungle helped to expose the secrets of the meatpacking industry and cause reformation which helps show how the novel was much more
