The protagonist of The Jungle by Upton Sinclair is Jurgis Rudkus, who, with his wife Ona and 10 relatives, emigrates from Lithuania, lured by the promise of freedom and economic opportunity. Fired with optimism and the desire to work, he finds a job in Packingtown, Chicago's stockyard district. The working conditions are brutal and dangerous, but Jurgis's tenacious willingness to "work harder" enables him to overcome one hardship after another. However, the accumulation of additional tragic developments, culminating in the deaths of his wife and child, causes him to succumb to the cynical, self-interested world around him. He passes through a number of jobs that leave him increasingly alienated until, finally, he regains his faith in humankind by becoming a militant socialist.

Despite the enormous success of the book, the reaction disappointed the author. Sinclair (1878-1968) felt that the book's socialist theme had been overwhelmed by the graphic descriptions of the meat packing industry: "I aimed at the public's heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach." In fact, it is generally acknowledged that the weakest part of the novel from a literary standpoint is in the socialist redemption of its hero. The Jungle marked the beginning of Sinclair's career as a prolific, indefatigable advocate for social justice.

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