The Jungle by Upton Sinclair - Chicago, Illinois
Posted by: Hikenutty
N 41° 49.114 W 087° 38.902
16T E 446151 N 4629835
Chicago was famous for its huge stockyards and the filth and stench of the area inspired many a writer, including Sandburg, Dreiser, and most famously, Upton Sinclair for his book, "The Jungle"
Waymark Code: WM1V9V
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 07/11/2007
Views: 217
According to online-literature.com Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" is "a vivid portrait of life and death in a turn-of-the-century American meat-packing factory. A grim indictment that led to government regulations of the food industry, The Jungle is Sinclair's extraordinary contribution to literature and social reform."
This waymark is for the gates of the stockyards that Sinclair's book was based on. The stockyards are long gone, but the gate remains as a National Historic Landmark, an important piece of American history. Following is a paragraph from the book that is set at this gate:
The new hands were here by the thousands. All day long the gates of the packing houses were besieged by starving and penniless men; they came, literally, by the thousands every single morning, fighting with each other for a chance for life. Blizzards and cold made no difference to them, they were always on hand; they were on hand two hours before the sun rose, an hour before the work began. Sometimes their faces froze, sometimes their feet and their hands; sometimes they froze all together-- but still they came, for they had no other place to go.
Short Description: These gates are for the Chicago stockyard so prominent in American Literature.
Book Title: The Jungle
Author's Name: Upton Sinclair
Name of Waymarked Item: Stockyard Gates
Location of Item: Chicago, Illinois
More Information: This book single-handedly brought about social reform to this industry. It played an important role in the creation of safe workplaces.
Admission Price?: Not Listed
Link to more information about the book or waymarked item.: Not listed
First Year Published: Not listed
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