Dafür Ist Das Leben Zu Kurz by Nena
The famous quote about The Jungle by its author is "I aimed at the public's heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach." This is obvious from reading it. While it does describe Lithuanian immigrant Jurgis Rudkus' time in Chicago's Packing Town and the conditions therein, it's a lot more than that. Jurgis also spends time as an unemployed homeless bum, a steelworker, a wandering hobo, a farm machinery factory worker, in jail, on a railroad construction project, as a Republican party operative, and more.
Sinclair certainly gives a detailed look at life at the turn of the previous century. Most striking to me is the lack of any sort of (small-s) social security. If a worker is injured or loses his job, his entire family may lose their house and face starvation.
Jurgis' life goes through its ups and downs, with more downs than ups, until the conclusion of the book, where he is introduced to the concept of "Socialism". To today's ears, Sinclair's "Socialism" most closely resembles Communism. With "Socialism", life finally has meaning and things are looking up for our hero.
The entire work needs to be taken with a grain of salt and taken for what it is, a piece of political propaganda. But, as long as that is kept in mind, I found it to be highly interesting, though perhaps too long. Highly Recommended.
Closing Launchcast Music:
Ricky by "Weird Al" Yankovic
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