The Jungle

The Jungle
Claire Haley
p.2

1) What qualities did Sinclair believe a person must have to succeed in Packingtown?
To succeed in Packingtown, Sinclair believed that had to be a knave. In order to rise you had to be a man who told tales and spied upon his fellow workers.

2)According to the passage, what is the plant owner's main goal.
The plant owners main goal did not concern the well-being of the workers, cattle, or the factory, all he wanted was to make as much money as possible.

3) What does Sinclair mean when he says, "...there was no place in it where a man counted for anything against a dollar....?"
What Sinclair means by this is that they would only take cheap workers. If they were hard workers and preformed relatively fast, they would keep them. If not, they were fired.

4) When it was published, The Jungle was so shocking that it launched a government investigation of the meatpacking industry.  The investigation eventually led to the establishment of laws regulating the industry.  Using the internet, research an area that our government enforces now (meat packing, environment, pharmaceuticals) and report how this is enforced today.
In the meat packing industry, there is a high risk for everyone involved. Workers are often injured and in some cases killed. Animals are mistreated. Working conditions are dangerous and they work long hours for little pay. Hazards are around every corner. When the government took action, they hired inspectors to approve the facilities frequently, and without notice. Also, labor solutions have been set and workers are given medical care if something goes wrong.