The Jungle: Chapters 27-31

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

The person in the photograph above is Karl Marx, who is known as the father of socialism.

In the final section of the novel, Jurgis discovers the socialist movement and becomes a fervent supporter. Upton Sinclair was also a socialist, so he drew from his personal knowledge of the political movement and used the final chapters of his novel to inform the public.

To learn more about the socialist movement in America during the early twentieth century, read the following article. As you read, answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper:

• Why did single-issue reform movements fail to succeed in achieving their goals in the early 1900s?
• What were the Social Democracy of America Party's two strategies for spreading socialism in the U.S.?
• How successful was the Socialist Party in winning elections in the early twentieth century?
• What are three reasons why the Socialist Party was not able to ultimately unite the working class and overthrow capitalism?
• Why were the "right-wing" socialists able to dominate the "left-wing" socialists in the Socialist Party?
• Why did many members of the working class leave the Socialist Party in 1905?

Read The Socialist Party's early years, by Brian Erway, from the International Socialist Organization (This article originally appeared in Socialist Worker in August 1989). After you have answered the questions, share your findings with your parent or teacher.

Now that you know more about the historical socialist movement in America, read the final chapters of the novel. As you read, take notes on Jurgis's developing understanding of socialism. Write down at least ten things that Jurgis learns about socialism. You can choose direct quotations or specific examples from the text. Read Chapters 27–31. You can use a print copy of the novel or read an online version of The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, from Project Gutenberg.

When you have finished reading the novel and taking your notes, move on to the Got It? section to explore Sinclair's vision of socialism at the end of the book.