Issues of Progressivism in Upton Sinclair's 'The Jungle' and Frank Norris 'The Octopus'.

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ABSTRACT

Penulisan skripsi ini dimaksudkan untuk memenuhi persyaratan kelulusan di Jurusan Bahasa Inggris, Fakultas Sastra Inggris, Universitas Kristen Maranatha, Bandung. Saya memilih dua novel sebagai kajian penelitian saya dalam penulisan skripsi ini. Novel pertama pilihan saya ditulis oleh Upton Sinclair yang berjudul The Jungle, sedangkan novel pilihan kedua saya merupakan karya Frank Norris yang berjudul The Octopus. Menurut pandangan saya, kedua novelis ini menunjukkan sikap dan pandangan yang berbeda mengenai praktek kerja kapitalis namun sama-sama menunjukkan betapa kejamnya sikap para kapitalis dalam memperlakukan rakyat kecil sehingga mengakibatkan lahirnya aliran progressivisme dalam tatanan sosial masyarakat Amerika pada saat pergantian abad ke-19.

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perusahaan dalam novel tersebut sama-sama dikelola oleh orang-orang yang memiliki moralitas yang bobrok sehingga mereka dengan teganya menyengsarakan orang-orang yang bekerja untuk mereka ataupun yang memakai jasa mereka.

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APPENDICES

Synopsis of The Octopus

The Octopus is based on the Mussel Slough incident, a land dispute between

Californian farmers and the Southern Pacific Railroad, which culminated in the killing of eight men in a shootout. However, the conflict between farmers and railroad went to the heart of American capitalism's relation with land, always ideologically significant in the U.S.A., and never more so than in this period with the closure of the frontier in the 1890s, and the realisation in the same decade that the industrialised economy had come to dominate agriculture in the U.S.

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dominance of the Californian Railroad Commission. Over a communal dinner, one farmer, Osterman, proposes an attempt to take control of the commission by the only means possible, bribery. Undermined by the narrator as “hot-headed”, and “a wearer of clothes”, Osterman nevertheless recruits several neighbours to his plan, including Buck Annixter (an inarticulate, intemperate, but sympathetic character, based on Norris's friend Seymour Waterhouse), old Broderson, and the enigmatic Dabney. The pre-eminent farmer, Magnus Derrick (a figure partly based on the farmers' leader in the Mussel Shoals conflict), at first remains aloof on moral grounds. But when, during a vividly depicted dance held to celebrate the opening of Annixter's new barn, the farmers are informed of the extortionate rates finally set for the land sale, Derrick agrees to head the league.

As the conflict rise up, the farmers are defeated at every turn. The plan to pack the Railroad Commission goes awry when the league counts on the support of Derrick's eldest son Lyman. Political ambition has already led Lyman to ally himself secretly with the railroad, and he betrays the league. The affair comes to a climax when two railroad representatives, S. Behrman and Cyrus Ruggles, arrive with the United States marshal to put puppet buyers in control of the land tenanted by the ranchers.

Synopsis of The Jungle

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person who always thinks positive in every single way, Jurgis believes that by working very hard, he will be easily reach his goal which is to have a good life in America. However, a better life is not happen only by working hard and be positive, it needs lucky and chance.

As they begin working, the family members discover the horrifying swindles of Packingtown. The conditions of work are inhuman, and the workers are treated awfully. Jurgis' father is only able to get a job after bribing a boss in the pickling rooms of a meat packing plant. The conditions there are terrible, and the job ultimately kills the old man. Winter brings fresh cruelties. Walking to work in the snow is difficult, the factories are unheated, and for Jurgis, the killing beds are fraught with danger due to poor visibility.

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the end of the story, Jurgis joined the Socialist Party which is said to be the best solution to their sufferings.

Biography of Upton Sinclair

Upton Sinclair (1878-1968), was an American novelist, essayist, playwright, and short story writer, whose most famous book is The Jungle (1906). He was born in Baltimore, Maryland on September 20th 1878. He started to write dime novels at the age of 15 and produced ethnic jokes and hack fiction for pulp magazines to finance his studies at New York City College. In 1900 Sinclair married his first wife (they divorced in 1911). The unhappy marriage led to the writing of Springtime And

Harvest (1901). As a writer Sinclair gained fame in 1906 with the novel The Jungle, a

novel which depicts the life conflicts of the Immigrants life who come to America. The book won Sinclair fame and fortune, and led to the implementation of the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906. Sinclair had joined the Socialist Party at the age of 24. In 1934 he ran for the governor of California, but failed to be elected.

From Pasadena Sinclair suddenly moved in 1953 to a remote Arizona village of Buckeye. His second wife, whom he married in 1913, predeceased him in 1961, as did his third wife, in 1967. Sinclair died on November 25, 1968.

Biography of Frank Norris

Frank Norris (1870-1902) was an American author and journalist, whose

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March 5th 1870. He studied art in Paris before attending the University of California at Berkeley (1890-1894) where finally he started his literary career. In 1900 he married Jeannette Norris Black. A man of contrasts, born in the East, Norris would soon adopt the West as his spiritual home, a member of the Bohemian Club of San Francisco during the days of the Gold Rush. He enthusiastically studied Émile Zola and Edgar Allen Poe, experimenting with poetry, short stories and essays. His grasp of the American West is captured in many of his short stories and novels including

The Octopus (1901). Frank Norris died in San Francisco on 25 October 1902 after an

attack of appendicitis. He lies buried in the Mountain View Cemetery of Oakland, Alameda County, California. The Pit (1903) and Vandover the Brute (1914) were published posthumously.

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

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13.3 trillion dollars. The success that has been achieved by USA nowadays, especially in the economic field, is not easily accomplished without any effort. Despite the fact that the economic system is so well known, the country has undergone many transformations and lots of changes in many ways.

I am interested in studying the relationship between the Capitalists, the government and the workers in the United States of America as they take a great part in the American economic development. These three elements cannot be separated since there is a strong bond among one with another. The Capitalists need the workers to operate their machines. The workers depend on the government to protect their rights from bad Capitalists. Meanwhile, the government needs the Capitalists since they give some benefits to the government.

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the farmers in such hard times by increasing the rate of fright and the cost of land renting. Many farmers went bankrupt and moved to more developing cities, which seemed to offer many job opportunities.

As time went by, the workers and the farmers started to feel dissatisfied. They were dissatisfied with the long working hours, low wages, bad and unhealthy working conditions, high renting cost of land and so on. While it seemed that the workers and farmers had expected more from the government to perform an action, in order to limit companies from exploiting the workers excessively; the government, instead, took it indifferently. The government shut their eyes to every bad practice done by the companies since they had a personal interest on the companies as to promote the export trading and increase foreign exchange, not to mention the extra money they could get from the companies. At that time, many people, especially from the middle class, saw the need to make some changes in the system so that the benefits would be split evenly. This action was called Progressivism.

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Among the existing muckrakers, I find two notable figures who have a great contribution to the world of literature since they highlight specific economic and social illnesses that lead the government into action: Upton Sinclair and Frank Norris (taken from Wikipedia website). Both authors seem to have the same concern toward the society that they are aware of the evil of capitalists and show the importance of progressivism in their works. Therefore, I think The Jungle by Upton Sinclair and The Octopus by Frank Norris are worth analyzing since these books deal with Industrialization and uphold some issues in the American life during the progressive era, which includes the freedom of the individual versus the strength of the impersonal corporations. It was believed by most Americans that such issue was a prominent concern during the progressive era when America became industrialized and big businesses monopolized markets.

The Jungle, written by Upton Sinclair in 1906, traces an immigrant family's exploitation and the unsanitary practices prevailing in Chicago's meat packing industry. The outrage provoked by the novel contributed to the enactment of the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act in 1906, the first legislation of its kind to set minimum standards for food and drug production (taken from Eagleton Institute of Politics Rutgers website). The Octopus written by Frank Norris in 1901, traces San Joaquin Valley’s farmers’ unfair treatment by the Pacific and Southwestern Railroad.

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existence and the exploitation of labourers. The Jungle was written before the society realized that there was a problem inside the Meat Packingtown. The horror of these details caused so much public outcry that Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act less than a year after the publication of the book. The major character, Jurgis, is the victim of the evil capitalists; he loses his family and also his dreams; somehow, he manages to change his life in the end. At the end of the novel, The Jungle seems to show an optimistic attitude even though it never states that the major character has successfully achieved the goal of progressivism.

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My intention in writing this thesis is to present the issues of Progressivism by observing the life of the characters in the novels. Both novels refer to social criticism to create some sorts of social reformation and social changes in the social and economic injustice at that time. I think that the writers may affirm or criticize the values of the society in which they live. Thus, I choose sociological approach as a medium to reveal the theme since according to Kennedy, ‘Sociological approach is used in order to analyze a certain social content within literary work that is the economic, cultural, or political values in which a particular text implicitly or explicitly promotes’. (Kennedy, 2002:646). I use the sociological approach in revealing the theme through characters in order to learn the economic background of the United States of America and its impact on the society during the Progressive Era. Hence, I will find out people’s reaction toward industrial revolution and the effect of the capitalists’ malpractice.

Statement of the Problems

1. What are the issues of Progressivism in The Jungle and The Octopus? 2. How do the characters help to reveal the issues of Progressivism?

Purpose of the Study

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Method of Research

I choose sociological approach as a method to help me analyze the two novels. In the meantime, I also use the library research and Internet research to search for additional information regarding the books that I choose. I began with reading The Jungle and The Octopus as the primary texts. Last but not least, I combine all the information that I have collected to be able to draw the conclusion.

Organization of the Thesis

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CHAPTER FIVE

CONCLUSION

Having analyzed The Jungle and The Octopus, I conclude that both novels share similar impression about the issues of Progressivism but have different methods in solving the problems arising in that era. As what I have read in both novels, I think that the existence of Progressivism is ambiguous since it is not clear whether it is beneficial or not for the society.

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Thus, I think Progressivism refers to a thought that there is something wrong about the condition of American people’s lives and at the same time triggers some people to put an attempt to fix it. Although the contribution of Progressivism seems vague, in my opinion, it is a point when common people start to notice that their morality is degrading bit by bit because of the malpractice of people with power and money. This awareness makes people start to think of how to build a secure and prosperous country but still able to cover the welfare of all people without harassing people who belong to the lower class and to boost up their degrading morality; hence, this Progressivism era results in the Government’s further act to make new regulations and legislations to act as a police and limit people from doing harmful things.

The Octopus describes about Progressivism even though the author is very likely not aware of it. It is the very beginning era of Progressivism where the problems start to occur one by one. The major problem that happens in the novel is that many small wheat farmers have to suffer from bankruptcy due to malpractice of power by the Railroad Company. Lack of Government interference worsens the situation since there are no laws that can control the power of the Railroad Company. As a result, people start to lose their faith for the Government to save their lives from the excessive power of the Railroad and try to solve it by their own hands.

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they try to fight the Railroad by doing a bad thing like bribery. However, when the Railroad Commission cannot help them either, they become mad and lose their mind and thus, they confront the Railroad Company face to face. It is one proof that shows how personality can change and their morality has degraded to be one of a kind as the Capitalists.

In my opinion, the end of the story shows a pessimistic feeling since it looks like everything is blamed on the nature of competition and survival; just like Darwin’s theory: ‘Survival of the Fittest’; if you fit, you will survive or else be eliminated. I also sense that people seem to have to adapt with whatever system or value that they might have in their lives; however, I personally think that it is always worth trying to fight for what you believe in.

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business interest like the wheat farmers. Jurgis just wants to protect his family; he just wants to provide a better living for his family. However, the excessive power and exploitation of workers ruin the oneness of the family. I think that in The Jungle, The family value that is put in jeopardy.

Progressivism in The Jungle is more or less the same as The Octopus; it is a vague movement of which the benefits seem vague. However, I sense a more optimistic ending in The Jungle. People are made to believe that joining a union can solve their problems since they think that unions can force the government down to do some actions to protect their lives.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Primary Texts:

Sinclair, Upton. The Jungle. New York: Bantam Book, 1981. Norris, Frank. The Octopus. Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State

University, 2002.

References:

Datesman, Kearny, JoAnn Crandall, and Edward N. Kearny. The American Ways. New York: Prentice Hall Regents, 1997.

O’Callaghan, Bryn. An Illustrated History of the USA. New York: Longman Group, 1990.

Link, Arthur S., William B. Catton. American Epoch. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1973.

Eagleton Institutes of Politics. Progressive Era. New Jersey: Eagleton Institutes of Politics, 2004.

Internet Sites:

Feldmeth, Greg D. U.S. History Resources. 12 June 2007 <http://home.earthlink.net/~gfeldmeth/USHistory.html>

MSN Encarta. 2007. United States (Economic). 05 July 2007 <http://Encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_1741500781/United_States_( Economic).html>

Wikipedia Foundation, Inc. Capitalism. 13 September 2006 <http://www.wikipedia.org/capitalism.html>