10 Famous Books You've Been Reading Wrong This Whole Time
4. Upton Sinclair's The Jungle Is Not About Meat
If you like eating meat, don't read The Jungle.
When Upton Sinclair's The Jungle was published in 1906 it contained an authentic look at the meat industry in 1900s America. These practices are what you would consider now to be barbaric and akin to having Oscar the Grouch as your butcher.
The book had a massive effect: it grossed out the entire nation and lead to new legislation on health practices on the meat industry. It's a pretty amazing look at how literature can effect real change, it just wasn't the change Sinclair was aiming for.
Sinclair wanted to highlight the harsh treatment and conditions on the mostly immigrant work force. He worked in a meat packing plant to get an idea of the working life of most of the working poor's lives, which is why the book contains so much information on the industry.
In a darkly ironic twist new legislation brought in as a result, focusing on hygiene rather than employment rights, led to workers being forced to work harder and longer in dangerous conditions.
Sinclair described his regret on the misunderstanding with his now famous quote: “I aimed at the public's heart and accidentally hit it in the stomach.”