As the editor of this Uncensored edition says, “if we do not empathize with the people being crushed by the system, we will be less likely to want to change that system” (xii). I think that Sinclair most definitely achieves this through his writing, at least in the Uncensored version of The Jungle. Through the use of very specific and vivid imagery, Sinclair really brings to life through experiences what statistics cannot. As in marketing today, one of the most effective ways of persuading an audience or grabbing their attention is by showing real life examples. When situations like those in Sinclair's novel become more than just a set of numbers is when people actually start to pay attention. When a person can see that people more or less just like them are living in a certain way, it cannot be ignored. No one can read of the terrible conditions in this time in Chicago and not want to do something, anything to change it. If people become people instead of just numbers, an audience is much more likely to be affected by and even remember more distinctly the situation at hand.
I think this is an excellent point. When people see a novel like The Jungle that is heavily anti-sentimentalsitic I don't think they realize that this can be a very powerful way to bring about empathy in an audience. I think the emotion or certain lack of overdramatized emotion by the author gives The Jungle a way to reach people on an even deeper level. It incites empathy with raw images the same way live news does nowadays. On September 11 no one had to tell anyone that it was horrible everyone just sat and watched in horror as the towers fell down. I think Sinclair give the same sort of emotional reaction. All you can do is read and react to the stark reality of the images that Sinclair's words bring to mind.
ReplyDeleteI never thought about the fact that Sinclair's representation of society and the working conditions in society is much more effective than statistics. I have always just assumed and thought that Sinclair used anti-sentimentalism in The Jungle to allow the readers to make their own assumptions and opinions about the situations that Jurgis and his family encounter. However, I think you're definitely right--for a reader, being able to see hardships through someone else's point of view in a story form makes it much more effective than if a reader was just reading statistics or a report of what the conditions were like in Packingtown. However, I do still think that Sinclair incorporates anti-sentimentalism while doing this. I am not saying that there is a lack of emotion in The Jungle, because there is emotion, especially when the family is enduring hardships and death, but I think it is the way Sinclair objectively portrays the story that makes it anti-sentimental. He does not add his point of view to the story, or comment on the characters' virtues and vices. He excludes any kind of unnecessary emotion from the story--but merely tells it as it is.
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