Sinclair's book ,The Jungle probably had to do the most with the fact that he himself was a Socialist. He was brought up in Baltimore, and his family was considerately poor. His father was not very successful at his job and for this reason it seems good to believe he became a Socialist because in communist countries it is said that all people are treated equal. An opposite of this book would be ""šAnimal Farm", which Sinclair has probably never read. This other novel shows the bad sides of Socialism and it ends with the rules saying, "All animals are considered equal, but some are more equal than others". In this book it shows that a hard worker is not rewarded and is only disposed of once he becomes a burden. The life of Sinclair and his book is reflected upon only because he uses his opinions in the book. In his book, he made a financial breakthrough and had his first successful novel. Sinclair has written many books dealing with the problems of capitalism and the solutions of communism which is not fair because he writes nothing good of capitalism and it's benefits. He also wrote other books on his wisdom he had gained and relegion. He frequently tried for office but never succeeded. His publications were originally made mostly by publishing them himself.

The story itself takes place in Chicago with a group of immigrants. They come to the U.S. and discover it's a cruel, harsh world. First, though, this group goes through a series of trials. The first is a marr iage which costs much money, and the second is a death. After this, comes a house which is sold to the one couple for three times the value of the house. It's at this time that the parents and other groups move into this house. One character goes into a meat packing business where he learns of unsanitary conditions. The second is a musician which is currently down on his luck and his wife goes out to work. After a while the first character breaks his arm and loses time at work and is then not received back. He learns at this point when you are new, they will accept you, but once injured they throw out the crippled. At this point this character talks to a Socialist and begins to travel to meetings. But first he returns to his job. And at the point of return he becomes a manager. After his first Socialist rally, he listens mainly to two people, one a ex-professor whose has become a philosopher and the other who is currently an evangelist who has become a traveler.