History YMMV / TheJungle

* MisaimedFandom: The book set out to promote socialism and ended up inspiring regulations being put on the meat industry instead.

* {{Anvilicious}}: The book pulls no punches in its condemnation of capitalism. The protagonist Jurgis goes through nearly every possible disaster a working-class citizen of his time can possibly suffer, with his child even drowning in the muddy streets, and Sinclair's intent becomes quite clear in the final chapters, which attempt to set up the Socialist party as saviors.

* {{Squick}}: Goes without saying. In fact it inspired RealLife legislation to counter it.

* TooBleakStoppedCaring: The book piles so much angst and trauma onto Jurgis and his family (especially poor Ona, who [[DeathByChildbirth dies giving birth]] to a stillborn baby that may or may not have been her rapist's child) that it can invoke this reaction from readers.

* WhatAnIdiot: Jurgis knew his family needed his income to survive and knew that beating up Ona's boss would land him in jail for a good long while. But he did it anyway. If he hadn't done that, he wouldn't have set off the chain of tragedies which he so bemoans later in the book. Then again, it's hard to be objective about the situation when someone's raped your wife and forced her to prostitute herself.

* {{Anvilicious}}: The book pulls no punches in its condemnation of capitalism.

* {{Squick}}: Goes without saying.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: The whole reason Upton Sinclair wrote this book. He meant to expose the horrors that workers had to go through because the businessmen and the capitalists had power over them and they were abusing it. However, people were more preoccupied by the fact that "EW! Someone's finger might have been ground up in my steaks!"

* AccidentalAesop: The book was intended to highlight the poor treatment of workers in packing plants, but the descriptions of what was going into the nation's food were so disgusting as to cause the passing of the Pure Food and Drug Act.
** ''"I aimed at the public's heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach."''

* NauseaFuel: The descriptions of what was going into the nation's food. Dead rats and ''injured workers'' aren't most people's idea of savory.
** The book states that some of the stuff that went into the meat vats was so bad, it made dead rat look like a trifle in comparison.

* JerkassWoobie: Jurgis. He would've been a completely sympathetic character, had he not purposely beaten up his wife's boss, which lands him in trouble in the first place.

* WhatAnIdiot: Jurgis knew his family needed his income to survive and knew that beating up Ona's boss would land him in jail for a good long while. But he did it anyway. If he hadn't done that, he wouldn't have set off the chain of tragedies which he so bemoans later in the book.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: The whole reason Upton Sinclair wrote this book. He meant to expose the horrors that workers had to go through because the businessmen and the capitalists had power over them and they were abusing it. However, people were more preoccupied by the fact that EW! someone's finger might have been ground up in their food!

* JerkassWoobie: Jurgis. He would've been a completely sympathetic character, had he not purposely beats up his wife's boss, which lands him in trouble in the first place.

* NightmareFuel: President TheodoreRoosevelt actually read the book and sent two guys to check up on meatpacking factories to see how much of the book was accurate. Save for the "human lard" scene, he was told that pretty much the entire thing was accurate. You can resume vomiting now.
** Little Stanislovas falls asleep in the factory, is locked in, and overnight is eaten alive by rats.

* JerkassWoobie: Jurgis. Would be a completely sympathetic character, were it not for the fact that he impulsively beats up his wife's boss, which lands him in jail.

* NightmareFuel: President Roosevelt actually read the book and sent two guys to check up on meatpacking factories to see how much of the book was accurate. Save for the "human lard" scene, he was told that pretty much the entire thing was accurate. You can resume vomiting now.

* IronWoobie: Jurgis.

* TheWoobie: Jurgis. Would be an IronWoobie, were it not for the fact that he breaks from the stress and escapes to the countryside.

* HighOctaneNightmareFuel: Little Stanislovas falls asleep in the factory, is locked in, and overnight is eaten alive by rats.

* HighOctaneNightmareFuel: [[spoiler: Little Stanislovas falls asleep in the factory, is locked in, and overnight is eaten alive by rats.]]

* TheWoobie: Jurgis. Would be an IronWoobie, were it not for the fact that [[spoiler:he breaks from the stress and escapes to the countryside]].

* AccidentalAesop: The book was intended to highlight the poor treatment of workers in packing plants, but the descriptions of what was going into the nation's food were so disgusting as to cause the passing of the Pure Food and Drug Act (which Sinclair opposed).

* NightmareFuel: [[spoiler: Little Stanislovas falls asleep in the factory, is locked in, and overnight is eaten alive by rats.]]
* TheWoobie: Jurgis. Would be an IronWoobie, were it not for the fact that [[spoiler:he breaks from the stress and escapes to the countryside]].

* NightmareFuel: [[spoiler: Little Stanislovas falls asleep in the factory, is locked in, and overnight is eaten alive by rats.]]