| 1 | * 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 inspire the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act. As Sinclair himself put it: "I aimed at the public's heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach." |
| 2 | * {{Anvilicious}}: The book pulls no punches in its condemnation of capitalism. The protagonist Jurgis [[TraumaCongaLine goes through nearly every possible worst-case scenario a working-class citizen of his time can possibly fear]], 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. |
| 3 | * JerkassWoobie: Jurgis would've been a completely sympathetic character given his tragic circumstances, but Upton Sinclair shows how the abusive environment of Packingtown and Chicago twists his relationship with his wife into something abusive as well as his relationship with the rest of his family, particularly his nephew, child Stanislovas, whom he frequently beat because of his fear of the cold. He eventually [[HeelRealization looks back and admits to himself that he wasn't always the best husband]] or uncle. |
| 4 | * MisaimedFandom: The book set out to promote socialism and ended up inspiring regulations being put on the meat industry instead. [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools That's not to say that the implementation of food safety measures is a bad thing.]] |
| 5 | * 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 -- and the narration says that some of the ''other'' stuff that went into the meat vats was so bad, it made dead rat look like a trifle in comparison. |
| 6 | * {{Squick}}: Goes without saying. In fact, it inspired RealLife legislation to counter it. |
| 7 | * 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 [[ChildByRape her rapist's child]]) that it can be a chore for readers to get through, especially if they're [[MediaNotes/SchoolStudyMedia high school or college students assigned to read it]]. |
| 8 | * ValuesDissonance: Jurgis asks Ona's parents for her hand in marriage when she is in her early teens. |
| 9 | * ValuesResonance: Over a century after the book was published, the mistreatment of immigrants in meatpacking is still an issue. |
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