The Effects Of Immigration On The United States - 3647 Words

Introduction Imagine being shaken awake by your spouse, exhausted from your twelve hour shift the day before. Devastated, you realize that you accidentally slept in five minutes later than you should have, which will make you late for your job. The business that you work for will now fire you because there is always a willingly and desperate immigrant to replace you. Dependent on each member to provide an income, your family will suffer greatly because of your unemployment. Your family will not be able to make payments for the house or for food. Thus, you will be evicted from your home, thrown on to the streets, and starved. Immigrants faced these hardships in the early 1900s as they were exploited by their boss. Long hours, terrible pay,†¦show more content†¦This essay will first provide background information about the corruption in America’s capitalist system, the concept of the American Dream, and Upton Sinclair. The essay will then provide a brief summary of Upto n Sinclair’s book, The Jungle, which was written to criticize the concept of the American Dream along with the economic system of America by demonstrating the accurate hardships and suffering that the immigrants endured while working under powerful businesses in the capitalist society. Finally, this essay will analyze the delusions of the American Dream through symbols such as a house, canned meat products, the cycle of hogs and cattle in the slaughterhouse, and the title of the book, The Jungle, to draw the reader’s attention to the corruption indorsed in the American economy of the early 1900s. Historical and Cultural Context In the early 1900s, America was plagued with corruption. Capitalism had a major impact on the corruption during the time period. Capitalism is an economic system that gives power to businesses ran privately by citizens. An important part of capitalism is the wage per hour paid to workers. In order achieve maximum profits, wealthy American businesses owners gave the minimal pay to their workers (Heim). American business owners took advantage of innocent immigrants who could not speak