The Jungle | Literary Precedents

The Jungle Literary Precedents

Critics commonly remark on The Jungle's naturalistic elements and so have drawn comparisons to the great novels that have depicted humanity as a species like all others directed by uncontrollable biological or social factors. To the extent that The Jungle shows pessimistic determinism, its precedent can be seen in Emile Zola.

The Jungle is polemical; so sometimes was Leo Tolstoy. If The Jungle is seen as journalistic and propagandistic, the search for precedents can look as far back as Thomas Paine. Before the book was written, Sinclair remarked, "The novel will not have any superficial resemblance to Uncle Tom's Cabin [1852]. Fundamentally it will be identical with it — or try to be." Indeed, Jack London, himself a naturalistic writer and Sinclair's friend, called The Jungle the Uncle Tom's Cabin of wage slavery.

Precedents ranging from Paine to Tolstoy seem like a mixed list, and The...
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