 The
life of Upton Beall Sinclair, Jr (1878-1968) was one of paradox. Born
into a wealthy family, the wealth his immediate family was
through his early years squandered by his alcoholic father
(Wikipedia 1). He spent time as a child living with his very
wealthy maternal relatives. He lived both rich and poor, and was
troubled by the stark contrast and the inequitable distribution of
wealth he saw firsthand. (McEdwards 181). Thus, the seed of socialism
was planted and through his life it flourished. And, more than
anything, Sinclair
wanted socialism to bring an answer to the world's uneven distribution
of wealth.
After he graduated from City College of New York, Sinclair enrolled
in graduate school at Columbia University. While he wrote dime novels
and other fiction to help pay his way, he never realized literary
success until the publication of The
Jungle in 1903 (Wikipedia 1). The
Jungle was pure muckraking fiction, which Sinclair hoped
would turn the
public eye to the poor and unsafe conditions of labor, but instead, and
much like the contradiction of his early life, The Jungle paradox ically
led to the government's passing of the first food inspection laws: The
Meat Inspection Act of 1906 and the Pure Food and Drugs Act of 1906
(Wikipedia 1).  
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