Upton Sinclair

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Upton Sinclair

In the literary sphere, aggressive and insightful writers play an important role of bringing to the fore crtical social concerns. Historically, such writers are known for triggering social change and enhancing thus enhancing the quality of life of the masses. Their literary works tend to be reflective of the social conditions and advocate for vital positive changes that are aimed at promoting accountability and transparency. In other words, the writers are usually important instruments of change. One such writer whose works triggered significant social change is Upton Sinclair. During his tim, he was a reknowned political as well as American novelist. This paper details his biographic information and underscores why he should be included in all databases.

Upton Sinclair was born in 1878 in Baltimore of Prinscilla Harden and Upton Beall Sinclair. He was their only child. His father basically performed manual jobs including selling mens clothes, hats and liquor. He was thus brght up in a poor environment. Mattson (2006) indicates that Upton was a shy little boy who took the initiative of teaching himself to read at the tender age of five years. His family later move and settled in New York city when Upton was only ten years. He was admitted in New York City College at fourteen years and graduated in 1897. Although he later proceeded to studying law, his main areas of intrest were politics and literature. Thus while he pursued a degree in law at the University of colmbia, he also explored writing and read William Shakespeare’s literature.

Upon completeion of his studies, he moved to Canada in 1900. He decided to marry and had a son with Meta Fuller the same year. From 1901, he began writing novels regardless of his dismal financial status. In this regard, he published his novel Spring and Harvest in 1901. According to Robert and Burner (1995), he got interested in politics in 1902 and joined the socialist party. Certainly, he embraced the spirit of socialism that advocates for sharing of property including farms and factories. His Jungle that was published in 1906 triggered significant social change.

In essence, this novel exposed the unfair working conditions such as unsanitary environments that characterized the Chicago meat packing factories. As a socal;ist political activist, Sinclair had studied the poor working conditions for seven weeks. After he concluded that relative operations and conditions were demeaning, he decided to voice these through writing (Arthur, 2006). The novel was a huge success as it led to a public outcry about the poor conditions. Most importantly, it prompted president Theodore Roosevelt to address the issue. In particular, he discussed the packing conditions with Sinclair and initiated a congressional investigation into the same. This culminated into the implementation and enforcement of the Food and Drug Act that detailed regulations to govern relative operations.

In his review, Greg (1991) indicates that his marriage life was however difficult. In 1913, he divorced his first wife. He later married Mary Craig the same year. Besides the Jungle, he published other novels such as Love’s Pilgrimage and Sylvia and Sylvia’s Marriage. Notably, the later novel triggered social change with respect to sexual enlightenment. This sought to empower women in attaining freedom from misinformation and ignorance.In 1917, he published King Coal that equally had a significant impact on the social life of the readers. It documented the events of the coal strike that occurred in 1914 and 1915. Through this, he was able to present an insightful socialistic commentary to the audience.

In 1917 however, he also decided to leave the Socialist Party. Ivan (1996) documents that he supported president Woodrow Wilson during his reign. He later decided to return to the socialist party after the president supported important intervention measures in the soviet union. In 1920, he ran for congress on a Socialist ticket in California. this marked the beginning of his active involvement in politics. In 1922, he ran for the senate on the same ticket and later assumed a governor position between 1926 and 1930 (Ivan, 1996).

At this point, Greg (1991) ascertains that Sinclair was indeed a great political reformist. Through literature, he continued to address important political concerns that undermined the quality of life of the populations. In 1927 for instance, he published his Oil that underscored the dishonest practices of president Harding and his administration. Through this, the public was informed about the administrative loopholes that characterized the then leadership. Based on this, they were in the best position to make important decisions regarding the type of leadership that they wanted. This is so because they had the power to vote in visionary leaders who would address their varied concerns accordingly.

In 1928, Sinclair published Boston that explained the reasons behind the protest that he had highlighted initially. In 1933, he was involved actively in political campaigns in support of the carlifonia governor. He presented his ideas sensibly and called for ending poverty in this region. Although this enabled him to win a democratic nomination, he was later defeated in the elections by his rivals who used fear, intimidation and lies to garner the support of the masses (Mattson, 2006). In his subsequent pieces of writing, he underscored these concerns and pleaded with the public to be more vigil while voting.

He remained married to Mary Craig until 1961 when she passed on. Besides being a writer as well, mary craig produced films too. After her death, he decided to marry Elizabeth Willis. Basically, Sinclair was a moral man who held important social values in high regard. For instance, he did not advocate for extra marital sexual relations and considered marital sex to be solely meant for procreation. In general, he lived an upright life. Sinclair, died in a nursing home in 1968 and was buried in Washington DC. His third wife died a year later.

In sum, Sinclair contributed significantly to the literary sphere. He was able to address various social concerns that affected the then population. Through this, the populations were informed about the root causes of their problems and how they could be resolved. As it has come out from the study, he stirred social change and advocated for socialism. Despite periodic political defeats, he dis not give up his activit career. He was able to identify critical leadership loopholes and when need be, worked with the leaders to address the relative concerns. In this consideration, he was a great instrument of social change. Despite advocating for social change, his personal ideologies set the pace for reform. For this reason, he needs to be included in all databases. This would enable the young as well as aspiring leaders to learn from him.