 |
Epton Bill SinclairAmerican writer
Date of Birth: 20.09.1878
Country:  USA |
Content:
Biography of Upton Sinclair
Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. was an American writer who belonged to the "muckrakers" movement. He studied at New York College and Columbia University. In 1906, he founded a socialist colony in Englewood, New Jersey. In 1934, he narrowly missed being elected as the governor of California.
The Jungle
Sinclair's most famous work, "The Jungle" (1906), depicts the lives of workers in Chicago's meatpacking industry. This novel prompted President Theodore Roosevelt to establish the first federal laws to regulate the quality of food products.
Critique of Capitalism
Sinclair portrayed the decline of morals in capitalist society in his novel "The Metropolis" (1908). He criticized the institutionalized church for blessing capitalist exploitation in "The Profits of Religion" (1918). Sinclair advocated for pacifism in "Jimmy Higgins" (1919) and exposed the corruption of journalists in "The Brass Check" (1919) and educators in "The Goose Step" (1923) and "The Goslings" (1924). He delved into the oil scandals in "Oil" (1927) and accused society of the murder of Sacco and Vanzetti in "Boston" (1928). Sinclair also analyzed the essence and problems of communism, fascism, and capitalist democracy in a series of novels about Lanny Budd, including "Dragon's Teeth" (1942), which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1943.
Literary Legacy
Sinclair's creative legacy includes more than 80 books, including "A Personal Jesus: A Biography" (1952), "What Didymus Did" (1955), and "Autobiography of Upton Sinclair" (1962). He passed away on November 25, 1968, in Bound Brook, New Jersey.
