Emotion in an Anti-Sentimentalist Novel

The discussion in class today about the heart-breaking and emotionally charged scenes from The Jungle made me question the anti-sentimentalist nature of the novel. The definition of anti-sentimentalism based on the hand-out is “build[ing] stories and characters by utilizing a style of language and stating events without unnecessary detail, and by stressing reason over emotional attachment.” This was summarized as focusing a story on the situations, not the characters. This is true of The Jungle because the focus was not on the specific personalities and feelings of the characters; it was on the roles that they play in society. So, my question is how the emotions in the novel that don’t seem to fit with the anti-sentimentalist style fit into The Jungle. I think that the answer has to do with the idea of catharsis.

We discussed how catharsis has an emotional, intellectual, and physical component. In The Jungle, the intellectual component is satisfied by the conclusion’s showing that regardless of their ideals, no political system is safe from corruption. The physical component is the disgusting revelations about the meat that people were eating. The emotional component fits in with this because Sinclair wants the reader to conclude that there is an imminent need for change. This is accomplished by the intellectual and especially the physical component of the catharsis. The emotional anecdotes about the working class feed off of this intellectual and physical catharsis to accomplish Sinclair’s purpose of better conditions for the working class. This purpose of better conditions for the working class is also aided by the anti-sentimentalist portrayal of the uniform oppression of the worker. So, the emotion and anti-sentimentalism work together to achieve Sinclair’s purpose.