The Jungle

The Jungle The word propaganda has a negative ring to it today. We usually use it to mean a systematic effort- in the press or through art, for example- to spread ideas that are probably false. Furthermore, we tend to think that propaganda has no place in novels or paintings. Sinclair rejected the word's negative connotation and the bias against propaganda in art. To him, propaganda was simply an attempt to convince others of one's …

…fate." And so she appears to the family. She "had lived in the midst of misfortune so long that it had come to be her element, and she talked about starvation, sickness, and death as other people might about weddings and holidays." Like Shakespeare's witches, she can foretell the future. Note, especially, her remark that their house is unlucky, that someone is bound to get consumption. This prophecy will come true in the next chapter.