Which muckraker shocked the nation by publishing The Jungle, a novel about the meatpacking industry in Chicago?

• A. Upton Sinclair
• B. Ida Tarbell
• C. Jacob Riis
• D. Lincoln Steffens

Answer: (A)

The main idea tested is recognizing who exposed the meatpacking industry’s abuses and spurred national reform. Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, published in 1906, is a muckraking novel that plunges into the unsanitary, dangerous conditions inside Chicago’s meatpacking plants and the harsh lives of the workers. Its vivid portrayal shocked readers and helped create broad support for government action to regulate food safety. The work isn’t just a story; it’s a deliberate attempt to reveal social injustices and push for change, which is why Sinclair is the figure associated most closely with this particular expose.

Other famous muckrakers did important work too, but on different topics: Ida Tarbell investigated the Standard Oil monopoly, Jacob Riis documented urban poverty through photography and writing, and Lincoln Steffens exposed political corruption in city governments. Their work shows the broader muckraking impulse, but it was Sinclair’s scrutiny of the meatpacking industry that specifically fit this prompt.