“Modern Muckrakers”

  1. After reading the article, what are the qualities of a good muckraker? Develop a list of these qualities.

Muckrakers are investigative journalist who immerse themselves in an industry or an activity that they are trying to exposed to the public. A good investigative journalist is obsessive, fearless, makes enemies, burns bridges, names names, asks tough questions, attempts to repair a wrong, are independent and free thinking, stubborn and ask for sweeping changes to the way we see whatever their reporting.

Muckrakers report on abuses and changes public opinion and initiates changes in the way we do business and the way we think. A lot of muckraking improved society like Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle which exposed the meatpacking industry and led to the pure food and drug act in 1906

“The Most Dangerous Job”

  1. How is the author persuasive? Cite particular lines or passages that support your idea.
 

The author is persuasive if you actually read the piece. I wish I could've stopped reading after the first paragraph but I’m forced to finish this because it is a school assignment. If I was on my own and didn’t have to finish it for school assignment I would’ve never finished the writing because it is so disgusting. I personally do not believe he is very persuasive because it is too graphic and it almost sounds like a horror movie. I think there has to be a balance in your writing where people aren’t so disgusted that they stop reading. But I know the real answer is yes this author is persuasive and particular lines and passages that support this include “we wade through blood that is ankle-deep and it pours down drains into huge vats below us as we approach the start of the line I hear a steady pop pop pop of live animals being stunned” this passage seems melodramatic but obviously it is true this is how they slaughter cows. The section on sharp knives is also very persuasive “meatpackers often work within inches of each other wielding large knives” and if you get hurt you are unlikely to report it to your manager because you don’t want to get fired. “Today only one third of IBP workers belong to a union” Because so few of the workers are in a union they can be fired at any time. The managers are paid more and it’s in their best interest to have no injuries so they just fire the people that cause problems because they have no protection.

  1. How much has the modern slaughterhouse changed since the time of Sinclair’s Jungle?

It doesn’t sound like they’ve changed a lot because there is so little oversight and how these slaughterhouses and huge factories are run. There are not enough OSHA inspectors. In 1985 in Nebraska the company had two sets of books one that recorded every injury at the slaughterhouse and the other one that they gave to inspectors the first one recorded 1800 injuries and the log they gave to inspectors had 160 there was 1000% difference between the two. The inspectors policy of voluntary compliance is ridiculous because of course the big corporations are not going to comply and things will just get worse and worse. Even though labor unions and laws are now stronger the United States only one third of IBP workers belong to a union. Many of the nonunion workers are immigrants many are illegal and they are played at will which means they can be fired for anything so they are unlikely to complain about anything.