Good reads that really make you think

I was thinking about how much we take life for granted and how quick people are to complain about anything. I would like to discuss a book I read over a year ago, Upton Sinclair's The Jungle. Best known for its gruesome description of the meat packaging industry, Sinclair's novel paints a dark picture of what life was like around one-hundred years ago. Ironically, at the time I read the book, I had just graduated from college and was looking for a job with not much success. Everytime I went on an interview and came back full of hope only to discover a week later that I was too "inexperienced" for the job, I would get down. Then I read The Jungle. I came to the realization that no matter how unfortunate things seem in today's era, things could be much worse. It could be 1920 and I could be an uneducated immigrant, with a large family in a new land trying to find work at a time when millions of others are in the same boat I am in. Having just been swindled into purchasing property that is grossly overpriced (and not knowing it), and being desparate to feed an continuously growing family, the main character finally finds work at a meat packing plant. He is given one of the grossest of the grossest jobs, but he can't complain because standing outside the plant's fence are thousands of men who would jump at the chance to take his job. Injuries in the workplace are common, but there is no compensation; an injured worker will lose his job to more able bodied men.

I can only imagine the despair of those who lived before us. A job that in today's world would not be considered demanding, was very much so back then because there was no sick leave, vacation days, etc. There was no welfare to fall back on if one got laid off, families just starved and lived in cold, damp conditions, got sick, and if they were lucky, they died. Older men looking for work? No luck whatsoever, when there were thousands of younger guys who could do more physical labor than older people. How depressing it must have been to live in major metropolitan areas (such as Chicago) back then! How much we take for granted now....

No matter how tedious or boring, no matter how much some people may hate their jobs, we should all be grateful that these jobs can put a roof over our families heads and food on the table. Jobs today can pay for our bills, so even if you hate your job, suck it up because things can be worse.

On another note, I'd also like to talk about another powerful novel that I just reread over the weekend. Push by Sapphire tells the story of a young girl, growing up in Harlem who was abused (sexually and physically) by both her parents. She is a classic case of neglect both by her parents and the school system. This book shows that despite the improvements that have been made over the past fews years in quality of life, there are still many people living in poor conditions. These people are being taught not to excel, but to fail. This novel is a much quicker read than Sinclair's book, but is brutal and disturbing. Both books left me feeling lucky about all the opportunities that have come my way. After reading stories like this, it's hard to complain about not having a job, not enjoying one's job, etc. because things could be worse. Much worse.