Question

Read the quotation from Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle .

"There would be meat that had tumbled out on the floor, in the dirt and sawdust, where the workers had tramped and spit uncounted billions of consumptive germs."

Which of the following best describes the American public's reaction to reading The Jungle?
The public looked for employment in the meat-packing industry in order to help improve conditions.
The public lobbied for meat-packing plants to close down in order to end the consumption of meat in America.
The public was outraged and demanded legislative reform from the government.
The public did not believe the details of the book and they turned against Sinclair.

Answer 1

The public was outraged and demanded legislative reform from the government.

Explanation: Readers reacted most strongly to the unsanitary food conditions Sinclair described (not the labor message), prompting public outcry and helping lead to the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906.