The Second-Story Man

Sinclair, Upton, 1878-1968Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.7

Word count: 20K words
Chapters: 3

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Second-Story Man by Upton SinclairAuthor: Sinclair, Upton, 1878-1968,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Jul 1, 2002

Editor's review

"The Second-Story Man" is a short work by Upton Sinclair, available as a free electronic text from Project Gutenberg. Sinclair is known for his socially critical writing, and this story likewise turns its attention to the circumstances of ordinary people and class differences, presenting social problems through specific characters and scenes rather than abstract preaching. It is short and tightly structured, making it a good introductory sample of Sinclair's narrative style and a suitable text for close reading in class, where students can discuss the relationship between character motivation, social background, and the author's stance. The original is in English, and the language is generally plain and accessible to modern readers, though it is worth noting the period context in order to understand its themes of poverty, labor, and moral choice. As a public-domain e-book, it is easy to obtain and can be read in one sitting on a commute or between classes, then revisited to sort through the details.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers new to Upton Sinclair's writing style
Fans of short fiction about social criticism and class issues
Teachers and students needing a short English text for close reading
Readers who like to finish a complete story in fragmented time

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting long, complex plots and multi-stranded narratives
Readers who want only light entertainment and prefer to avoid social issues
Complete beginners to English reading who need sentence-by-sentence annotation

Reading tips

Read it through in one sitting first, then return to key scenes to sort out the characters' circumstances and the motives behind their choices.
As you read, notice how the author presents social problems through concrete details rather than direct argument.
You can relate the work to the American social background of Sinclair's time to understand its critical target.
After reading, try summarizing the theme in a few sentences and compare it with other short works by the same author.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

How long is this story?

It is a short story of modest length, usually readable in one or two sittings. It works well as a text for close reading or classroom discussion and requires no long-term commitment.

Can I read it without having read other works by Sinclair?

Yes. The story stands on its own and does not depend on prior works. If his socially critical approach interests you, you can go on to his longer works for further reading.

What background knowledge is helpful before reading?

It helps to have a general sense of American social conditions and labor conditions in Sinclair's time, which makes the characters' choices and the story's critical target easier to understand, but you can follow the story itself without specialized study.

Comments

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About the author

Sinclair, Upton, 1878-1968 Author

Upton Sinclair (Sinclair, Upton, 1878-1968) was an American writer known for his socially critical novels and political writing. His best-known work, The Jungle, exposed the grim realities of the meatpacking industry and drew widespread attention upon publication, establishing the direction of his career: using literature to engage with social reform. The library holds 33 of his works, including, besides The Jungle, King Coal, A Captain of Industry, The Profits of Religion, Jimmie Higgins, and Love's Pilgrimage, as well as a Finnish translation, Chikago: Nykyajan romaani. These works largely center on labor conditions, the power of capital, and the economic relations between religion and society. His style is direct and documentary, with a clear tone of exposure and criticism; public information on the details of his life is limited.