Hog scraping rail
This machine consists of metal hooks attached to wheels that run along a track installed in the ceiling. It holds the legs of the carcasses while they travel down the processing line. It not only does hogs, but cattle as well. I chose this because it is the backbone of the meat packing industry. It provides structure and support for the industry and allows the meat to be easily transported from one end of the line to the other. When thought about in a good perspective, it really does make the whole industrialized meat packing process possible. Without the hanging meat rail, the whole industry would be impossible. Before the hanging meat rail, each carcass had to be moved by hand to a different station. This process was slow and did not allow for the most profit to be made. However, many would argue that the meat hanging rail is really a detrimental invention. Small town butchers and meat wrappers are often put out of business thanks to industrialized meat packingIt relates to the text of "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair. In “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair, Jurgis and his family are a representation of the hog on the meat processing rail, as they start out as a whole, and piece by piece they are taken apart. In Chicago, specifically the Chicago union stockyards, is the place where “The Jungle” takes place. “The Jungle” is centered around Jurgis and his family, and the main antagonist is the meat industry, while more of a concept rather than an actual person, is just as sinister. In the jungle, the meat processing rail is designed to hold and convey multiple carcasses through the meat packing process, which involves splitting it apart and taking individual pieces off. This is symbolically what happens to Jurgis’s family. They start out as a whole unit, and much like the hogs and cattle in the meat process, and throughout the story, family members die, are killed, or leave.