Comparing Zola And Major Du Paty De Clam

Emile Zola was born on April 2, 1840 in Paris, France. Zola spent most of his youth in southern France where his father was a civil engineer of Italian decent. Upon completion of school at the Lycee Saint- Louis in Paris, he failed the Baccalaureate exam twice, which prevented him from furthering his studies. This led to Zola living in poverty for the next couple of years until he got a job as a clerk, which would eventually lead him to his writing career (His Masterpiece Pg. 28). In the novel “Zola and his Time”, it describes Zola as a very timid man that was easily startled by confrontation and violence (Zola and his time Pg. 434). Zola was strongly disliked by the Deroulede’s Indians who stood outside Zola’s home and chanted at him and through
He states that the Major “leads them all, hypnotizes them, for he is also interested in spiritism, occultism, he talks with spirits….. The traps he laid, seem incredible; the mad investigations, the monstrous hoax, a whole harrowing dementia” (Zola and his Time Pg. 438). What he is saying, is that the Major has manipulated the facts as well as the people involved in the case to make it look like Dreyfus is guilty. This led to the ministry going back at Zola and his accomplices for the statements he had made. The government brought Zola to trial on February 7th 1898, where thousands gathered to watch. Zola was eventually found guilty and was granted the maximum sentence under the law, which consisted of one year imprisonment, and a 3,000 francs
Throughout the chapter J’accuse, the author constantly makes remarks like “when the “cause” seemed to demand of him the obliteration of himself, the apparent sacrifice of his own honor, he is willing!”(Zola and His Time Pg. 447). What the author is saying here is Zola sacrificed his own life and his honor to fight for something that is right even though he knew there would be strong opposition. As the chapter goes on and gets into his trial, Zola attacks those who have twisted the laws around and went after innocent men. While having a lot of support, he has even more that despise him and what he is doing, but that does not deter him from standing behind his argument. He pleaded over and over again in front of the jury that Dreyfus was innocent and even swore on all that he has accomplished in his life that the man he is fighting for is