Germinal: Strike Action and Workers

Germinal is a novel set in northern France, in the 1860’s. It is written by the French writer Emile Zola, who offers what he thinks is the best solution to the problems in the industrial revolution through Germinal. The plot of the book is centered on a strike that occurs in the mining community of Montsou. The strike takes place because of the constant deteriorating conditions of the miners. Etienne, a newcomer to Montsou, is leading the work stoppage, protesting for the better working conditions. Different workers in Montsou have different opinions on how better conditions for the miners should be achieved. Based on what unfolds throughout the novel, it appears that Zola views Etienne’s solution as the best way to end the problems brought forth by the Industrial Revolution. The industrial revolution was the transformation of production from manufacture by hand for small markets to machine manufacture for large markets. This was a period of time in which many people started to move from rural areas to cities that were built around factories and mines, like in Germinal. Although the industrial revolution had lots of positives, it also brought about lots of problems. Perhaps the biggest problem was the low wages, and the gap between the rich and poor. As seen in Germinal, everyone who could in a family worked, and this still hardly produced enough money to put food on the table. It would be very common just to have a slice of bread with some butter on it as a meal. As all these workers were struggling to survive, managers and especially the owners who started the company were very wealthy. However, it was not that the owners were not sympathetic towards the poor; it was more they were naive as to how bad their wages and living conditions actually were. Another one of the major problems with the industrial revolution was the conditions in which the people worked. In Germinal, the workers would have long shifts in the mines, and the work was very difficult and often

Cited: Pearson, Roger. "Introduction." Introduction. Germinal. London: Penguin Group, 2004. Xiii-Xl. Print.