King Coal: A Novel of the Colorado Coal Country
Upton Sinclair
A wealthy student takes a job as a miner in order to learn about dangerous and exploitative working conditions in the coal mining industry.A young American of the upper class, with great sympathy for
the downtrodden and an honest desire to get a firsthand
knowledge of their conditions in order to help them, decides to
take employment in a mine under a fictitious name and dressed
like a workingman. His unusual way of trying to obtain work
arouses suspicion. He is believed to be a professional
strike-leader sent out to organise the miners against their
exploiters, and he is not only refused work, but thrashed
mercilessly. When finally he succeeds in getting inside, he
discovers with growing indignation the shameless and inhuman
way in which those who unearth the black coal are being
exploited.These are the fundamental ideas of the book, but they give but
a faint notion of the author’s poetic attitude. Most beautifully is
this shown in Hal’s relation to a young Irish girl, Red Mary.
She is poor, and her daily life harsh and joyless, but
nevertheless her wonderful grace is one of the outstanding
features of the book. The first impression of Mary is that of a
Celtic Madonna with a tender heart for little children. She
develops into a Valküre of the working-class, always ready to
fight for the worker’s right.The last chapters of the book give a description of the miners’
revolt against the Company. They insist upon their right to
choose a deputy to control the weighing-in of the coal, and
upon having the mines sprinkled regularly to prevent explosion.
They will also be free to buy their food and utensils wherever
they like, even in shops not belonging to the Company.
the downtrodden and an honest desire to get a firsthand
knowledge of their conditions in order to help them, decides to
take employment in a mine under a fictitious name and dressed
like a workingman. His unusual way of trying to obtain work
arouses suspicion. He is believed to be a professional
strike-leader sent out to organise the miners against their
exploiters, and he is not only refused work, but thrashed
mercilessly. When finally he succeeds in getting inside, he
discovers with growing indignation the shameless and inhuman
way in which those who unearth the black coal are being
exploited.These are the fundamental ideas of the book, but they give but
a faint notion of the author’s poetic attitude. Most beautifully is
this shown in Hal’s relation to a young Irish girl, Red Mary.
She is poor, and her daily life harsh and joyless, but
nevertheless her wonderful grace is one of the outstanding
features of the book. The first impression of Mary is that of a
Celtic Madonna with a tender heart for little children. She
develops into a Valküre of the working-class, always ready to
fight for the worker’s right.The last chapters of the book give a description of the miners’
revolt against the Company. They insist upon their right to
choose a deputy to control the weighing-in of the coal, and
upon having the mines sprinkled regularly to prevent explosion.
They will also be free to buy their food and utensils wherever
they like, even in shops not belonging to the Company.
年:
2023
出版社:
Standard Ebooks
语言:
english
页:
329
ISBN 10:
1717573002
ISBN 13:
9781717573001
文件:
AZW3 , 802 KB
IPFS:
,
english, 2023