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1. Is Germinal best approached as a work fixed in the mid-nineteenth century, or a statement of the human condition that transcends any particular period of history? - Germinal is a story about the collapse of the coal market in Europe during the 1860s, and the repercussions for those involved in the industry. It focuses on the hardships of factories going out of business and workers forced to take pay cuts. The story offers criticism of capitalism in a nineteenth century industrial society by focusing on broken lives, relationships, and communities. While the story is accurate to the situation coal laborers faced during this time, the class struggle of the worker against market forces is alive today and is a contemporary political, economic, and social debate. The author, Emile Zola chooses in this book to criticize not only the system of capitalism that places the worker at the mercy of the market, but also considers socialist-radicalism, communism, and revolutionary anarchism as possible answers before displaying that these systems only lead to more bloodshed instead of empowering the working class. He focuses on class struggle as a political debate from the scenes in the bar, which acts as a debate forum for the community and from where the idea to stand up and strike originates.
Approximate Word count = 759
Approximate Pages = 3
(250 words per page double spaced)
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