Germinal by Emile Zola - Literature review Example

Germinal Zola Germinal is the thirteenth book written by Emile Zola and one of the major novels in the Tradition of the French people. It tells of the harsh but true story of a strike by coal miners carried out in the France in the 1860s. The title derived from the name a month in the French calendar which is in the spring season. The heading translates to “seed”, with significance that there was a promise of nice happenings in the future among the workers. It was written between April 1884 and January 1885 but was printed as a book in March 1885. It was celebrated by many and was even considered a masterpiece by critics, and has provided inspiration to people who embrace reforms, and also to socialists. The novel’s main aim is to create an image of germination, new growth and fertility to an otherwise a seemingly hopeless situation. The book tells the story of a 21-year-old skinny but strong looking man by the name Etienne Lantier, who arrived in Voreux pit by foot. He comes across a 58-year-old man who greats him, and he later discovers that the man is nicknamed Bonnemort (Zola 2012, 33). The man informs him that there is no possibility for him to get a job in the mine as a mechanic. Bonnemort, it turns out, resides in a village near together with his son named Maheu, Maheu’s wife, and his seven kids. Lantier eventually settles for a job as a hewer in the mine and is combined with the mine employees who include Maheu, Chaval, and Catherine. Lantier instantly likes Catherine, but Chaval considers him as a stranger who would steal the worker’s salary and a rival. Two inspectors come to them and impose a fine for faulty timbering, and Maheu decides that they should go home saying that the day has already been lost. With an advice from co-workers, Lantier decides to stay in the inn named The Advantage that is managed by Etienne. During a walk later, he witnesses Catherine being raped but does not dare to intervene. He becomes an excellent hewer and meets Souvarine, an anarchist from Russia, and the two hold a long conversation on the future of the workers. Lantier, after consulting Souvarine, a friend comes up with a new division ‘International’ and moves in Maheus. In October on a day wages were to be paid, the mining company lowers its workers’ salaries. The workers decide to strike, and this worsens the working conditions. At the same time, Chaval’s jealousy towards Lantier increases, since by now their relationship with Catherine is really good. He, therefore, takes her to work in another coal mine called Jean-Bart. The miners, on the other hand, join the Independent, in spite of the company being inflexible. Jean-Bart employees while on strike demolish the installations of the independent mine, though the owner together with Chaval manage to control the strike. However, Cecile, daughter of one of the investors in the mine almost gets killed and the director’s house also gets destroyed. One of Maheu’s kids kills a young soldier and later places his body under rocks. The strike goes on for a long while, and this leads to a decision by the mine owners to close all the mines. Jean’s mine is the only one that continues working as if nothing is happening. The mobs assault a grocer’s store and go on to mutilate the grocer’s lifeless body. The miners who are still on strike find armed forces at the mining pit, and attempt to throw them in but the forces fire killing 14 miners. Cecile is strangled by Bonnemot leading to her death, Lantier on the other hand murders Chaval. He and Catherine are trapped in the mine, and they even make love. Catherine does not come out alive as he dies as a result of exhaustion that she suffers in there. Lantier is saved at the verge of starvation and taken to hospital where he recovers. After getting well, he decides to leave the mine and goes to Paris. After undergoing all the challenges faced in the mine, the book tells the miners that there is hope that better things are awaiting them in the future. He encourages them by saying that a new seed would germinate and would restore the people healing them from all aggravation and torture they went through in those hard times. It, therefore, pushes them to move on anticipating good things, and this keeps them going. The writer also calls on God’s wrath in the book, and he does not commit himself politically to a revolutionary action that may take place in the future. This book in our generation cannot be termed as naturist as it is a record of historical exploitation of workers. It is, therefore, more than an expression of a person’s views or ideas, as it comprises of life true happenings. Given that the book was written in a mining environment, it was a trailblazing fiction both socially and politically. It broke free from the continued cry and plea by the poor who were undergoing oppression. Zola wrote the book after many months of research on the mining community, and the book was sensationally received. Germen, the word from which the title is derived, is a Latin word that means sprout, and that was the message brought out in the book. Germinal was also the month in a new and revolutionary calendar adopted by the France, and it signified new beginnings, seeing that the previous calendar had been soiled by prejudices as well as falsehoods. What Zola predicted in the book was that there would be blazing sun in the morning of new growth and that all people would be surrounded by an army, and they would be singing a new song. Crops would be sprouting slowly into its trough, growing up in its willingness for harvest until they would split open into the earth. One cannot take his message literary since the crop was a symbol representing new things. He was very proud of the book and came to its defense when critics accused it as being an exaggeration and slander against those who were working. That was so because she had done a thorough research on especially where lengthy visits were necessary, so as to witness the impacts of the miners after the strike. The mine scenes are, therefore, vivid and even haunting when reading the book. Though the storyline is a miner’s strike, all aspects of life are covered, ranging from; chaos, politics, love, social realism, villains, and is also action packed. It is tragic and depressing, but one wants to read it again and again. It is that kind of a story that leaves you inspired, and makes one realize that literature can be so interesting! It expresses an outrage in lack of humanity for many, but also shows compassion as well as hope for them. The book is said to be one of the ten greatest and most inspiring books in the history of the France people. Another aspect of the story is the impacts of people living in such a close manner since there is sexual activity which is out of control. Young women, others too young allow the men end up bearing too many children, and providing for them becomes a problem. Some of the women even take advantage of their sexuality to have fun and even get profits. Some men are violent and harass them, and it is obvious that they acquire this violence from the workplace. A change in the society was, therefore, going to start from calmness in the mines. The book is against injustice and exploitation going on in the mines, and shows Zola’s outrage at these conditions. By the time Zola passed on, the book had been considered as a masterpiece, and this was a reality that couldn’t possibly be doubted. During his funeral, the people that gathered gave an outcry at the cortege citing the book’s title. The book has come to be a representation of working class predicament; it has retained a unique position in the hearts of not only the miners but also to the French working town people up to date. It is now the best selling of Zola’s novels in France as well as in the global market. Work Cited Zola, Émile. Germinal. S.l.: Start Pub, 2012. Internet resource. Read More