King Coal - Upton Sinclair

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Résumé :
King Coal is a 1917 novel by Upton Sinclair that describes the poor working conditions in the coal mining industry in the western United States during the 1910s, from the perspective of a single protagonist, Hal Warner. As in his earlier work, The Jungle, Sinclair uses the novel to express his socialist viewpoint. The book is based on the 1913-1914 Colorado coal strikes and written just after the Ludlow massacre. The sequel to King Coal was posthumously published under the title, The Coal War. Hal Warner, a rich young fellow determined to find the truth for himself about conditions in the mines, runs away from home and adopts the alias Joe Smith. After being turned away by one coal mine for fear of Hal being a union organizer, he gets a job in another coal mine operated by the General Fuel Company, or GFC. In the mines he befriends many of the workers, and realizes their misery and exploitation at the hands of the bosses. He befriends Mary Burke, who is a passionate fighter for the workers' rights. Her father is a mine worker who spends his days drinking and leaving her to take care of her siblings. She and Hal grow close, which tears at Hal's loyalty to his fianc?e back home. After dedicating himself to the workers' cause, he tells them that he will appeal to the bosses to become a check weigh man who measures the amount of coal, but the GFC, wanting to cheat the workers out of their pay, appoints a company check weigh man. Hal is eventually put into the jail by the marshal, who is teased by Hal over conditions of the mines and accused by Hal of being corrupted and unfair to the workers. After an explosion in the mines, Hal seeks out Percy Harrigan, an old friend whose father, Peter Harrigan, owns the General Fuel Company. The workers organize a strike and union to demand their rights from the bosses, but the rescue effort goes longer than expected. The bosses are more intent on the tools and equipment than the miners. Damn the man! save the Mules! says a boss. Hal appeals to the United Mine Workers to back the strike, but they refuse, telling him that the strike is primitive and unexpected and that to support it when its just started to participate in action would waste the union's resources. Hal is told to wait a few more years for the other unions to strike, and only with a massive course of action could the unions win. Hal is left to tell the workers the grievous news but the workers nevertheless cheer out his name (some calling out Joe Smith and others Hal) for standing up for them. After a confrontation with his brother Edward, Hal resolves to return home and dedicate his life to the workers' cause. Hal leaves and concludes that he is in love with Mary Burke. (wikipedia.org)

Sommaire:
Upton Sinclair (1878-1968) was a prolific American author and social reformer best known for his muckraking novel The Jungle (1906), which exposed the harsh conditions and unsanitary practices in the U.S. meatpacking industry. This groundbreaking work led to significant public outcry and contributed to the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act in 1906. Throughout his career, Sinclair wrote over 90 books, covering a wide range of genres including novels, plays, essays, and non-fiction works. Many of his writings addressed social issues such as labor rights, poverty, political corruption, and the need for reform. He was associated with the Progressive Movement and ran for political office several times, including a notable campaign for Governor of California in 1934 under the platform of the End Poverty in California (EPIC) movement. Sinclair's other notable works include Oil! (1927), which inspired the film There Will Be Blood (2007), and The Brass Check (1919), which critiqued the American press and led to the establishment of the first code of ethics for journalists. Upton Sinclair's commitment to social justice and reform left a lasting impact on American literature and society....