poverty causes

Émile Zola's novel Germinal is about a French mining town and the challenges that the area's poor miners confront at the hands of a mining business after they object to the firm's unfair salaries. The story follows Étienne Lantier, the main character, as he rallies the workers to demand higher wages after the mining firm attempts to reduce the already low salaries because of an excess of coal. The eternal problem of how the social, political, and economic systems oppress the poor is addressed in Germinal, as well as how the impoverished themselves contribute to their condition via passivity and divisiveness. Having lost his father at a young age, the author and his mother faced economic challenges, and these challenges could be the motivation behind Germinal. Widely regarded as the originator of the naturalist movement, Zola realistically presented his work without omitting the unpleasant (Biography). In Germinal, Zola exposes all aspects of the harsh life the poor are expected to lead and the contribution of various parties such as the political leaders, businesspeople, and the poor to the perpetuation of this state.

In Germinal, Zola illustrated that without deliberate action to change their circumstances, the poor would be doomed to a life of poverty with there being minimal or no economic mobility. The author seems to argue that by dedicating their lives to low-paying employment opportunities, poor people were therefore, sealing their fates. This is illustrated in the novel through Bonnemort, an old man who had dedicated his life to working in the mines even though the work was hazardous and led to the deterioration of his health. After being asked how long he had been working in the mines, Bonnemort replies "I was not eight when I went down into the Voreux, and I am now fifty-eight." (Ellis 10) This is the confirmation that Lantier was looking for after suspecting his ill health had been caused by pollution in the mines, a fact that Bonnemort later affirms when explaining why his legs were failing him.

Miners like Bonnemort had decided to dedicate their lives to the mining company in the hope that in the end, they would achieve financial reward paying little regard for their lives or health. Due to this mentality, the miners lose sight of the more important things in life such as health and instead chase benefits such as meager pensions. Working in the mine is so ingrained in Bonnemort that he is oblivious to the fact that his health was failing and therefore, may not even get to see his pension. Here the author suggests that in choosing to find their success within the system, poor people like Bonnemort lose sight of the important things in life such as health and time. By losing sight of these important aspects of life poor individuals are cementing their status in society.

In this instance, the author seems to suggest that it was the mentality of the poor that hindered them from becoming successful since they accepted their circumstances instead of trying to better their lives. By choosing to accept poor working conditions and pay, the poor cement their status as they can only aspire to achieve the pre-determined benefits that have been set by their employers. In many cases, these benefits are structured in a way that benefits the employers more than the employees. Bonnemort was choosing to risk his life for two more years to obtain a pension he may not live to see or enjoy. For the poor to ascend the economic ladder, they should, therefore, avoid seeking the benefits that are offered by the system since in many cases the benefits are engineered to benefit the rich.

Zola also depicted the political system, as being responsible for the lack of economic mobility of the poor into a higher status of living. In the novel, it is the poor that are recruited into the army to go and fight in wars only the emperor deems worth fighting in. Poor individuals who should be dedicating their time and effort to improving their economic status are forced to serve the political and economic interests of the ruling class by fighting pointless wars. At the time, Bonnemort explains to Lantier that factories in Montsou were being closed or scaling down their operations because they lacked enough men due to the war in America. The few remaining companies had to increase the efficiencies in their operations meaning they had to cut down production and the associated costs such as labor so that they could match demand.

With labor being the major production cost for the factories, many of those that were left behind lost their positions and could not find replacement positions elsewhere. Lantier was one of those who could not secure another position and was forced to eventually settle for the hazardous job of a miner despite being skilled. Even the few that had managed to hold on to their jobs were at risk of having their wages reduced which would serve to sink them further into poverty.

Bonnemort shows his disapproval of the emperor`s decision to send troops to fight in America by clearly stating "It is not the emperor's fault, perhaps; but why should he go and fight in America? without counting that the beasts are dying from cholera, like the people." (Ellis 9). The war effort in America had deprived the French economy of consumers to buy the goods and services that were being produced by factories such as glass and candy. With large factories either closing or scaling down their manufacturing operations it was the poor that were most affected; either having to contend with poor wages or resulting in begging to make ends meet.

Zola presents the poor as a political pawn that those in positions of power regularly use for their selfish interests with little regard for the human dignity they share. Although it is the poor that fight in wars the benefits do not trickle down to them. Zola suggests that the poor have no control over political systems and this leads to exploitation by their leaders who take them for granted by using them to fulfill selfish purposes such as fighting and funding pointless wars.

If the ruling class was concerned with the welfare of the poor more would have been done to alleviate the poverty through government funds such as those used in the war which could have been put to better use in the local economy. Zola is implying the lack of political will is one of the key reasons that poor people remain poor, therefore, for things to change they should exert their influence on the political leaders.

Zola also presented the lack of cooperation between the poor as another reason they remained poor. In the novel, the author reveals the disunity that exists between the poor in various instances such as the daily interaction in the mines and how this lack of harmony prevents them from attaining their goals of improving their status. When Lantier was being taught how the mining is done by Catherine, he is concerned when he overhears dialogue between Maheu and Zacharie. In the dialogue, Zacharie was trying to support a rock that had cracks and was slipping and instead of Maheu assessing whether this was true he is dismissive and wants Zacharie to perform another task.

Mahue showed no concern for the lives of his fellow miners and their families when he said "Ah! nonsense! Slip! And if it did, it would not be the first time; they would get out of it all right." (Ellis 31). This shows the lack of concern that the miners had, both for their welfare and that of others. Such attitudes could be the reason behind numerous accidents in the mines that were responsible for the loss of many lives which left many families without their breadwinners.

By failing to cooperate with one another due to short-term gains such as fulfilling their daily mining quotas, in the long run, the miners would lose everything when accidents occurred and lives were lost. This disunity was also exhibited during the strike whereby, some of the miners result to violence and sabotage that result in the death of many miners and whole community losing their source of income. It can therefore, be deduced that lack of unity amongst the poor is one of the reasons that prevent them from improving their lives since they cannot take collective measures to improve their conditions.

Germinal is a representation of the hard life that the poor have to endure in an oppressive economic system where they are under-compensated for their efforts thereby, leading to a vicious cycle of poverty. In the novel, Zola analyzes the life in a mining town from an outsider's perspective through Lantier, giving the readers insight into the causes of poverty. The author presents the under-compensation of workers as the primary cause of persistent poverty; however, he also points out the flaws of the poor that also contribute to their poverty. The main flaws that Émile Zola highlighted include, lack of unity and inaction which to a large extent contribute to the economic stagnation of the poor.











Works Cited

Ellis Havelock. “Germinal by Émile Zola.” Everyman's Library, 1894. Pp 8-31, Retrieved from, http://www.jlroberson.org/public_domain/Germinal_Zola.pdf

Biography. “Émile Zola.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 17 May 2017, Retrieved from, www.biography.com/people/emile-zola-37621.