Hard Times within the Novel «The Iron Heel» paper

From the story line, it seems that a clear distinction is made as to who the target audience is. The middle class highly educated and working for the upper class is used to show the upcoming and foreseeable uprising. By involving the middles class, London draws out the class differences and eventually makes the audience question whether the gaps created by the inequalities are closing or worsening further. From their observations, if the target audience concludes that the circumstances as they are promote only one class, the wealthy, then the class tensions rise not only between the lower class and the rich but also between the middle class and the wealthy (Zinn 580).This is shown in Jack London’s novel. Ernest Everhard’s involvement with the middle class serves to point out these differences. Ernest points out that the middle class has no idea how the working class lives or exists. This is because the middle class employed and depending on the upper class can not associate itself with the poor. Everything they do in order to protect their masters in the upper class and so that they do not lose their position within society. In order to raise awareness of the social injustices experienced by the low classes, Ernest challenges some of the members of the middle class (London 83).

Through these challenges, Ernest shows the power of the capitalist system ranging from the justice system to their ability to censor the media. In an example of this power, Ernest tells of a story in which a worker gets injured at the factory. He sues that factory but loses the case with the company arguing that he was careless and that was why he got hurt. When Avis question him on why she has not heard of the story yet, he says that this is a demonstration of the capitalist’s system power over the justice system as well as their ability to censor the media (London 89). Ernest’s honest and candid descriptions of the suffering of the people is not meant as some form of shock treatment on the people. He just presents the facts; he is an individual who feels compelled to educate the people on the social injustices which he hopes will make them want to take action to stop the injustices.