«The Iron Heel» college essay example

When one first thinks of the most acclaimed, well read and critiqued dystopian novels, two major works come to mind: The ‘Brave New World’ by Huxley and �’ by George Orwell. However, there is one dystopian novel which gets overlooked despite having preceded the two. Before any of this two novels, there was Jack London’s ‘The Iron Heel’, a dystopian novel chronicling the oppressive rise of an oligarchy and depicting the gloom and doom experienced by the poor. The story is told from the future, following the formation of a brotherhood and a successful uprising. ‘The Iron Heel’ depicts a more straightforward, ever present and even greater evil stalking the modern age; the abusive power of the rich, the bourgeoisie’s ability to crush the powerless under its iron heel. From the narration, characterization and depiction of scenes in the novel, the readers become aware of the tendencies of the capitalistic forces. When threatened by the poor through their organized labor, these forces have the ability to react with a dictatorial and monstrous violence effectively quelling any dissidents and make life unbearable (London 33). The forces that led to the rise of such bloody regimes as those of Mussolini and Hitler are uncannily prophesized in the novel ‘The Iron Heel’.

Perhaps in order to understand as well as visualize the scenes, one must first look at the contrasting socio-economic conditions of the time that the novel is set. At the turn of the century, the socio-economic conditions were harsh for the poor and favored the rich. The world had been through an economic depression just before the turn of the century in 1873; 1877 was characterized by massive riots and strikes at the Pittsburgh railroad; high levels of poverty and unemployment triggered mass demonstrations as people sought better economic and social conditions. On the other hand, capitalism was on the rise; greedy and selfish ambitions by the capitalists saw the development of monopolies as well as establishments of trusts which ensured that the major resources and factors of production remained in the hand of only a privileged few within society. Examples include Rockefeller, Vanderbilt and Morgan-Hill among others. In such a social and political climate, phrases like struggle, power and revolution could easily become catchphrases.