Jack London's South Of The Slot

Analysis of “South of Slot” In a short story “ South of the Slot” by Jack London, a naturalist writer, encounters the difference between the laboring class and bourgeoisie culture. Jack London introduces Freddie Drummond, a sociologist professor, who explores the class cleavage of society by exposing himself to south side of the slot. The South of the slot consist of the laboring class, which contains machine shops, laundries, and abodes the working class. In order for Freddie Drummond to gain understanding of the ways of the laboring class he became one of them thus understanding the aspects of working and bourgeoisie, and class consciousness. Freddie Drummond examines the division of the slot south and north of it. Drummond wrote the The Unskilled Laborer, which explains the slang and ways of life of the working class. As in character Drummond created an alter ego called Big Bill Totts, who worked doing piece work easily earning two dollars a day to having the ability to work multiple jobs. Living a double life made him understand the living of the south of the slot laboring class and the difference from the north side. It is seen that the way of living, feelings, and actions of the working social group view life differently than privileged people on the north side.

The working class often have to work hard for what they want gaining only maximum of a dollar or two a the day. While bourgeoisie, the middle class, have a different way of living where individuals go to theatres, hotels, shopping districts,and business houses. Some people that are classified in the “bourgeoisie” group, often never had to work as hard the laboring class. The rich get richer, while the poor get poorer. Big Bill Totts understood the struggle and everyday life by actually living it as in drinking,eating,and working as the working class did to make a