Saturday, March 5, 2011

The People of the Abyss by Jack London

I read about this book somewhere on the 'net and it peaked my interest. I borrowed it from the library (I love the library!) and in the end was really happy to have read it.

Since it was first published in Britain in 1903, the language is wordy and a little hard to get through. However, the message is clear; being poor in London in the early years of the 20th century was horrible.

London disguised himself as an out of work seaman in order to find out how folks in similar circumstances lived. It was an eye opener for him and for me.

We've all heard the stories about the Home Children being scooped up from the street and shipped to Canada. I feel sad when I hear how badly some of those children were treated. However, knowing what the conditions were like for children in the East end of London, I am happy that someone tried to help them. In fact, London praised Dr. Bernardo for rescuing hundred of children and providing passage for them to Canada.

It was so sad to read about the elderly who couldn't work who had to line up to get into shelters for the night - when the shelters were full they were turned away. Then there was no other choice but to spend the night outside where the police rousted them and moved them along continually. These people were homeless through no fault of their own and they were sick, hungry and sleep deprived.

The author tells of one experience where the Salvation Army advertised a free breakfast. The had passed some coupons out on Saturday evening and those people got in around 5:00 in the morning. Everyone else had to line up and finally got inside around a couple of hours later. They had to stand in a courtyard and were packed in like sardines. Many slept standing up and had no fear of falling as there was no room. These starving exhausted people waited until 11:00 to get something to eat and then found out they were expected to stay for the service at noon. And, they weren't allowed to leave. Most of them were upset since by the time the service was over, most of the day would be gone and there would be no chance to look for work and they might even be too late to get into a shelter. London managed to get out by appealing to several of the higher ranking officers.

We are so lucky to have the social programs we do have and this book reminded me to be grateful.

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