The Black Gang · Theme
Class Conflict
How The Black Gang develops Class Conflict.
The book portrays a stark divide between the upper-class heroes and the working-class or foreign agitators, with the former seeing themselves as defenders of a threatened social order.
Where it surfaces
- I: In Which Things Happen Near Barking Creek
The leader's disdain for the 'loathsome brood' and his treatment of the clerks and Jews highlight class and ethnic tensions.
- In Which Hugh Drummond Composes a Letter
The contrast between Hugh's aristocratic background and Lady Manton's social climbing underscores class tensions.
- In Which Count Zadowa Gets a Shock
The Count's plan to incite unemployed workers in Sheffield highlights the class tensions of the era.
- In Which Charles Latter, M.P., Goes Mad
Latter's plot to blow up a power station would throw thousands of workers out of employment, highlighting the divide between the ruling class and the working poor.
- XI: In Which Hugh Drummond and the Reverend Theodosius Longmoor Take Lunch Together
The tension between the upper-class characters and the criminal underworld, as well as the use of wealth and privilege, is evident.