A comparative study of the concept of revolution in Germinal by Émile Zola and Mother by Maxim Gorky

By writing Germinal in the 19th century, Emil Zola brought the working class into the novel writing world as the motive and the hero of the stories for the first time in the French literature history. He had a significant impact on the writers who constantly wrote about revolution. Maxim Gorky is also among those who had taken this into sober consideration in his work, Mother. This comparative study aims to discover the concept of revolution in both of the above-mentioned works. The chains of events in both works illuminate for us the necessary elements for a revolution to occur. Poverty, as the main reason along with awareness, leadership, and sacrifice as the main factors are among the motives of progress with revolution in both novels. Such similarities are separated when it comes to characterization and realism. In the end the both authors give hope to the fighters by depicting a better future for them.