I came across this short story by Jack London awhile ago and finally got around to reading it.  I have a faint recollection of someone reading The Call of the Wild to me but I’m not sure.  It is a book on my TBR.

There are no dogs in The Apostate but it is a good social commentary on child labor.

Johnny is just 12 years old when the story opens.  He is working in a factory to help support his mother and siblings.  His mother works in a factory as well, in fact it was twelve years ago the she gave birth to Johnny on a factory floor.

“It was Johnny, born with the pounding, crashing roar of the looms in his ears, drawing with his first breath the warm, moist air that was thick with flying lint. He had coughed that first day in order to rid his lungs of the lint; and for the same reason he had coughed ever since.”

Johnny is a very hard worker and he get promoted to other tasks the earn more money.  He does best with tasks that pay per piece because he is very fast, almost like a machine, himself.  
There were childhood labor laws in place by this time but Johnny was taught to lie and the factories ignored the fact that many of there workers were under age.  When his brother Will turned 12, Johnny asked his mother why Will couldn’t work for awhile so he could go to school but she refused and said he was too young.  Johnny knew that she actually had plans for Will to stay in school so he could get a better job.
One day Johnny…
Yeah, you’ll have to read the story to knows what happens.  Like I said, it is a good social commentary of the days back in the U.S. when children worked in factories.  It’s well written and engaging.  From the descriptions of the tasks that Johnny did, I felt like I was a child working along side him.  You can read it here.
Did you review this story or another by Jack London?  If so, please leave the link in the comments.

Short Story Monday is hosted by John at The Book Mine Set.
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