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Bui Thi Minh Tram
Lecturer Calum Leatham
English - American Literature
30 January 2024
How does the conflict in “South of the Slot” embody naturalistic themes of determinism
and societal influence on individual destinies?
A well-written “South of the Slot”, which was written by a prolific author Jack London,
successfully embraced the rugged naturalistic spirit of America during the late 19th and 20th
centuries. The novel depicts the inner turmoil of the protagonist on the quest for self-discovery,
which reveals the harsh societal standards of success and happiness. This essay will analyze how
the themes of determinism and societal influence on individual destinies are portrayed in the
novel from a naturalistic viewpoint.
“South of the Slot” is among the most notable works of Jack London. The story describes
a college professor known as Freddie Drummond, who disguises himself as “Big” Bill Totts to
work among and study the laborers in the South of Market Street in San Francisco. As a person
who “made a practice of living in both worlds”, Freddie has an inner turmoil to reconcile his
radical, working-class identity with that of his middle-class, literary self. In the story, the author
uses naturalism, a literary movement that emerged in the late 1800s as an offshoot of realism, to
embody the brutal realities of life and the influence of the environment on human behavior.
While employing naturalism as an ideal way to portray the story, Jack London adopted a
deterministic viewpoint. Determinism in literature is the idea that the course of an individual’s
life is determined by nature or fate. In the novel, the main character’s perception is profoundly
influenced by environmental factors. In the novel, the “Slot” is not merely a setting itself, it is a
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metaphor for the division of social classes. The North area is for people with affluent positions,
whereas the South area is for the poorest strata of society. In that society, wealth and knowledge
are elements entailing success and happiness for a person, which are also pre-set standards to
conform to. Thus, Freddie has to live up to the expectations of two contracting classes when he
traverses between two strikingly different sides of his personality. As a professor, he remains
quiet, polite, and very formal. Nevertheless, he drinks, smokes, and “laughs often and heartily”
when he is an unskilled laborer. It is clear that the main character is struggling with an identity
crisis imposed by brutal social norms.
While making his venture to the South, he experiences mental oppression since the
materialistic life does not bring the happiness he yearns for, therefore he develops his working-
class identity. Eventually, Freddie decides to end the inner conflict by morphing into Bill Totts
and joining the labor protest. His decision disdained his previous life, freeing him from the
chains of worldly constraints to pursue happiness and serenity.
Overall, by using naturalism, the author successfully depicted the harsh realities of life
and the struggles of the main character against pre-set societal standards. Despite having a
wealthy life, Freddie ultimately chooses to be Bill Totts, a working-class identity. He fights
against the worldly constraints to pursue his real self and to have real happiness.
