The Earth by Émile Zola (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide

By Bright Summaries

Unlock the more straightforward side of The Earth with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!

This engaging summary presents an analysis of The Earth by Émile Zola, a richly detailed account of a farming community with such a strong attachment to the earth that it drives them to unthinkably dark deeds in order to preserve their claims to their family’s land. The Earth forms part of Les Rougon-Macquart, an ambitious cycle of 20 novels which tells the story of one extended family under the Second French Empire. Émile Zola was the leading figure of the literary school of naturalism, as well as an influential social thinker, and is now regarded as one of France’s greatest novelists.

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This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you:

• A complete plot summary
• Character studies
• Key themes and symbols
• Questions for further reflection

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• Language: English
• Publisher: BrightSummaries.com
• Release date: Sep 22, 2017
• ISBN: 9782806296221

Book preview

French writer and journalist

Born in Paris in 1840.

Died in Paris in 1902.

Notable works:

Nana (1880), novel

The Ladies’ Paradise (1883), novel

Germinal (1885), novel

Émile Zola was born in 1840 and is one of the most celebrated novelists of 19th century France. He died in 1902, and is renowned as the leading figure of naturalism, a literary movement which aimed to incorporate the latest scientific innovations of the era. In his novels, Zola introduces a hypothesis formed following real-life observation and then tests it through experimentation. This aesthetic is exemplified by the Rougon-Macquart cycle of novels. This series of 20 books was Zola’s most significant literary output, and was hugely successful despite its many detractors.

Zola is also famous for the political stances he took, which often led to reprisals against him. The best-known of these incidents was his condemnation of the Dreyfus affair, when Zola wrote a public letter entitled J’accuse…! (I accuse, 1898) which made a significant contribution to the resolution of the affair and Captain Dreyfus being cleared of the charges levelled against him.