You don't have to read much into Caesar's Column to be able to make a connection between this novel and Joaquin Miller's, The Destruction of Gotham. By the time you have read up to the fifth chapter of Mr. Donnelly's novel, it is clear that there is a theme of great financial inequality between the classes; and the protagonist is on the side of the lower class --same as Miller's novel.
Donnelly's protagonist, Gabriel Weltstein, despises greed as much as Mr. Walton (from The Destruction of Gotham). Weltstein firmly believes that pursuit of money is the greatest problem in society.
At the beginning of chapter twelve, when asked what his own "Utopia" is, Gabriel replies that he envisions a world where people have no "interest on money". He claims that "Interest on money is the root and ground of the world's troubles" (80). It creates unnecessary inequality by allowing some people to "feel secure" while others struggle to achieve this sense of security.
Keep in mind that this bitterness towards money and upper class people has been a constant theme in all of the riot reading and the novels. There is really no need to overanalyze it --any society that has this unfair financial distinction between its citizens is always going to have people who believe that money and wealthy men are the source of their problems. 
As a reflection on the readings your blog entry is effective, as it draws some thematic comparisons between The Destruction of Gotham and Caesar's Column as well as bringing up several interesting ideas. In particular you cite Gabriel's idea that greed is one of societies great problems and that this problem can be remedied by eliminating interest on money. However it seems like as you begin to expand on these ideas you shift gears into the idea that inequality leads to lower class bitterness. Rather than simply dedicating one sentence to your thoughts I believe this blog entry could be improved by expanding your personal thoughts regarding interest and greed as well as how they relate to financial security. Expanding on these thoughts would better help the reader in understanding how you reached the conclusion that you did. Based on what you have already written it is clear there is a connection between greed and inequality as well as lower class misery. By expanding on your thoughts these connections would be more clear and your blog entry would be more cohesive.
ReplyDeleteSome questions I might ask now are,
ReplyDeleteWhile Gabriel is on the side of the lower classes, do you think he necessarily agrees with the ideals and methodologies of the Brotherhood of Destruction?
Do you think Gabriel's ideals of a Utopia could apply to the world in The Destruction of Gotham as well?