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Illustrated portrait of Ernest Everhard

A character in The Iron Heel

Ernest Everhard

Ernest is a socialist theorist, labor leader, speaker, congressman, and underground strategist.

The book

Cover of The Iron Heel by Jack London
The Iron HeelJack London, 1908

Industrial wealth consolidates into an oligarchy and crushes the movement trying to oppose it.

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Who they are in the book

Spoiler-free

Ernest is a socialist theorist, labor leader, speaker, congressman, and underground strategist. He wants workers to recognize class power and predicts that the oligarchy will reject democratic defeat. His confidence and force inspire Avis and others, though the future editor warns that her portrait magnifies his role. He is captured and secretly executed before the Second Revolt; the exact manner remains unknown.

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