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Illustrated portrait of Mr. Wickson

A character in The Iron Heel

Mr. Wickson

Wickson is a wealthy capitalist who recognizes Ernest as a serious threat.

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

Wickson is a wealthy capitalist who recognizes Ernest as a serious threat. Unlike guests who hide behind ethics or economics, he states plainly that his class will use force to remain in power. He becomes part of the oligarchic order. His later personal fate is not central, though his estate unknowingly shelters revolutionaries.

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