Getting Oriented Who is Étienne Lantier, and why does he end up working at the Voreux? What is daily life like for the Maheu family, and how does the novel show it in physical detail? Why does Zola describe the mine itself almost like a living creature? What should I know about the Rougon-Macquart cycle to place Germinal within it?
Reading Deeper How does the strike start, and what makes the miners finally act? What is the difference between Étienne's politics and Souvarine's, and why does that difference matter? How does Zola use crowd scenes — the marches, the riots — to make the miners feel like a single collective force? What does the novel's final image, of digging continuing underground as Étienne walks away, seem to promise or refuse to promise?