had done nothing. The men all gave a piece of clothe to be used and when Mac was done there was clothe left over and Mac had it all burned because if he had given it back to the men, they would have felt as if they did not contribute anything. Mac explains the dire importance of using everything they can to Jim when he says,"'Course it was nice to help the girl, but hell, even if it killed her-- we've got to use anything."(66)At this point in the novel Jim has not yet realized that people are simply there to be exploited. This is the point in the story where the dehumanization of Jim begins. In the same passage as above Mac reveals the ultimate goal of the Party is to teach the men how to work together as one cohesive unit, not to just raise wages. After this revelation Mac lets Jim know that the strike is ready to go and that London is on their side. All that is now needed is a catalyst to get the reaction going. An old man named Dan turns out to be this catalyst that is needed to get the strike going. Jim initially befriends Dan and likes him. When Jim tells Mac this Mac's reaction is anything but congenial. Mac replied, "What in Christ's name for?...Don't waste your time on old guys like that. He's no good. You'll get yourself converted to hopelessness if you talk to old men."(79) The reason that Mac tells Jim this is because he believes that old Dan is worthless when it comes to striking. He is trying to dehumanize Jim by telling him not to waste time making friends and acquaintances that are not able to help the cause. Little did Mac know that Dan would actually start the strike. The next day Dan falls through a rotten ladder and breaks his hip. The men crowd around and start beating up the checker. This is the beginning of the strike. When Mac comes over to find out what all the commotion is about, the only thing he has to say about Dan getting hurt was, "The old buzzard was worth something after all."(107) Jim questions Mac an
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