This source is useful for an enquiry into conditions in the workhouse as it says "I, for one,
know that I have paid many times over". This suggests that the work that they had to do in
the workhouse was extremely difficult. This source's usefulness is increased as I know that
the work was made deliberately difficult as a deterrent. Inmates would often spend hours
picking oakum or completing other forms of hard labour, such as stone breaking for 10 hours
a day. The source is also useful as it is written by Jack London who spent time living in
workhouses whilst researching for his book and therefore he would have witnessed the
conditions. Although this meant that he only spent time in the casual ward his work gives an
insight into working conditions. As a novelist he may have used exaggerated language to
entertain his readers however much of what he writes describes the unsanitary and horrible
conditions of the workhouse. Overall I believe that this source would be useful to a historian
as it gives accurate, first hand information on one area of the workhouse.
Source A^
How useful is source A for an enquiry into conditions in the workhouse? [8]