Deplorables in Chains of Iron

Ann Ono’s scathing rebuttal of political exploitation and industrial oppression.

In Deplorables, Rev. Dr. Ann Ono delivers a searing commentary on the exploitation of factory workers, weaving together the toxic intersection of industrial degradation and political manipulation. The title itself is a deliberate and thoughtful nod to Hillary Clinton’s use of the term during her 2016 presidential campaign, when she described a portion of Donald Trump’s supporters as belonging to a “basket of deplorables.” While Republicans, including Trump, turned this into an attack on her character, framing her as out of touch and elitist, Ono forcefully reclaims the term in her novel, portraying the real “deplorables” not as irredeemable people but as victims of systemic injustice.

Ono aligns herself with Clinton’s true intent, arguing that Clinton was in fact defending the dignity of the working class while denouncing the dangers of populist rhetoric that serves only to deceive. The novel expresses horror at the narcissism of a political leader who feigns care for the working class, while in truth exploiting them for political and economic gain. This fictionalized portrayal of a nation betrayed by its leaders draws chilling parallels to real-life events, where promises of prosperity serve as empty platitudes masking the dehumanization of workers. Deplorables lays bare the empty gestures of empathy that are used as tools of manipulation by those in power, allowing readers to understand how entire communities are “discarded” once they have served their purpose as political pawns.

Factory Hell: Political Betrayal and the Industrial Machine

Through the metaphor of the iron mills, Ono offers a powerful, vivid depiction of factory life that captures the relentless grind of industrial labor. The machinery is described as a monster that devours both the workers’ bodies and spirits, reducing human lives to raw material in the pursuit of profit. Much like From the Iron Mills of Yomi, this second novel in the omnibus underscores the soul-crushing conditions of factory workers, whose value is only measured by how much capital they can generate. The author paints a chilling picture of lives being “ground to dust,” reminding us that the machine does not merely destroy bodies—it erases identities.

The prioritization of profits over people is once again a core theme, powerfully expressed in lines from the novel such as, “In the mills, humanity was sold for the price of steel, and souls were smelted into profit.” Here, Ono emphasizes the brutal trade-off between human dignity and economic success, echoing themes from her earlier work. However, Deplorables ventures deeper into the political dimension of this dehumanization, particularly how workers are lured into supporting leaders who care little for their welfare. The lie that their exploitation will ultimately benefit them is presented as a profound betrayal—both political and moral.

The Aphorisms of Industrial Despair

A notable element of Deplorables is its extensive use of aphorisms, a literary device Ono employs to intensify the emotional resonance of her critique. These aphorisms distill complex arguments about industrialization into powerful, succinct expressions of human suffering. Several of the aphorisms reflect the grim realities of factory life:

• “The factory is a cage without walls, but with chains around the soul.”
• “The steel may be unbreakable, but it is built on the backs of the broken.”
• “In the eyes of capital, man is merely another cog in the wheel of profit.”

In this way, Deplorables continues Ono’s dialogue with political theorists and social critics like Karl Marx, whose work is also cited throughout the novel. Marx’s observation that “the worker becomes the poorer the more wealth he produces” finds new resonance in Deplorables, where the workers’ labor enriches the very forces that oppress them. The novel skillfully incorporates quotations from historical critiques of industrial capitalism, such as Henry David Thoreau’s famous line, “We do not ride on the railroad; it rides upon us,” to convey how industrial progress has warped human existence.

Yomi: The Political Abyss

Ono’s use of the word “Yomi” as a metaphor for industrial hell carries great symbolic weight, as it bridges ancient mythology with the dystopian reality of modern factory life. In Japanese mythology, Yomi is the land of the dead—a dark, forsaken place where lost souls wander without hope of release. Here, Ono uses “Yomi” to describe the grim, seemingly endless conditions in which workers toil, suggesting that factory life is a kind of living death. The factories, for all their technological advancement, are revealed as a form of purgatory where human beings are condemned to endless suffering.

By situating her narrative in the “Iron Mills of Yomi,” Ono connects the brutal, unyielding machinery of industrial capitalism to a deeper spiritual and existential crisis. Her characters, trapped in these infernal factories, are stripped of their humanity and reduced to tools of production. The “deplorables” are not the unworthy masses as their political leaders might have them believe; they are the tragic victims of an economic system that grinds them into dust for profit. Here, Ono’s metaphor becomes both social and political, suggesting that these workers are abandoned not only by industry but by their leaders.

Comparing Deplorables to Other Literary Giants

Deplorables stands in the tradition of great literary works that critique the effects of industrialization on the human soul. Echoes of Charles Dickens’ Hard Times reverberate throughout the novel, especially in its portrayal of a system that places profits over people. Like Dickens’ fictional Coketown, Ono’s iron mills are emblematic of a world where nature and humanity are systematically erased in favor of cold, mechanical progress. The stark industrial landscape of Deplorables also invites comparison to Émile Zola’s Germinal, a novel that similarly exposes the exploitation of miners during the Industrial Revolution.

Perhaps the most poignant comparison can be drawn with Rebecca Harding Davis’s Life in the Iron Mills, a novella that Ono clearly draws upon for inspiration. Both works share a concern for the brutal conditions in which factory workers live and labor, though Ono expands the narrative by incorporating modern political concerns. The novel’s central thesis—that workers are betrayed by the very leaders they trust—adds a new layer of urgency to the traditional industrial novel.

An Indictment of Modern Political Deceit

Rev. Dr. Ann Ono’s Deplorables is not just a condemnation of the factory system; it is an indictment of political manipulation and the exploitation of the working class. In a world where populist leaders promise salvation to factory workers while simultaneously profiting from their labor, Ono delivers a stark warning about the dangers of blind trust in political rhetoric. Through her portrayal of a narcissistic, self-serving president who cares little for the fate of the workers, Ono reveals the deep moral bankruptcy at the heart of modern politics. She challenges her readers to see through the lies that justify their suffering and to question the systems of power that hold them in thrall.

In reclaiming the term “deplorables,” Ono gives voice to the true victims of industrial capitalism and political deceit. This novel serves as a powerful reminder that the fate of the working class is often decided by forces beyond their control—and that those forces are all too willing to sacrifice human dignity for profit.