The Benefit of the Doubt

In London’s The Benefit of the Doubt Carter Watson, an eminent sociologist, has spent most of his life around the world studying the dynamics of society and human behavior. Twenty years later, he returns in his own hometown, and he cannot believe his eyes: the quiet and decent neighborhood of his childhood has given way to the degradation and squalor, becoming an infamous area. His curiosity as a scholar leads him, however, to venture among the shabby streets in search of new inspiration for his work, and it is while exploring the interior of an inn that he found himself involved in a fight. His opponent is the owner of the inn, Patsy Horan, a man of uncivilized ways and a regrettable reputation. Not even the intervention of a police officer will restore justice, because the system that governs the city is dominated by corruption and immorality. They will be judged in a courtroom, but since there is no sufficient evidence to establish who has started the fight, both are given the benefit of the doubt, and therefore the acquittal.

Keywords: The Benefit of the Doubt, Jack London, Faligi