The most common motif in early twentieth century radical literature is
the conversion narrative. A variation on the bildungsroman, these works
feature conversions to socialism or to the labor movement that are
modeled on techniques used by evangelical revivalists and on the
experiences of religious converts. The most widely read and emblematic
radical authors to consistently employ this trope were Jack London and
Upton Sinclair. Not only did London and Sinclair continually utilize the
conversion story in their fiction and nonfiction, they both described
their own discovery of socialism as a religious conversion. In their
work, both authors diligently seek to conflate Christianity and
socialism and to prove that, not only are the two compatible, but that
authentic observance of Christianity demands the endorsement of
socialism. London and Sinclair use their writing as a method of
evangelism that aims to convince their audience that socialism is a
religious enterprise and means to salvation.