Gold rush overview

The reason people are heading to Alaska is to gain a better life for themselves and their families by striking it rich with gold in the mountains. Chaplin shoots this theme brilliantly on top of a peak, where we see a line of people climbing to the top of a mountain with a string of many more following them below. The opportunity to go from no class to high class was realistic if someone struck gold. They would be able to gain the respect of society, provide a better way of living for their family and earn the ability to pull the next generation out of poverty and into opportunities to do even better than they had done. Bustling towns grow from seemingly nothing because of the frenzy for gold.