Jack Londons life, reputation, and characteristics of literature that he has written - Essay Example

Jack London Jack London was a social activist, journalist, and an American author. He was among the first fiction authors to obtain global celebrity because of his exceptional works. He has written various short stories, novels, and poems and with time has shown the world that even exciting tales, taking place in bizarre places can have numerous intricacies of wonderful literature (London 3-5). Therefore, this discourse gives limelight to his life, reputation, and characteristics of literature that he has written. It is without doubt that London’s literary work is based mostly on his childhood experiences, which he clearly illustrates using elements such as symbolism and imagery to develop exceptional themes such as existentialism and survival. Life of Jack London Jack London was born on January 12th, 1876, in San Francisco. His childhood formed his personality as well as his outlook in his later literary life. Research shows that he spent most of his time in solitude; hence, developed competent skills in storytelling. He did not have a definite home; thus, most of his early ears he lived with his wet nurse and as time went by he lived with a black woman who was called Virginia Prentiss, then his mother flora Wellman. Despite Flora’s flaws as a mother, she instilled the significance of education in London; hence, by the time he was five years old, he could read and attend numerous grammar schools until the age of fourteen years. Therefore, in 1891, he graduated from Cole grammar school though his real education emanated from the public libraries. When he was ten years old, he started going to the public libraries and his voracious reading skills and quiet demeanor impressed Donna Smith, the librarian; hence, became his guide. As he was growing up, he preferred solitary reading to being in the classroom. However, he acknowledges that his life in school shaped the person he was later to become (Haley 12-13; London 3-6). In the year 1885, there was an outbreak of diseases, which killed most of London’s animals. His mother resorted into gambling in an effort to make ends meet and subsequently they moved to a cottage that was located in downtown Oakland. It was during those years that London discovered who he really was and the fact that he was born out of wedlock made him defiant. He engaged in fights with boys from the neighborhood and became bossy. Later he started working at Hickmott’s Cannery to support his family whereby he could work for sixteen hours, seven days a week. Since he loathed the job, he later decided to quit and that marked his beginning of a new life as a writer. He started by publishing a collection of short stories referred to as ‘son of the wolf’, which addressed his struggle with identity and lack of a supportive father (Haley 24-26; London 4-5). By the year 1893, London was intelligent and well read; hence, could at times develop opinions in regard to complex societal issues. However, this proved to be risky as his opinions and beliefs led to immense criticism from his rivals. In addition, in his attempts to prove the newspapers wrong in regard to the fat that the unemployed were lazy, he was arrested in New York for a period of eighteen months because of vagrancy and freeloading. He recounted his life in prison in one of his non-fiction narratives entitled,’ the road’. When he was released he returned to Oakland and his mother started supporting his literary aspirations. In the age of 19 years, he was enrolled in a private Oakland High School and started writing on matters related to politics in the school publication, which ran in March of the year 1895 (Haley 29-31). Therefore, it is without doubt that the life struggles, his upbringing, and the support of his mother made London an exceptional writer. Consequently, most of his books are about animals or people who are unwillingly placed in the wild and their immense struggle to stay alive (London). Literary Reputation At the time of his death, in the year 1916 at the age of 40, London had established a solid reputation as a popular author. Even before enrolling in the private Oakland School, he was able to publish a short story entitled; ‘Typhoon off the Coast of Japan’ where he won his first prize in a contest that included other students from Stanford and Berkeley (Stasz 31). In addition, in 1909, he published ‘Martin Eden’, which is a tale of a youthful sailor who was striving to win fame as well as love. The book is an excellent portrayal of youthful idealism and its subsequent demise. In the book, readers get to understand that London’s career began in a challenging period whereby he had to educate himself. He was determined to move away from the lower class with no tool other than a typewriter, which he had rented Although most of his critics belittle his works, alleging he was the next door ‘wolf guy’ who was an illegitimate son of an astrologer, his books are still widely read in the US.. Consequently, by the time he died, he had already replaced Mark Twain as one of the most famous and celebrated authors in the US (Baskett 66-71). Today, he is remembered because of his adventure stories such as ‘to build a fire’, ‘white fang’ and the ‘wolf: the lives of Jack London’. He has also written numerous poems such as ‘cupid’s deal, which was published in 1913, ‘effusion’ in 1901, ‘homeland’, published in the year 1914, ‘memory’ in 1913 and the ‘sea farmer in 1912. In addition, he published numerous books, articles, plays, poems, short stories, and alcoholism memoir. He is also widely remembered because of his controversial and informative alcoholism memoirs and socialist tracts. Therefore, it is sound to assert that London was widely known because of his short stories as well as novels since he was an adventure writer. During his time, there was no television or radio; hence, people loved to read and get information on various places they could not afford to visit. However, of the more than fifty books that he published in his career, ‘the call of the wild’, which was published in 1903 is the most widely read novel. In addition, ‘ the iron heel’, which was published in 1908 and reflects on the views of the socialists, the ‘sea-wolf’, and the short stories entitled ‘love of life’, ‘bastard’, and ‘’to build a fire’ are considered as exceptional classics in the American literature. For instance, to build a fire’ is a tragic story of a man who decided to travel alone in an unfriendly environment and became a victim of unforgiving strength of nature. The tale’s main theme is one that has always been portrayed by most existentialist authors, alleging that generally a man lives in solitude because of the unforgiving power as well as forces of nature, and relentless; hence it is his goal to find meaning and reason behind his existence (Gill 39-41). Consequently, his popularity led to the Boundary Peak 100 being named after him whereby it is now known as Mount London, which is located in Columbia. In addition, there is Jack London Square in California as well as Jack London Lake, which is located in the upper regions of Kolyma River in Magadan Oblast. In addition, he won various awards such as the Newberry Medal after publishing his novel, ‘the call of the wild’ in 1931. He also received a prestigious honor from the American Postal Service, which had 25 cents postage stamps from the great American series. Therefore, London was able to rise to greater heights and became the highest paid author during his era and with his high income he was able to publish other novels, poems, and short stories among other literary works (Bostrom 128-131). Characteristics of Literature London was a competent writer whose works combined socialism, adventure, mysticism, as well as themes of race. His stories had diverse themes and styles. For instance, in his publication, ‘to build a fire’, the theme of nature versus man was predominant and is seen when the main character tries to build fire in order to save himself from the strange and uncouth unforgiving nature. The theme of nature has an immense meaning in most of his tales, whereby he illustrates the powerful status of nature and how dangerous it can be. In addition, in the same story, he uses the literary technique of symbolism, whereby he uses fire as the main symbol, whereby he elaborates how life is in a cold world. Moreover, symbolism is a recurring theme in most of his stories, including ‘law of life’ and ‘call of the wild’ whereby he uses the symbols of canine as the main motif behind his works. He uses them to portray his main belief that it is only the fittest beings that are able to survive in a harsh world (Miller 172-178). In addition, in his publication, ‘to build a fire’ he uses the theme of existentialism, whereby, the setting of the plot takes place in the wilderness in the harsh months of winter. He uses imagery to illustrate more on his theme, whereby he uses whiteness, cold, and gloom to set the mood of the tale; hence, drawing a mental picture of a merciless environment in which his character ought to endure. London uses the element of imagery in an excellent way that the reader almost feels the harsh environment and almost hears the dangerous crackle, when the characters spit in the free air (Gill 42). With the use of such vivid technique of imagery, London helps the readers in realizing the theme of the story. He also uses irony to stress on his theme of existentialism and with his classic style; he is able to create a memorable and exemplary tale that illustrates on a man’s need to find meaning in his solitary life in an environment that is indifferent and intolerant. He is able to emphasize his theme through his setting, irony, and imagery. Moreover, in his publication the ‘call of the wild’, he uses the element of symbolism whereby he uses symbols such as Mercedes’ possessions and buck’s traces to develop themes such as laws of the wilderness as well as civilization, struggle for mastery, primitive instincts, and the power behind ancestral memory. Most of his novels are built on the theme of survival, whereby he is able to use various symbols and elements to create a depressing, cold, and terrifying mood (London 3). Conclusion It is without doubt that London’s work emanated from his childhood experiences. He was able to write various novels, poems, and short stories built on his earlier struggles in regard to his identity and his struggle to survive. Most of his tales have a frightening mood mostly in scenarios whereby the setting takes place in the wilderness. It is apparent that his works will be greatly remembered because of his rich use of elements such as imagery, irony, and symbolism, which have helped in developing informative themes. Works Cited Baskett, Sam. “Jack London’s Heart of Darkness.” American Quarterly, 10.1 (2007): 66-71. Bostrom, Kathleen. Winning authors: Profiles of the Newbery Medalists. New York: Libraries Unlimited, 2003. Haley, James. Wolf: the Lives of Jack London: New York: Basic, 2010. Gill, Shelley. Alaska: An Alaskan Author & Educator Shares Cool Activities, Projects, Games, Maps, and Fascinating Facts to Help You Explore Our Northernmost State. California: Scholastic, Inc, 2003. London, Jack. The call of the Wild. New York: eBookEden. Com, 2008. Miller, Russell. “Crystal Beards and Dantean Influence in Jack London’s “to build a fire” A Quarterly Journal of Short Articles, Notes and Reviews, 23.3 (2010): 172-178. Stasz, Clarice. Jack London’s Women. Massachusetts: University of Massachusetts Press, 2001. Read More