Jack London Research Paper
Kane Whitlock
Ms. Baswell
English III
4 November 2014
Author: Jack London
Jack London was one of America’s most celebrated writers. London (1876-1916) gained worldwide acclaim as a writer by basing his works on his own colorful worldwide exploits. “Jack London was a native Californian who achieved worldwide acclaim as a powerful storyteller, a legendary public figure, and America 's most commercially successful writer” (Hogge 12). London had a remarkable talent for writing about many of issues that occurred in American society during the early years of the twentieth century. He related many things about his personal life to his writing in such a way that made his writing believable. Jack London’s use of imagery, theme, and symbolism helps the readers visualize the story he is telling.
Jack London was born in San Francisco, California in 1876. He was born as an illegimate child into a life of poverty. His early years were plagued by poverty and eventually forced London to enter the working world at the early age of ten. This caused London to develop a self-reliance and resilience that would later appear in many of his writings. Although he was denied a formal education, he compensated by becoming an avid reader who could often be found at the public library reading all sorts of books. In 1893, London started his first legitimate job as a member of the crew of a sealing vessel on the North Pacific. This job took him on a seven month voyage at sea which proved to be the start of a great adventure for London. After this job he traveled across the country, all the way to New York. However this trip ended up with him getting arrested for vagrancy, which caused him to return to California. After returning to California, London enrolled in high school where he contributed many writings to the student literary magazine. He eventually completed his entrance exams to the University of California at Berkeley. Unfortunately, he had to drop out after a year due to
Ms. Baswell
English III
4 November 2014
Author: Jack London
Jack London was one of America’s most celebrated writers. London (1876-1916) gained worldwide acclaim as a writer by basing his works on his own colorful worldwide exploits. “Jack London was a native Californian who achieved worldwide acclaim as a powerful storyteller, a legendary public figure, and America 's most commercially successful writer” (Hogge 12). London had a remarkable talent for writing about many of issues that occurred in American society during the early years of the twentieth century. He related many things about his personal life to his writing in such a way that made his writing believable. Jack London’s use of imagery, theme, and symbolism helps the readers visualize the story he is telling.
Jack London was born in San Francisco, California in 1876. He was born as an illegimate child into a life of poverty. His early years were plagued by poverty and eventually forced London to enter the working world at the early age of ten. This caused London to develop a self-reliance and resilience that would later appear in many of his writings. Although he was denied a formal education, he compensated by becoming an avid reader who could often be found at the public library reading all sorts of books. In 1893, London started his first legitimate job as a member of the crew of a sealing vessel on the North Pacific. This job took him on a seven month voyage at sea which proved to be the start of a great adventure for London. After this job he traveled across the country, all the way to New York. However this trip ended up with him getting arrested for vagrancy, which caused him to return to California. After returning to California, London enrolled in high school where he contributed many writings to the student literary magazine. He eventually completed his entrance exams to the University of California at Berkeley. Unfortunately, he had to drop out after a year due to
Cited: Center. Web. 4 Nov. 2011. Hendricks, King. Jack London: Master Craftsman of the Short Story. Logan: Utah State U P, 1966 Peregrine, 1978. 13-30. Hogge, Robert M Ed. Richard H. Cracroft. Detroit: Gale Group, 1999. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol "Jack London." St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Detroit: Gale, 2013. Biography in Context Labor, Earle. "Jack London." American Short-Story Writers, 1880-1910. Ed. Bobby Ellen Kimbel and William E Biography Vol. 78. Literature Resource Center. Web. 4 Nov. 2014. Mann, John S. "The Theme of the Double in The Call of the Wild." Markham Review 8 (Fall 1978): 1-5 Stanley. Vol. 8. Detroit: Gale, 2000. Literature Resource Center. Web. 4 Nov. 2014. “White Fang” Literature.Org: The Online Literature Library. 2014. Web. 10 Nov. 2014