Jack London was an American author, born in 1876 and died at the early age of forty from uremia poisoning, in 1916. Throughout London’s life his novels and short stories impacted American authors and their literature. London began one of his many careers, writing, at twenty-one years old with his first short story, Two Gold Bricks, published in Owl Magazine. Some of the novels and short stories he is recognized for include: The Call of the Wild, White Fang, To build a Fire and Sea-Wolf. Jack London’s most frequently read short story, To Build a Fire, is the best example of London’s use of man vs. nature and his naturalistic stories. It also emulates what London experienced in the Yukon Territory. To Build a Fire is about a man on the trail in arctic weather trying to survive.
John Griffith Chaney, widely known as Jack London, born in San Francisco, California was born into a wealthy background. His mother, Flora Wellman, was very ill for most of London’s youth, so he was raised through infancy by an ex-slave, Virginia Prentiss (Stasz). London established his infatuation for reading when he discovered an old torn book on the side of the road, called Signa. The novel had many missing pages, but that didn’t stop London from picturing the outcome in many diverse scenarios (Streissguth 1).He attended school through the eighth grade, but later went back to high school at nineteen. London received most of his education by going to public libraries. As an adolescent, he worked various hard labor jobs such as: capturing poachers, sealing ships, and he even joined Kelly’s Army. His life as a writer approximately began in 1893, when he wrote Two Gold Bricks. He spent the winter of 1897 in the Yukon, a North American river that flows westwar...
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...son to pause and acknowledge the well-being and lives of wildlife. He also impacted society by informing people what life was like for people who were living and traveling through the wilderness part of the world. By looking through London’s works, you’re able to see his emotional and literary progress through the characters in his stories and their attitudes toward the environment.
In conclusion, throughout London’s life his novels and short stories impacted American authors and their literature with his point of view gained from experiences. London’s influences included: Social Darwinism, Nietzsche, and Marx. He was a literary naturalist, which led him to write over fifty plus novels and over a thousand articles. And Jack London’s most commonly read short story, To Build a Fire, is the best example of London’s use of man vs. nature and his naturalistic stories.
Throughout history, America has produced some of the greatest writers to walk the earth. Novels, poems, plays, and short stories have captivated the American public. No one was better at enchanting his audience than John Cheever. John Cheever wrote many short stories throughout his life. He has been presented with many awards for his works. Cheever was a master of spinning tales about suburban life and other situations he experienced. Some of his most popuar works included “The Swimmer”, “O Youth and Beauty!”, and “The Enormous Radio”. His works were well received by the public and he achieved great fame during his lifetime. However, he also lived a life of hardship and scandal. Even after his death in 1982, Cheever is remembered as one of the greatest writers in American history.
Christopher McCandless had always admired the works of Jack London. He even went as far as naming Jack London “king”. McCandless relished the naturalisitc elements of London’s writings, elements that he chose to ignore in his own life. Jack London often depicted men as being controlled by their environment and being unable to withstand any heavy circumstances. He depicted themes about the frailty of man and man’s inability to overcome nature. But McCandless clearly did not take away any of the valuable lessons from these stories. He hailed London as “king” but never truly learned from London’s stories, dying in a tragically ironic way when he came to meet the same fate as the protagonist in Jack London’s “To Build a Fire”. Christopher McCandless
Millions of literary writers across the world have immensely impacted and continue to impact people daily. While some authors just write because they’re good at it and never figured out their true love in life, D. H. Lawrence discovered his life long passion early on. No matter what he faced in his life, Lawrence was determined to write, whether his audience liked his books or not. Lawrence wrote from his high school years until right before he died (Radell 763-771). Throughout his lifetime, Lawrence was immensely misunderstood as a writer. However, D. H. Lawrence is now best known for writing “series of novels that explore the spiritual and physical dimensions of human passion” (Radell 763). Radell also states that Lawrence is known for his major novels and immensely detailed fiction stories as well (768). D. H. Lawrence compiled his works based on his personal life experiences and his surroundings otherwise he wouldn’t have had anything to say to his audience. Throughout each piece Lawrence wrote, he demonstrates “the humility of man as a creature who must recognize that the human self is ‘not the measure of creation’ that other beings completely different from humans have a validity and right to exist free” (Radell 769). Lawrence felt this was one of his struggles when writing a story. This is because he wanted his novels to mean more than just a story; he wanted it to impact someone. Little did he know, he would actually impact thousands of people across the world over time. Through his life story, published works, and criticism of “Rocking Horse Winner,” D. H. Lawrence is presently one of the greatest writers of his time and is now respected tremendously where he was previously misunderstood.
his life where it has influences of his writing and how it did impact many people.
Jack London writing technique influence his readers to consider Social Darwinist has an outlook on life. Merriam Webster’s explain Social Darwinist “to study of the human society, specifically a theory I human sociology that individuals or groups achieve advantages over others as the result of genetic or biological superiority. In class my classmates interpret it as “the survival of the fittest.” I agree with them, but I feel that you have to learn and gain from your mistakes. For example how could the strong survive without concurring adversity? London expresses it as, “And not only did he learn by experience, but instincts long dead becomes alive again. The domesticated generations fell from him. In vague ways he remembered back to the youth of the breed (page 40).
When Jack London wrote "To Build a Fire" he embraced the idea of naturalism because it mirrored the events of daily life. Naturalism showed how humans had to be wary at every corner because at anytime death could be there, waiting for them to make a mistake and forfeit their lives. He used naturalism, the most realistic literary movement, to show how violent and uncaring nature really is and how no matter what you do nature will always be there. London also presented the basic idea of Darwinism and the survival of the fittest, basically if you are dumb you will die. Collectively, London used naturalism to show how in life, humans can depend on nothing but themselves to survive. "To Build a Fire" is a short story that embodies the idea of naturalism and how, if one is not careful, nature will gain the upper hand and they will perish.
Both Chris and Jack London were looking for a simplified easier life, to try to make themselves happy. Chris McCandless favorite author was
Jack London is the name you can hear everywhere, his writing appealed to millions of people all around the world. London was an American novelist and short-story writer, who wrote passionately about questions of life and death, surviving. The writer had a lot of adventures, experienced the life at sea, or in Alaska, or in the fields and factories of California, all of these influenced his writing style. Jack London descended from the family of his mother Flora and astrologer and journalist William Chaney. The writer has got his education by himself and with help of a librarian Ina Coolbrith - he has a passion to read books at public libraries. Later in life, Jack finally graduated from high school in Oakland. Jack London's work carrier was so variable, he has been a laborer, factory worker, and oyster pirate on the San Francisco Bay, member of the California Fish Patrol, sailor, railroad hob, and gold prospector. Yes, gold prospecting was the big part of his life, when the young writer with his brother-in-law sailed to join the Klondike Gold Rush where he would set his first successful stories. Jack London was a hard-worker, he tried never miss his early morning 1,000-word writing stint, what helped him to write over fifty books between 1900 and 1916. In addition to it, he corresponded with his readers, and made huge researches for improving his writing style, what is, obviously, genius. The consequences of such a hard work became the fact that Jack London had become the best selling, highest paid and most popular American author of his time. Many authors and social advocates have been inspired by Jack London’s heartfelt prose, and readers travel and experience so much through his books.
To start, the story “To Build a Fire” describes an image of hopelessness that reflects what the narrator feels at the drying out facility. Carver describes, “I try to remember if I ever read any Jack London books. I
London, Jack. "To Build a Fire, by Jack London." The World of Jack London 2012®. Web. 02
To Build a Fire - Jack London The short story “To Build a Fire” by Jack London is a comprehensive story that tackles the struggles of a newcomer trying to survive a day in the Yukon with very harsh and cold weather. The man travels with a big native husky and tries many times to build a fire but fails due to his inadequate personality. The man repeatedly lets his ignorance and arrogance dictate his decisions, which soon leads to his demise. The theme of the short story “To Build a Fire” by Jack London is that being ignorant, arrogant and foolish can lead to bad decisions.
...ezing, cold weather. The two types of conflict in “The Open Boat” and “To Build a Fire” are: man vs. self and man v. nature which are common in naturalism literature. London uses naturalism to show how harsh and indifferent nature really is and how no matter what, nature will always be there. He furthermore presented the basic idea of Darwinism and the survival of the fittest, ultimately if you are not the strongest you will not survive. London showed us that we only can depend on ourselves to survive in this world or in the Yukon of Alaska. "To Build a Fire" illustrates that the closer to death the character comes, the plot declines. As the story advances, the man's ambitions go from making it to camp, to staying warm, to just simply surviving. When reading, you can sense the lack of effort on the man's part, only brings him closer to a freezing, unavoidable death.
Jack London brings man versus nature discussion into his story. The environment, however doesn't play against him for say, but does warn him from the very beginning. The audience can conclude that just like “the man” everyone is alone in the world - fighting for ourselves and the things we wish to acquire. The character created by London is isolated from the universe and fooli...
“A Tale Intended to be After the Fact…” is how Stephan Crane introduced his harrowing story, “The Open Boat,” but this statement also shows that history influences American Literature. Throughout history, there has been a connection among literary works from different periods. The connection is that History, current events, and social events have influenced American Literature. Authors, their literary works, and the specific writing styles; are affected and influenced by the world around them. Authors have long used experiences they have lived through and/or taken out of history to help shape and express in their works. Writing styles are also affected by the current trends and opinions of the period they represent. By reading American Literature, we have seen the inhumane treatment of slaves, we have seen the destruction caused by wars, and we have seen the devastation of eras such as The Great Depression.
In Jack London's "To Build a Fire" we see a classic story of man against nature. In this story, however, nature wins. One reason that this is such a compelling and engrossing story is the vivid descriptions of the environment the nameless main character endures. Plot and characterization are brief, and the theme is simple. Yet this story is still a very popular story, and it has a mysterious quality that makes it great.