Scarlet Death Passage Annotation

In the book, The Scarlet Plague, Jack London transports his audience sixty years into the future, yet it feels as though it is before the current era. An important passage from The Scarlet Plague, starting at the second paragraph on page seven and ending at the beginning of page nine, shows and describes the type of civilization that is presented after the plague. This passage produces the story’s savage effect through its descriptions of Hare-Lip, Hoo-Hoo, and Edwin’s knowledge of the past world. The passage is also important because it shows how civilization has collapsed and restoration does not seem hopeful, which relates to the overall post-apocalyptic theme.

This passage fits in near the beginning of the story, and it provides some background

First, the simile “The fleeting systems lapse like foam”(7), states that the society in which they live in now is only present in brief phases and is temporary like foam. Foam is delightful, but it is empty and has no meaning and eventually dissolves till it is no longer present. Then in the passage, there is a sudden disturbance and Granser and the boys draw their attention to the forest where a pack of wolves rustles amongst the trees. Hare-Lip quickly responds to the situation. He drew his sling and “hurled a stone through the air that whistled from the speed of its flight”(7). This quotation is an example of personification since the stone is given a human trait, which in this case is whistling. Once the commotion came to an end, Granser continued on to tell his version of the strong effects the Scarlet Death had on him. Granser explained that “The scarlet of the maples [could] shake [him] like the cry of bugles going by”(8). This is another example of a simile. It compares the scarlet, from Eastern and Central America to the alarming and thrilling noise that a bugle makes. A bugle is a military signal that announces scheduled or unscheduled events taking place on a battlefield. These are just a few examples of literary devices used throughout the passage that creates the novels

The abandoned beach, home to Granser and the boys, shows the lack of restoration of civilization. Although the inner city of San Francisco is reclaimed by nature, the city still exists and has what it takes to rebuild a new society. Yet, Granser and the boys choose to live on the deserted beach. Meanwhile, Hoo-Hoo and Hare-Lip are more barbaric than Edwin. Edwin has closer ties to Granser compared to the other boys, which makes Edwin respect Granser in ways Hoo-Hoo and Hare-Lip are oblivious to. For example, “Hare-Lip sneered, then returned to the attack on Granser”(9). This quotation shows Hare-Lip’s lack of respect for Granser. The boy’s disregard of knowledge from the past also presents disrespect towards Granser, however, Edwin is a little more willing to understand. An example of this is when Edwin asks Granser “what is education?”(9), whereas Hare-Lip refuses to comprehend the difference from “scarlet” and “red.” Hare-Lip understands what red is, and he was told by his father that “red is red” and “everybody died of the Red Death”(8). Hoo-Hoo and Hare-Lip are unwilling to learn from Granser proving their lack of contribution for potentially a new society. Together, the setting and characters provide little hope for restoring civilization through contributing to society