Jack

In “The Story of an Eyewitness,” a first-hand account that was written for Collier’s Magazine, Jack London paints a picture of a city in ruin. Through the use of Referential-reflective or parajournalistic literary purpose, in conjunction with narration and description organizational patterns, London conveys the force of destruction wrought upon San Francisco by the 1906 earthquake and chronicles its aftermath.

Using his primary referential-reflective purpose, which is sometimes referred to as parajournalistic purpose, London constructs a factual, account and comprehensive, accurate sequence of events, incorporating lucid, expository detail. The passage begins with an assessment of the damage from the initial earthquake, surmising hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost and damaged property, a fraction of the loss to follow. Quickly, London turns his focus to the fire following the earthquake, which he estimated property losses in the millions. Walking the reader through a timeline of the aftermath, and illustrating the scope of destruction, London writes, “not in history has a mode...