Jack London: A Very Brief Biography

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Jack London once said, “I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.” (Jack NP) This represents how London went about his life; he refused to be average and traveled the world in adventure and curiosity. London lived in the realistic time period and his writings reflect that. Realists attempt to portray life as it is and describe events as accurately as possible (Lipking NP). Another indication that London was a realist is the fact that realists do not distort events to agree with their views; he was an active socialist, but by reading any of London’s work, one could not tell (Lipking NP). His works of literature include very realistic, down-to-earth events and messages, but what separates London from every other writer in the realistic time period is his naturalistic side. Most of his stories contain some aspect of nature’s power and how humans must adapt. Early events in London’s life affected his views which lead to the deep, meaningful messages portrayed through the stories of one of America’s greatest writers. Jack London was not born into a life of luxury, but the struggles he faced as a child and young adult shaped him into a timeless relic of literature. Due to many odd jobs he performed growing up, London decided that manual labor was not his passion and sought to contribute his talents otherwise (Jack NP). He enrolled into the University of California at Berkeley, but did not finish his education (London NP). He tried to support himself by writing and when he had no success, he was forced into a job at a laundry shop (London NP). After a brief period of working a minimum wage job, London decided to travel to Alaska in search for gold; although he had no luck... ... middle of paper ... ...eaders were able to interpret literature by themselves without the author pushing them in a certain direction? Works Cited Feast, James. "To Build A Fire." Magill’s Survey Of American Literature, Revised Edition (2006): 1-2. Literary Reference Center. Web. 8 May 2014. "Jack London: An American Life." Publishers Weekly 260.22 (2013): 46. Biography Reference Bank (H.W. Wilson). Web. 6 May 2014. "Jack London Quotes." Jack London Quotes (Author of The Call of the Wild). Web. 14 May 2014. . Kinsella, Kate. Prentice Hall Literature: Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, 2002. Print. Lipking, Lawrence. "Naturalism." World Book Advanced. World Book, 2014. Web. 9 May 2014. "London, Jack." World Authors 1900-1950 (1996): Biography Reference Bank. Web. 6 May 2014.

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