London Vs. Twain: San Francisco Earthquakes Jack London, a San Francisco native, and Mark Twain, a frequent visitor to the city both had separate experiences with earthquakes in San Francisco, and wrote about them. However the men had two very different approaches. In their essays on San Francisco earthquakes, Jack London despairs over the loss of a beautiful city, while Mark Twain mocks his surroundings and fellow humans through their use of subjects, tone and description. London’s focus is on the destruction of the physical city itself, especially the after effects. He rarely brings up people. London opens his writing by telling of the damage to “hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of walls and chimneys. But the conflagration that followed …show more content…
He focuses on those around him rather than the destruction itself. His first tale of the reactions other than his own was when he told that “The street car had stopped, the horses were rearing and plunging, the passengers were pouring out at both ends, and one fat man had crashed half way through a glass window on one side of the car, got wedged fast and was squirming and screaming like an impaled madman.” Twain talks of the man, and this is also the beginning of his facetious attitude through the writing when he speaks of the man through the glass screaming like an impaled madman, which he is. He also tells of “A lady sitting in her rocking and quaking parlor, saw the wall part at the ceiling, open and shut twice, like a mouth, and then-drop the end of a brick on the floor like a tooth. She was a woman easily disgusted with foolishness, and she arose and went out of there.” This is also satirical of peoples “over reactions” to their surroundings, but he focuses on the lady and not her wall, even though he does speak of it. He closes his criticizms with a smack to the religious; “After the first shock, an Oakland minister said: "Keep your seats! There is no better place to die than this"– And added, after the third: "But outside is good enough!" He then skipped out at the back door.” He is mocking those of religion for not truly relying on god when they need him. As usual for him, Twain is satirical and facetious. The statue of hercules and the woman “reached the bottom of the flight at the same time,–the woman insensible from the fright.” He is belittling the severity of the woman being hit with a statue and falling down a flight of stairs, while she carried a child inside of her, and saying that it was insensible. Twain talks “Of the wonders wrought by "the great earthquake," these were all that came under my eye; but the tricks it did, elsewhere, and far and wide over the town, made toothsome gossip for
Mark Twain’s use of humor in the story mocks and shines light on the issues of our society’s political system from back then that continue
... However, upon further exploration, we realize that Twain uses Sherburn’s pompous lecture on human nature to represent his own contempt for the state of mankind. He goes on to say, “A mob don’t fight with the courage that’s born in them, but with the courage that’s borrowed from their mass, and from their officers(159).” Twain uses Sherbern’s speech to condemn the people of Bricksville, and to give voice to Huck’s disgust with their horrific behavior. While it’s difficult to applaud Sherburn for his brutal murder of Boggs, it is nevertheless.
...f him as a person. He then finally thought of how Jim called him honey and how Jim was all he had. “I took it up, and held it in my hand. I was a-trembling, because I’d got to decide, forever, betwixt tow things, and I knowed it. I studies a minute, sort of holding my breath and then says to myself: “All right, then, I’ll go to hell” – and tore it up” (Twain 210). This moment was greatest turning point of the book.
These words said by Mark Twain very much connect to the shooting rampage that occurred at the
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
Mrs. Rayfield wrote a great article about the devastation left over after this massive fire. I found that her accounts were very detailed and had good pictures to go along with them. I decided to use this source in my essay because she also showed the good effect that the fire had on the city not only the bad. She had a complete different point of view.
Fang the main character is a gray cub wolf. Wolves in this novels were used
...re situations, from a razed city to devastated citizens. The calamity caused the city to crumble and the government to pay extreme amounts of money. In addition, residents of San Francisco and other surrounding areas suffered the consequences. Thousands died, but even more faced the encumbrance of homelessness. The earthquake caused fires that went on for as long as three days. Nevertheless, San Francisco transformed its ashes into a beautiful city full of fascinating buildings in a matter of weeks. 1906, a year of a significant natural disaster, also became a year that spawned knowledge in the field of seismology. No one will ever forget the appalling chain of events that occurred during the early twentieth century. The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 has not only educated scientists, but it has also made San Francisco the jewel of the West Coast that it is today.
San Francisco and Chicago are cities that will always be remembered during their time of massacre. Many were lost but through the losses they gained new structures that protect the citizens today and the ones yet to come. Although the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 and the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 were both horrific events that created huge destruction on the United States, they took a big toll in people’s lives in many different ways and encouraged them to take charge and rebuild back their hometowns that they loved.
KEVIN and FATE are just two examples, the turbulence and unrest of its participants being expressed in a physical manner on London streets. The city can be regarded as both a grounding point and a reflection of the
There was a massive earthquake in San Francisco during the year of 1906. The country of United States went through great loss because of this massacre. Nearly 250,000 people had become homeless as the result of this great earthquake. Winchester pointed out the question: How unprepared was America when this disaster hit? He compared the San Francisco earthquake to the Katrina hurricane in 2005.
Writers like Henry Mayhew (London Labour and the London Poor) and Jack London (The People of the Abyss), and artists like Gustave Dore (London) and John Thomson (Street Life in London) - all chroniclers of the desperate conditions of those in the East End - helped enlighten many around world - particularly those who lived just beyond the permeable boundaries of that notorious area - as to the needs of the city's unfortunate members of society. Their works called out - whether directly or indirectly - for some sort of radical social reform, but there was little immediate response.
In the course of human history, man has managed to do some really dumb things. Whether it’s because we lack sufficient knowledge, make a mistake, or are just too stubborn to use sound judgement, dumb decisions are made every day by everyone. However, none have a greater level of stupidity than the choices made by the man in Jack London’s To Build a Fire. This is a story of pride, ignorance, and stupidity, which ultimately leads to the downfall of its main character. This short story is a caution against over confidence and unpreparedness, showing the harsh effects of both. Ultimately, it is an issue of man’s pride versus the harsh conditions of nature. It shows that one cannot simply overlook nature, because doing so can lead to the destruction
In the book Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman uses the characters living in London Below to illustrate the many different parts of modern London above. One of the characters Gaiman creates for Neverwhere is named The Marquis de Carabas, who was the guide for Richard in London below. There are many similarities between The Marquis da Carabas and London Above including their abilities to come back to life. In the novel The Marquis has a brutal death and is thrown in the sewer left to rot. Similarly to the Marquis’s death London has expiernanced many times when it has been destroyed to death and needing to come back to life. The London fire in 1666 and the blitzkriegs in World War II are both examples of times London was totally destroyed. “Richard stared
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...