Jack London took his place in American literature at the beginning of the twentieth century. At that time, the library shelves and bookshops of America were already full of books by well-known authors.
But Jack London's stories were new stories: his heroes were not like heroes in books by famous authors, and the pictures he painted were not the same as their pictures. The men in his books live a difficult life, a life full of danger.
In the terrible world that Jack London shows us in his stories, a man who makes even the smallest mistake must fall and die in the snow. But his people are afraid of nothing, and nothing can stop them.
People in books by London never lose hope: they never stop fighting for life, even when the end seems near. That is the lesson every man and woman must learn - that in everything we want and everything we do, if we do not lose hope, we must and will win.
Jack London. The Biography (part 1)
Jack London's credo
I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them, I shall use my time. "
- Jack London 1876-1916
Jack London's Creed (translated into Russian)
I would rather burn with a bright flame than choke on the dust. I would rather be a blazing meteor than a sleeping and eternal planet. A person should live, not exist. I'm not going to waste my days trying to prolong my existence. I am in a hurry to LIVE!
Jack London's life was not easy. And it was not long - he lived less than forty years. But he saw more and did more during those years than many other men see and do in almost a century.
Jack London was born in San Francisco, California, in 1876. His father was poor, and there were many other children in the family. They always needed money, and Jack, who was older than the other children, had to help as much as he could. When he was only eight years old, he was already selling newspapers and going to school at the same time. But after a few years, he had to leave school and go to work.
Like many other poor boys in California, he found work on the ships that went from America to the countries of the East, and to the islands of the South Seas. There he saw wonderful places: beautiful green islands in the endless blue sea, and high mountains that threw red fire into the black night sky. But the ships paid boys very little, and when Jack came back to California he had almost northing.
So he left home again, this time to look for work in the big cities of the United States, and in the great forests and on the great lakes and rivers of Canada. He never had a day’s rest and he worked from morning to night. But when the day’s work was over, he listens to the men’s jokes and their conversations about places and people, about workers and revolution.
When he came home again, Jack London was full of a new idea. He was going to become a writer. “I have been to such wonderful places and I have heard such interesting stories,” he thought. "I am sure they will be interesting to other people too."
But to his surprise, when he tried to write, he couldn’t make the words tell the stories. His language was poor and it was full of mistakes, because he did not know grammar. “I never learned English,” he thought, “because I couldn’t go to school. But why can't I go to school now? The pupils will be surprised when they see somebody so much older in the class room. But I’ll be ashamed when I can’t pronounce difficult words. But my memory isn’t bad, and if they can study physics and mathematics and biology, I can too. And I'll learn English together with science! "
And he did! He learned from his teachers and from other pupils, but most of all, he learned from books. He read all the books on the shelves of the school library and the city library. He read all afternoon, and he sat half the night with a book or a textbook in front of him and a large dictionary at his side. As he read novels by well-known authors, he tried to notice the words they used and how they used them: he tried to discover the secrets of their art.
If you study English, find in the text and read aloud:
a) the sentences in the text about the places that Jack London visited:
b) the sentences that explain what is new in his stories:
* * *
Jack London. The Biography (part 2)
"I haven’t enough time to learn so slowly."
Pupils went to high school for two years, but Jack London finished high school in three months. He even went to college for a short time, but then he decided not to continue. “I haven’t enough money to study,” he thought, “And I haven’t enough time to learn so slowly. I have always learned more from great thinkers than from lectures at college. "
Day after day, month after month, he wrote: short stories, poems, plays. But nobody noticed him: the magazines refused to publish his works. At first, Jack was helpless and angry, but then he said: ”Perhaps they are right. I haven’t yet become a writer. But I haven’t lost this fight - no, I am only beginning. " Often he had no money, and he had to stop writing and look for work. But soon as he had some money, he stopped working and began to write again.
In 1896, when Jack London was twenty years old, gold was discovered in Alaska. The whole world suddenly became interested in this cold country, where almost nobody lived. Men who usually never went near a library began to go there, to study maps of the “new” country, its history and geography.
There were thousands and even millions of men in America who thought of Alaska, who wanted to go 
there, but who could not decide to leave their homes in the south. Jack London was not one of them. He bought a ticket on the first ship to the North. He wanted to see the life of the thousands of men who came to look for gold in the mountains and rivers. Perhaps only a few could find gold, but they all hoped to be the lucky man.
Like the other men who came to Alaska, Jack hadn’t enough food, and he had no vegetables or fruit. At first, he didn’t think about what he was eating, and he refused to think that he was not well. But at last he became seriously ill, and he had to come back home to San Francisco.
He came back without gold, but with something better the yellow metal: in his memory was the whole rich world of the Far North. His life there, his conversations with people he met and the stories they told him were enough for a whole library of books. He remembered everything, and now he knew how to write!
He began again. When he was twenty three, a small magazine agreed to publish his stories: soon, well-known, important magazines invited him to write for them.
Who can say why a writer becomes popular? At the end of the 19 th century, book usually told about gentlemen in high hats and ladies in beautiful clothes, who always used the best language when they spoke. Jack London's stories were about men who fought with animals and each other, who lived for months without daylight, and then for months without night, men who were left in the endless snow-fields until the wolves came….
Many ladies and gentlemen said: “This is not art!” But there were thousands and thousands who were afraid to know what happened to men in those terrible places, who understand and loved London’s books.
Jack London loved people and was sure that the man is strong and better than anything in the world.
If you study English,
a) try to say what you have learned about Jack London, his books and his characters
b) say if you like Jack London and why
I have to admit that I "m fond of reading. I like to read books about the history of our country, about famous people and adventures. Literature means much in my life. It helps to form the character and the world outlook, to understand life better. Books teach us to be honest, modest, and courageous. They help us to feel compassion for weak people.
Jack London became my favorite writer from his first books I "d read. First of all I got interested in Jack London as a personality. His life story struck me not less than his works. What a man! He was strong and talented. He lived a life of adventures and hardships, so he knew what he was writing about. In his novel Martin Iden he describes his biography. What a hard life he lived!
Jack London was born in San Francisco in 1876. From his childhood he suffered greatly. He changed a lot of jobs: selling out newspapers, working at the factory. He hated that kind of job, which exhausted people and made them suffer physically and morally.
Young Jack had no opportunity to go to school, so he studied privately reading much at night.
When gold was found in Alaska, Jack London joined the gold rush. He returned home without gold but with rich impressions about people with whom he met and made friends. They became the prototypes of his heroes.
The American novelist and short-story writer knew life in Alaska very well because he experienced it himself. That is why it is so interesting to read his novels "The Call of the Wild" and "White Fang" His heroes are bright personalities. They are physically strong and enduring people. They try to find a way out from the most difficult situations. They fight and survive.
The very first story The Love of Life caught my fancy. I was struck by the will of a sick man who found himself alone, side by side with a wolf. Both the man and the wolf were sick and weak. And each of them was waiting for the other to grow still weaker and faint in order to feed on him. The man won. While reading the story I admired the courage and human spirit of the hero.
The story "Brown Wolf" is not less interesting. Its about a dog and his devotion to people.
Later I read more novels and stories by Jack London. My fondness of Jack London, the greatest American writer, will stay with me all my life.
Jack London
I must admit that I love reading. I like reading books about the history of our country, famous people and adventures. Literature means a lot in my life. It helps to form character and outlook, to better understand life. Books teach us to be honest, humble and courageous. They help us feel compassion for weak people.
Jack London has become my favorite author since his first books I read. First of all, I became interested in Jack London as a person. His life story struck me no less than his work. What a man! He was strong and talented. He lived a life of adventure and difficulty, so he knew what he was writing about. In the novel Martin Eden, he describes his biography. What a hard life he lived!
Jack London was born in San Francisco in 1876. He has experienced a lot since childhood. He changed many jobs: he sold newspapers, worked in a factory. He hated the kind of work that exhausted people and made them suffer physically and mentally.
Young Jack did not have the opportunity to go to school, so he studied by reading on his own, mostly at night.
When gold was found in Alaska, Jack London joined the gold rush. He returned home without gold, but with rich impressions of the people he met and made friends with. They became the prototypes of his heroes.
The American novelist and short story writer knew life in Alaska very well, because he experienced everything for himself. That is why it is so interesting to read his novels "Call of Nature" and "White Fang". His heroes are smart people. They are physically strong and hardy. They try to find a way out of the most difficult situations. They fight and survive.
The very first story, "Love of Life", struck my imagination. I was amazed by the willpower of the sick man, who was alone, eye to eye with the wolf. Both the man and the wolf were sick and weak. And each of them waited for the other to become weaker in order to eat it. The man has won. Reading the story, I admired the hero's courage and fortitude.
The story "The Brown Wolf" is no less interesting. It is about the dog and its devotion to people.
Later I read other novels and stories by Jack London. My admiration for Jack London, America's greatest writer, will stay with me for life.
Jack london was an American author, journalist, and social activist.
Some of his most famous works include The Call of the Wild and White Fang, both set in the Klondike Gold Rush, as well as the short stories “To Build a Fire”, “An Odyssey of the North”, and “Love of Life ”.
Jack london short biography
John Griffith Chaney, better known as Jack London, was born on January 12, 1876, in San Francisco, California. Jack, as he came to call himself as a boy, was the son of Flora Wellman, an unwed mother, and William Chaney, an attorney, journalist and pioneering leader in the new field of American astrology.
His father was never part of his life, and his mother ended up marrying John London, a Civil War veteran, who moved his new family around the Bay Area before settling in Oakland.
Jack London grew up working-class. He carved out his own hardscrabble life as a teen. He rode trains, pirated oysters, shoveled coal, worked on a sealing ship on the Pacific and found employment in a cannery. In his free time he hunkered down at libraries, soaking up novels and travel books.
First success
His life as a writer essentially began in 1893. That year he had weathered a harrowing sealing voyage, one in which a typhoon had nearly taken out London and his crew. The 17-year-old adventurer had made it home and regaled his mother with his tales of what had happened to him. When she saw an announcement in one of the local papers for a writing contest, she pushed her son to write down and submit his story.
Armed with just an eighth-grade education, London captured the $ 25 first prize, beating out college students from Berkeley and Stanford.
For London, the contest was an eye-opening experience, and he decided to dedicate his life to writing short stories. But he had trouble finding willing publishers. After trying to make a go of it on the East Coast, he returned to California and briefly enrolled at the University of California at Berkeley, before heading north to Canada to seek at least a small fortune in the gold rush happening in the Yukon.
By the age of 22, however, London still hadn’t put together much of a living. He had once again returned to California and was still determined to carve out a living as a writer. His experience in the Yukon had convinced him he had stories he could tell. In addition, his own poverty and that of the struggling men and women he encountered pushed him to embrace socialism, which he stayed committed to all his life.
In 1899 he began publishing stories in the Overland Monthly. The experience of writing and getting published greatly disciplined London as a writer. From that time forward, London made it a practice to write at least a thousand words a day.
Commercial Success
London found fame and some fortune at the age of 27 with his novel The Call of the Wild (1903), which told the story of a dog that finds its place in the world as a sled dog in the Yukon.
The success did little to soften London's hard-driving lifestyle. A prolific writer, he published more than 50 books over the last 16 years of his life. The titles included The People of the Abyss (1903), which offered a scathing critique of capitalism; White Fang (1906), a popular tale about a wild wolf dog becoming domesticated; and John Barleycorn (1913), a memoir of sorts that detailed his lifelong battle with alcohol.
He charged forth in other ways, too. He covered the Russo-Japanese War in 1904 for Hearst papers, introduced American readers to Hawaii and the sport of surfing, and frequently lectured about the problems associated with capitalism.
Marriage
In 1900 London married Bess Maddern. The couple had two daughters together, Joan and Bess. By some accounts Bess and London's relationship was constructed less around love and more around the idea that they could have strong, healthy children together. It’s not surprising, then, that their marriage lasted just a few years. In 1905, following his divorce from Bess, London married Charmian Kittredge, whom he would be with for the rest of his life.
Death
For much of the last decade of his life, London faced a number of health issues. This included kidney disease, which ended up taking his life. He died at his California ranch, which he shared with Kittredge, on November 22, 1916.
The author of many short stories and novels, whose works romantically describe the all-conquering power of nature and the struggle for survival. London's identification with wildlife has made it popular with the green movement. His leftist views are visible in the Iron Heel utopia (1908). John the Barleyseed (1913), which describes London's drinking binges, links him with later compatriots such as Charles Bukowski and Jack Kerouac. On the other hand, the author's views on white supremacy and social Darwinism classify him as an ultra-right conservative.
“Fiction pays best, and when done well, it’s easiest to sell. A good joke can be bought faster than a good poem, and, if you measure it in blood and sweat, for better money. Avoid a sad ending, rudeness, cruelty, tragedy, horror if you want to see the things you write in print. (This is why don't do as I do, do as I say). Humor is the hardest to write, the easiest to sell, the best paid ... Don't write too much. Concentrate your efforts on one story instead of splitting yourself into a dozen. Do not mess around, inviting inspiration, chase it with a club for the advantage, and if you do not catch up, nevertheless, you will still get something surprisingly similar to it. ("How to print", 1903, the magazine "Editor").
Jack London was born in San Francisco. His father, a wandering astrologer "Professor" William Henry Cheney, abandoned him, he was brought up in Oakland by his mother - Flora Wellman, a music teacher and spiritualist. His stepfather John London, whose last name he took, was a bankrupt shopkeeper. London's youth was in need. At the age of ten, he became addicted to reading and borrowed books from the Auckland Public Library, where Ina Coolbirth advised him on the works of Flaubert, Tolstoy and other great novelists.
After leaving school at the age of 14, London was a sailor, wandered on freight trains, and adopted socialist views as a member of the "Protest Army" of the unemployed. In 1984, he was arrested in Niagara and jailed for vagrancy. These years strengthened him in his quest to get out of want, and subsequently provided material for his book "The Sea Wolf" (1904), which was based in part on the terrifying sea experience in the Pacific Ocean. The Road (1907), a collection of short stories, later inspired writers such as Steinbeck and Kerouac.
Having received less formal education, London spent a lot of time in public libraries reading fiction, poetry, books on philosophy, political science, and at the age of 19 he entered the University of California at Berkeley. At this time, he already began to write. His first great love was Mabel Applegate, a girl from a wealthy family, who became the prototype of Ruth Morse in the novel Martin Eden (1909). Later, London wrote to Anna Strunsky, the second love in his life: “Her virtues were leading her nowhere. Work? It didn't work. Her culture was bloom on the surface, deep from the depths within her shallow waters. "
Less than a year later, London left school and in 1897 set out to catch fortune amid the gold rush on the Klondike. The attempt was unsuccessful. London spent the winter near Dawson suffering from scurvy. In the spring he returned to San Francisco. His notebook was full of sketches of future stories.
The remainder of 1998 London spent trying to make a living as a writer. His early stories have appeared in the monthly Overland Munsley and Atlantic Munsley magazines. In 1900 he married Elizabeth Maddern; their home became a battleground between Bess and London's mother Flora. Three years later, he left her and their two daughters to marry the editor and traveler Charmian Kittridge. The marriage with her lasted until the death of London. Charmian inspired the characters of London heroines such as Paula in The Little Mistress of a Big House (1916).
In 1901, London ran unsuccessfully from the Socialist Party for mayor of Auckland. He begins to persistently write short stories, essays and short stories, becoming one of the most famous authors during his lifetime. Prior to that, London had created its own system of generating a daily rate of a thousand words. He did not give up on her even during his travels and binges. London's first novel, The Son of the Wolf, appeared in 1900. By 1904, London was the author of ten books. The "Son of the Wolf" had many readers, as well as other "northern" works: "Call of the Wild", in which the domestic dog Buck acquires a natural instinct for survival in the Yukon, "White Fang" (1906) and "Time is running out" ( Burning Daylight, 1910).
“There is ecstasy, which marks the peak of life, the highest tension
vitality. And it is paradoxical that this ecstasy is the fullness of sensation
life and at the same time - complete oblivion of oneself and everything around. Such
selfless delight comes to the artist-creator in hours of inspiration. is he
embraces the warrior on the battlefield, and the warrior strikes without mercy in the ecstasy of battle. IN
it is precisely this ecstasy, Buck at the head of the pack, with the ancient victory cry of the wolves,
chasing the prey ahead in the moonlight. This ecstasy came from
unknown to him the bowels of his being, returning him to the depths of time.
Life boiled in him, rose in a stormy spill, and every muscle, every vein
played, were on fire, and the joy of life was transformed into movement, into this
a frenzied leap under the stars on a dead earth frozen from the cold. " ("Call of the Ancestors").
In 1902, London came to England, where he learned the other side of the British Empire: living conditions in the East End and working-class districts of the capital. He originally traveled to South Africa to report on the Boer War. His book on economic decline and the poor, Men of the Abyss (1903), was an unexpected success in the United States, but was criticized in England. London produced this classic piece of research reportage in seven weeks. During the painful separation from his wife in 1904, he went to Korea as a correspondent for the Hirst newspaper to cover the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905). A year later, he publishes his first collection of documentaries, The War of the Classes, which contains his essays on socialism. In 1907 London and Charmian sailed aboard the Snark, a small sailing ship designed by London itself, to sail around the world. On board, he began writing Martin Eden. Experiencing great difficulties due to an inept captain and a poorly built vessel, they interrupted their journey to Australia. London's finances were in disarray, his teeth ached constantly, and he began buying sketches from aspiring writer Sinclair Lewis to write and sell more stories and articles.
In 1910, London purchases a large plot of land near Glen Ellen in Sonoma County, California and directs its efforts and finances to improve and expand its Beauty Ranch. He also travels a lot and reports on the Mexican Revolution. In 1913, the still unfinished ranch burns down; the doctor informs him that his kidneys are failing. According to some reports, the London "dream house" was set on fire on purpose, and it was not insured.
Among the major works of London are "The Sea Wolf" (1904), which is remembered for the Nietzschean spirit of the hero; the utopian novel The Iron Heel (1908); "Voyage on the Snark" (1911), description of sailing on The Pacific Ocean; semi-autobiographical Martin Eden. “Unaware of the needs of others, of the needs of the whole society,” wrote London, “Martin Eden lived only for himself, fought only for himself and, if you like, died for himself.” The main character with a biblical name (English “Edene” - Eden, Paradise) is an uneducated sailor, a rude pariah who seeks to earn a fortune and gain status in society, using the craving for writing. He is attracted to Ruth Morse, a woman who has everything, as it seems to him, that he wants from his wife - beauty, charm, wealth. Eden's friend Brissenden was inspired by George Sterling, an obscure romantic poet and close friend of London. Eden was successful with his story "The Belated One." He becomes disillusioned with life, returns to sea as a first-class passenger on the Mariposa and kills himself by throwing himself overboard on the high seas. “Perhaps Nietzsche was right. Perhaps there is no truth in anything, there is no truth in the truth itself, and this concept - truth - is just a fiction. But he quickly got tired of thinking, gladly sat down on the deckchair again and dozed off. […]. And here he is, somewhere below, collapsed into darkness. He still understood that. Collapsed into darkness. And in the moment when I realized this, my consciousness broke off. " Critics hailed the book as a failure and decline in London's literary prominence.
A few months before his death, London withdrew from the Socialist Party. Debt, alcoholism, illness and fear of losing creative power - all this darkened the last years of the writer's life. He died on November 22, 1916, according to the official version - from gastrointestinal uremia. Although rumors circulated about London's suicide with morphine, the two vials found did not contain a lethal dose, especially for someone who was taking morphine as a pain reliever. “Jack London was never an original thinker. He was, physically and intellectually, the great absorber of the world. He was one of those writers who go to some place and write their dreams about him, who find the Idea there, and wrap their spirit around him. " (L. Doctorow, The New York Times, 11/12/1988).
In literature, Kipling and Stevenson were the models for London. He was also influenced by the theories of Darwin, Spencer, Marx and Nietzsche. In recent years, London has read Jung's works. He significantly influenced such writers as Hemingway, Kerouac, Ruark. Upton Sinclair is often referred to as the literary follower of London.
Jack London was born in 1876 in San Francisco. His real name was John Griffit. His father was a farmer. The family was extremely poor and the boy had to earn his living after school. He sold newspapers, worked at a factory. Later he became a sailor; during some time he wandered vrith the unemployed.
For a year he attended the Oakland High school and spent a semester at the University of California, but as he had no money he had to stop his studies and went to work again.
This time it was a laundry. In 1897 he went to the Klondike as a gold miner. His first short story was published in 1898.
Some of the difficulties he met during the first years of his literary work are described in his novel "Martin Eden".
During the sixteen years of his literary career Jack London published about fifty books: short stories, novels and essays. In his best stories London described the severe life and struggle of people against nature.
He died at the age of forty in 1916.
Jack London (translation)
Jack London was born in San Francisco in 1876.
His real name is John Griffith. His father was a peasant. The family was very poor, and the boy had to earn a living after school. He was selling newspapers. ”He worked in a factory. He later became a sailor. For some time he wandered with the unemployed.
He studied for a year at the Oakland high school and one semester at the University of California. But since he had no money, he had to leave his studies and go back to work.
This time he worked in a laundry. In 1897 he went to the Klondike to work as a gold digger. His first story was published in 1898.
In Martin Eden, Jack London described the difficulties he faced in the early years of his literary career.
For 16 years of his literary career, Jack London published about 50 books: short stories, novels, essays. In his best stories, he described the harsh life and the struggle between people and nature.
He died at the age of forty in 1916.