The Call Of Jack London Essay -- essays research papers

The Call Of Jack London   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During a time when man had gold fever, and philosophical views plagued the minds of many, one man took these views and turned them into great outdoor adventures. John â€Å"Jack† Griffith London, a twentieth century author, wrote The Call of the Wild, other novels, and short stories that depict the philosophical views of the time and added adventure to them by using his own life experiences that carried thousands of men including himself to the Klondike in search of gold.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Winter 1876 San Francisco John and Flora London shared the joy of childbirth in the celebration of their only child together. They named the baby boy John Griffith London, or Jack for short. He became the twelfth child of his father, for through his first marriage he had eleven children. Jack London’s family was stricken by poverty. His father had many trades, however worked mainly in truck gardening(McCracken 370). After Jack’s graduation from grammar school, which he attended in Oakland, Jack read many novels, mainly ones about romance, travel, and adventure. He took many odd jobs to make ends meet(Comptons Interactive Encyclopedia).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jack had ambitions for a life at sea. At age fifteen Jack London bought a boat of his own, called Razzle Dazzle. He became an oyster pirate, sailing the San Francisco Bay robbing oyster beds and becoming a heavy drinker. Jack had many hard times. He spent some time as a hobo and spent some time in prison. At the age of nineteen he entered high school. Hard work enabled him the privilege of attending The University of California at Berkley. Less than a year passed and he gave up school to try and support his family and persue a writing career. He did not sell any of his work(Kunitz and Haycraft 844).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He joined the gold rush to the Klondike in the summer of 1897. The group stopped along the Yukon near about the Stewert River for winter. London became vary ill with Scurvy and was forced south for survival. Upon his re entry to San Francisco Jack learned of his fathers death. He could not find work of any kind, so once again he tried his hand at writing. His first writing, a story about life on the Yukon, was accepted by a magazine called Overlan... ...ty. This is illustrated in a quote from the book, â€Å"His cunning was wolf cunning...his intelligence, shepherd intelligence and St. Bernard intelligence.†(London) â€Å"London’s unusual subject allows him to see virtues in return to an aboriginal state that could not be found if humans were the subject.†(Magill 1148) He also uses the literary element of contrast to bring effect to his novel. For instance when â€Å"Buck is at his most savage he is also most completely fulfilling his potential utulizing his brain, muscles, and heart to the utmost.†(Magill 1148)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jack London had a life full of ups and downs . He used ideas of philosophy that affected the world to inspire all of his writings as well as the ideas of his own experiences and of the great adventures celebrated in the age of time. He used ideas of Charles Darwin, racial hierarchy, and the American Credo of success to inspire his writings. Once he tried to make it to Alaska himself, so he was able to use some of what he experienced to add realistic adventure to his stories. All elements of his life and his era helped make him one of the greatest adventure writers of the generations.