Universität Osnabrück, WS 1997/98
Seminar: Amerikanische Kultur in der 2. Hälfte des 19. Jahrhunderts: Philosophie und Literatur

"Struggle For Existence". Aspects of American literary
naturalism and its influence on Jack London′s literary work

by: Nicole Figur

Contents

Introduction 3

I. How it all began: Darwin and the evolution 4

II. American literary Naturalism in the view of the critics 6

III. Jack London′s background 9

IV. Jack London′s literary style 13

V. Naturalistic aspects in Jack London′s literary work 15

VI. Jack London in the view of the critics 17

Conclusion 19

Bibliography 20

Introduction

The underlying subject of this seminar paper - aspects of american literary naturalism in Jack London′s work - will be introduced by a presentation of Darwin and his theory of evolution, which will be followed by a short description of Herbert Spencer and his interpretation of Darwin′s theory. In order to understand what American literary naturalism actually means the second chapter will try to summarize the critics′ view of this issue. The description of Jack London′s background, which will not deal with his socialist career, will lead to the introduction of Jack London′s literary style. This will lead to the literary naturalistic aspects in Jack London′s literary work without offering a detailed discussion of single novels or short stories. The last chapter will reflect the opinion of several critics who did not think that he was the most talented writer of his era.

I. How it all began: Darwin and the evolution

In the focus of attention of this chapter will stand a detailed introduction of Charles Darwin′s theory of evolution, which had, as Paul Civello¹ comments, a profound effect on late Nineteenth- century humanity as well as on philosophy, sociology, economics, theology and literature. In 1859 Darwin published The Origin of Species. Concerning to Civello he founded a scientific theory which was not a general evolution theory but a specific theory of biological evolution. This theory provided an explanation of organic evolution and how such an organic process works in natural terms.² "Gregor Mendel′s groundbreaking genetic study of pea plants [...] was not widely known until the turn of the century - and therefore he [Darwin] could not account for the mechanism of variation, only affirm its existence."³

[...] In this he was amazingly prescient [...]. It [genetics] is a process of accident
upon accident, and [...] provides the material on which natural selection
operates [...]. In natural selection, nature selects which variations are indeed
advantageous to survival in that particular environment. Individuals with
deleterious traits are destroyed, and those with beneficial ones live to
reproduce, preserving the trait within the species.⁴

In Civello′s opinion "it is important to realize that [the] Darwinian evolution is not primarily progressive, but adaptive. It is progressive only in so far as it moves a species toward greater adaptability to a particular environment, not [...] toward an idealistic higher form."⁵ Since, concerning to Darwin′s theory, survival was also possible by an adaptation to a for human ideas underdeveloped environment, evolution could therefore also mean retrogression. In The Descent of Man Darwin related to the knowledge of the history of the so-called primitive people where the mentally or physically weak people were eliminated.⁶ Darwin′s theory was without a doubt a slap in the face for traditional orthodox Christians. Civello argues that many of Darwin′s contemporaries could not accept his theory because they said that it denied teleology and it attacked the foundation of religious orthodoxy and God Himself. Therefore Darwinism effectively banished God from nature, the creator from His creation.⁷ Since Darwin himself was not immune to the psychological upheaval his own theory produced, he tried to reinstall Him, the creator of both humanity and nature, as a link between those two by calling the origin of species "that mystery of mysteries".⁸ Another person who dealt with the theory of evolution and who must be mentioned here is Herbert Spencer.

Spencer transformed Darwin′s theory in a way which pleased the American society. Spencer′s interpretation featured in contrast to Darwin′s optimistic and very progressive aspects: The evolution was said to move inexorably towards a far, high and heavenly destination. The theory of evolution became a secularized revelation, the elimination of the weak was all plan of the divine.⁹

[...]

1 see Paul Civello. American Literary Naturalism and Its Twentieth-Century Transformation. Athens and London: The University of Georgia Press, 1994.

2 see Civello, pp. 6.

3 see Civello, p. 7.

4 see Civello, p. 7.

5 see Civello, p. 8.

6 see Gerd Raeithel. Geschichte der nordamerikanischen Kultur. Vom Bürgerkrieg bis zum New Deal. Band 2. Zweitausendeins: Frankfurt am Main, 1995, pp. 49.

7 see Civello, p. 8.

8 see Civello, p. 10.

9 see Raeithel, Band 2, pp. 49.