1. The Author :
Jack London (really John Griffith) was born 1876 in San Fransisco and is believed to have been the illegitimate son of William Henry Chaney, an astrologer. Flora Wellman, his mother, married John London soon after Jack′s birth. He grew up on the waterfront of Oakland and his schooling was intermittent. Much of his youth was spent on the wrong side of the law. Among other things he was an oyster pirate, and he also spent a month in prison for vagrancy. At the age of 17 he signed on a sailing ship which took him to the Arctic and Japan. Despite his lack of formal education he also became a voracios reader, especially of fiction, as he reported in his autobiographical novel, Martin Eden (1909).
In 1896 he joined the gold rush to the Klondike, where he found no gold but gathered ample material for the brutal, vigorous life he portrayed in The Call of the Wild (1903) and White Fang (1906), novels of man and beast struggeling against the overwhelming forces of nature.
From Social Darwinism London had absorbed the idea that to survive, man must adapt to irresistible natural forces. Although his writing is often described as an example of literary naturalism, London was most deeply influenced by the seemingly irreconcilable opposites of Nietzsche and Marx. From Nietzsche he borrowed the idea of the super human, evident in its most destructive form in Wolf Larsen, the predatory hero of London′s The Sea Wolf (1904). From Marx he took the idea of the need for social reform and of the power of economic determinism, concepts he embodied in his socialistic treatises, The war of the Classes (1905) and The Human Drift (1907), and in his terrifying vision of the coming of totalitarianism, The Iron Heel (1907).
From 1900 to 1916 London wrote more than fifty books, earning a million dollars, which he spent quickly and easily as he earned it, in a frantic search for contentment. But London found gratification neither in his writing nor in his personal life, and his last years were marked by struggles with alcoholism and mental disintegration. He died, probably by his own hand, when he was forty.1
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1 All biographical data taken directly from Salzman, Jack (edit.)."The Cambridge Handbook of American Literature". Cambridge : University Press, 1986. And from McMichael, George (edit.) et al. "The Anthology of American Literature Volume II." New York, London : 1980
Contents
1 The Author
2 The Short Story The Law of Life
3 Conclusion
Research Objectives and Key Topics
This report analyzes Jack London's short story "The Law of Life" through the lens of literary naturalism, examining how the author portrays the inevitable fate of the individual in the face of uncontrollable natural forces. The study explores the influence of Darwinian and Marxian thought on London’s characterization of human existence and the struggle for survival.
- Biographical influences on Jack London's literary career
- The intersection of naturalism, Darwinism, and economic determinism
- Narrative techniques and the use of free indirect discourse
- The portrayal of the individual versus the survival of the species
- The thematic representation of death as a natural law
Excerpt from the Book
The Short Story The Law of Life :
Jack London's The Law of Life is a story that deals with the approach of death to Old Koskoosh, an Indian who has been once an able warrior, and who is now abandoned in the snow by his tribe to meet his final fate. While he is sitting there he dreams stoically of the old days and especially about his experience with a grand old moose, which he saw struggle with wolves until it finally died. During these meditations the old Indian gets surrounded by wolves himself, to which he has to surrender in the end, in order to obey the law of life.
The first striking aspect when reading this very short short story is, that all the events are conveyed through the protagonists's point of view, particularly through the sense of listening. Especially through questiones like "What was that ? Oh, the men lashing the sleds and drawing tight the thongs" (p.877), indicating the free indirect discourse, with which the whole narrative is written, the reader slips inside the character and experiences immediately while reading, what is happening to the Indian.
London thematizes the last hours of an old man, who cannot keep up with the pace of life anymore and who is abandoned by those who are still young and strong to take part in existence. This seems very brutal and heartless, those people being members of his own family and tribe and they are indeed described as careless. His grandchild is "too busy to waste a thought upon her broken grandfather" (p.877), and "If Sitcum - to - ha had only remembered her grandfather, and gathered a larger armful [of wood], his hours would have been longer." (p.880).
Summary of Chapters
1 The Author: This chapter provides a brief biographical overview of Jack London, highlighting his early life experiences and the intellectual influences that shaped his writing style.
2 The Short Story The Law of Life: This section offers a literary analysis of the short story, focusing on the themes of survival, the inevitability of death, and the naturalistic portrayal of Old Koskoosh.
3 Conclusion: This final chapter synthesizes the findings, characterizing London as a practitioner of naturalism and discussing the broader implications of his determinist worldview.
Keywords
Jack London, The Law of Life, Naturalism, Darwinism, Literary Analysis, Determinism, Survival, Old Koskoosh, Totalitarianism, Marxism, Human Existence, Fiction, Short Story.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary subject of this research report?
The report focuses on Jack London’s short story "The Law of Life" and analyzes it within the context of the American literary movement known as naturalism.
What are the central themes explored in the text?
The core themes include the brutality of nature, the inevitability of death, the struggle of the individual versus the species, and the influence of philosophical determinism.
What is the main objective of the analysis?
The study aims to demonstrate how London uses the narrative of Old Koskoosh to illustrate his deterministic philosophy, influenced by Darwinian and Marxian concepts.
Which methodology is applied to the literary work?
The author employs a literary analytical approach, interpreting the text through the conventions of literary naturalism, specifically looking at how external circumstances and biological drives dictate human behavior.
What does the main body of the text cover?
The body includes a biographical profile of Jack London, a close textual analysis of "The Law of Life," and a final interpretation of London’s naturalistic philosophy as reflected in the story.
Which keywords best characterize the report?
Key terms include Jack London, naturalism, Darwinism, literary analysis, determinism, and survival.
How does the author view the role of the protagonist, Old Koskoosh?
Old Koskoosh is viewed as an embodiment of the natural law, representing the individual who must accept his fate as part of a larger cycle that favors the species over the specific person.
What conclusion does the author reach regarding the Enlightenment promise?
The author concludes that London's story serves as a critique of Enlightenment ideals, suggesting that human reason is insufficient against the superior, predetermined laws of nature.
- Quote paper
- Didem Oktay (Author), 1995, Death in Jack London's 'The Law of Life', Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/4302
