Jack London

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.

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’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’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.

He was born on at San Francisco, California, and apparently, was an illegitimate child of Flora Wellman and William Chaney, who was best known for being an astrologer. Later his mother married a person named John London and, probably, after that he took up the surname of his step-father. His family first moved to Bay Area and then shifted to Oakland.

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.

In 1892, he joined the ‘California Fish Patrol’ department of the ‘California Natural Resources Agency’ and the following year; he was sent to the coast of Japan on a seal hunting schooner called ‘Sophie Sutherland’. His story ‘Typhoon of the Coast of Japan’ is based on this journey.

In 1893, the United States was hit by a severe economic depression. The following year, he became a member of the ‘Kelly Army’ (Coxey Army) and joined the march of the unemployed people led by the Jacob Coxey. He led a life of a vagabond [ˈvægəbɒnd] and was even imprisoned for this for a short span, and sent to Erie County, New York.

He had amassed a lot of experience during his life as a vagabond and all these experiences formed the basis of his book ‘The Road’.

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.

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.

So he joined the ‘Oakland High School’. 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.

In 1896 he went to the ‘University of California’, Berkeley. However financial constraints forced the aspiring writer to drop out of the institution a year later.

“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. 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.

He set on a journey to Canada to the Klondike (where gold was discovered which resulted in the gold rush). Jack travelled there to mend his fortune.

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. He wrote the short story ‘A Thousand Deaths’ which was printed in the magazine called ‘The Black Cat’ in the year 1899. The same year, he declined a job at the post office and concentrated on writing. This was one of his most prolific years as he wrote stories, poems, jokes and many more. Soon, well-known, important magazines invited him to write for them.

In 1900, his first book ‘The Son of the Wolf’, which was a collection of stories was released.

Ever since the publication of his first book, he has penned numerous short stories such as ‘The Man and the Gash’, ‘Thanksgiving On Slav Creek’, ‘Housekeeping In The Klondike’, ‘The Law of Life’, ‘Moon-Face’, ‘To Build a Fire’, collection of short stories such as ‘Children of the Frost’, ‘Lost Face’, ‘South Sea Tales’, and even written plays, poetry, essays, novels and autobiographical pieces.

In 1902, he travelled to England and penned the book ‘The People of the Abyss’ and began work on another story named ‘The Call of the Wild’ which was published the following year.

‘The Call of the Wild’ is one of the significant stories that tells the story of a dog named Buck and narrates all the hardships it faces in its life. It revolves around the canine’s story of how it establishes its identity as a sled dog braving the harsh cold environment.

The story shows the dog’s faithfulness towards its master and once that bond is broken, it follows its call of the wild. London thought of penning a short story but finally ended up writing a book about this dog.

Who can say why a writer becomes popular?

At the end of the 19th 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.

On 7th April 1900, he married Bessie May Maddern and the couple was blessed with two children named Joan and Bessie’. However, the couple separated four years later.

In 1905, Jack got married for the second time to Charmian Kittredge and the couple went on various voyages.

Jack London died on November 22, 1916, in Glen Ellen, California. He was only 40 years old. Some say that kidney problems, as well as other health issues, led to his downfall. Other rumors are of alcoholism and depression that led to suicide. The actual cause of death is still a mystery to this day.

The ‘Jack London Square’ in Oakland, California has been named after him, and so is the ‘Jack London lake’ located in Yagodninsky region Magadan Oblast.

In January 1986, he was honoured by the ‘United States Postal Service’ when they released the postal stamps series called the ‘Great Americans’.