JACK LONDON

B. Library in El Segundo (CA) calls him communist.

III. Why is Jack London important to us today?

A. Location- we know little about the Far North

IV Movies made from his books and stories

V. Where does Jack London fit with other important American writers?

Jack London wrote many short stories and novels. He was a very popular adventure story writer. When he was writing, there was no radio and no TV, so people loved to read about far-away places they never would visit.

"London was a popular author whose fiction combined high adventure, socialism, mysticism, Darwinian determinism, and Nietzschean theories of race. Of the fifty books published during his career, The Call of the Wild (1903) is the most famous and widely read. London's fiction, particularly The Call of the Wild, The Sea-Wolf (1904), and The Iron Heel (1908), and the short stories Love of Life,' 'To Build a Fire,' and "Batard," are considered classics in American literature" Gale 1).

Why was he important? He had political ideas. He was a socialist. Many of his stories had that theme: "After London established his literary reputation, he had more latitude in t

depression brought on by various maladies, including liver and intestinal disease, London tried to mask his symptoms with drugs and alcohol in order to keep up the self-imposed public image of the invincible man of action. It has been conjectured that his death from an overdose of painkiller was suicide. Philosophies Filters Through Writing. The wide variety of experiences and readings that fed London's literary imagination produced the seemingly contradictory world views found in his works. His high regard for the writings of Charles Darwin and Nietzsche is demonstrated by the doctrines of rugged individualism and of the amoral uebermensch ("superman") that dominate such early adventure stories as The Call of the Wild and The Sea-Wolf. The Call of the Wild differs drastically from the overly sentimental animal stories popular during London's early career, with his dog protagonist Buck existing unrestrained by the human emotions and morality that limited portrayal of the savagery of nature in other popular novels. Buck's brutality and complete avarice are at the same time repelling and alluring to readers who vicariously participate in his conquests without guilt. In later short story collections such as South Sea Tales (1911), L