Jack London essays

Jack London essays Jack London fought his way up from a life of hard, factory labor in Oakland, California, to become the highest paid, most popular author of his time. His writings questioned the meaning of life and death and captured the essence of the natural struggle to survive. Drawing on his own experiences in Alaska, at sea, and as a hobo, he wove his thoughts into adventurous stories, becoming a prolific author in expressing his own struggle in life. The trials and tribulations Jack London faced instilled in his work a sense of truth and realism that appealed to millions of people around the world. Jack London was born in San Francisco on January 12, 1876. He was the only child of a short-tempered spiritualist, Flora Wellman, and William Chaney, a man of many trades. Chaney never finished what he started, trying carpentry, sailing, editing, lecturing, and teaching. He had an interest in astrology and after traveling the country attending astrological meetings; he opened a small astrology parlor. Chaney abandoned Flora nine months after Jack's birth. Flora Wellman then married John London, a widower and father of two, in September of 1876. John London gave his name to Flora's illegitimate child, and it was not until his college days that Jack learned the truth about his birth. Flora London, whose own family in Ohio had been wealthy and socially prominent, was pretentious, prejudiced, ambitious, and not very affectionate toward her son. Jack's stepfather, however, was a devoted family man; often unable to work due to injuries he suffered during the Civil War. By the age of fourteen, Jack was working eighteen-hour days at a tuna cannery in Oakland to help support his family. Frustrated by the horrible working conditions and the low pay, he borrowed some money and bought a small ship when he turned fourteen. Jack taught himself to drive the boat and named it the "Razzle Dazzle". He soon began pirating nearby commercial oyster beds....