The Naturalistic Ideals of Jack London Essay - 825 Words

The Naturalistic Ideals of Jack London As an adolescent, Jack London led an impoverished life and struggled to earn more money to support himself and his mother. In an attempt to find a small fortune, London joined the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897. Unfortunately, he returned home penniless. However, his adventures in the Yukon provided him the most epic experiences that guided him into writing some of his most famous, widely acclaimed literary works. His novels focus primarily on naturalism, a type of literature in which the characters are shaped by their environment through the practice of scientific principles. The author centralizes his themes around this literary technique. Jack London’s naturalistic portrayal of his characters explores†¦show more content†¦Through his vivid writing style, London captures the spirit of the wilderness and that â€Å"life was a struggle for survival†¦ the ‘fittest’ would come out on top† (Napierkowski and Stan ley). Again, this philosophy is the result of Buck’s destiny shaped by a force beyond his control. He is heavily influenced by his pack leader’s incessant teasing and desire for a fight. Through these conflicts, Buck evolves into the most savage, fearless animal that roams the winter nights. London sees Darwinism as â€Å"a law of life† (Berkove) and Buck has certainly accomplished it. He successfully achieves the status of alpha dog by later killing the pack leader and proving himself to be the â€Å"fittest†. Although this process is very difficult, London manages to evoke a brighter side to the situation. Buck’s struggle for survival produces a new personality fit for the environment of the Yukon, thus completing his transformation. However, there is a fine line between the struggle for survival for a human and an animal. In his story â€Å"To Build a Fire†, Jack London reveals the teamwork required from both the man and the dog in order to conquer the ruthlessly cold winter. â€Å"To Build a Fire† centers on a man trekking out into the below zero temperatures of the Yukon with his dog companion and ultimately succumbs to the unrelenting force of nature. The man puts his best battle with the wild but to no avail.Show MoreRelatedNaturalism Literary Period2601 Words   |  11 Pages readers can see the steadily decline that nature, or fate, had evoked on the protagonist of naturalist stories. Also unlike romanticism, Zola uses his characters as a device for symbolism rather than a hero for readers to look up to. In these naturalistic writing of Zola, there is also much emphasis of people working together in groups, the literary references are greatly due to the labor wars that were taking place during the turn of the century. â€Å"Zola also took frankness about sexual functionsRead MoreRealism And Realism Of The Late Nineteenth Century3010 Words   |  13 Pageswe have today. The two, realism and naturalism were both movements that occurred in American, European and English literature that encompass the feelings of early well-known writers such as Edith Warton, Stephen Crane, Jack London, and of course, perhaps the figurehead of naturalistic literature, Emile Zola. A great number of other early writers utilized this technique, just emphasizing the importance and popularity of it. A large number of these works have been linked as and cited as direct inspirationRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem Build A Fire With The Film The Revenant 1558 Words   |  7 Pagesbefore and is marked by the close to life writing. The naturalist, in particular, observed the nature as a powerful, unpredictable force that had full control over people behavior. Notable authors emerged during this era e.g. Jack London and Leonardo DiCaprio. Jack London composed a significant tale of reason versus instinct known as â€Å"To Build a Fire.† The story, published in 1908, includes the essential beliefs of Nat uralism. Since Naturalist writers worked to illustrate real world situations,Read MoreEssay on Naturalism and Realism1298 Words   |  6 Pages Beginning in the late 19th century, two separate movements spread across America know as realism and naturalism. While the two were very similar in their beliefs and ideals there were still many apparent distinctions to differentiate the two. 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Those long winte r nights with snow swirling down the Hudson, and the old ships rocking and creaking in the wind, and the ice scraping and crunching against their sides, and the steam hissing in the radiators were ideal for reading. I read all the ship’s library. (Hughes, 1986, p.95) Among the books that Hughes finds in the ship’s library is a copy of â€Å"Conrad’s Heart of Darkness† (p.95). That Conrad’s novella should be mentioned in this context reveals a playfullyRead MoreSLA Lg teaching methods approaches7312 Words   |  30 Pagesgrammatical paradigms in isolation is rare nowadays. The Direct Method While Henri Gouin’s The Art of Learning and Studying Foreign Languages, published in 1880, can be seen as the precursor of modern language teaching methods with its ‘naturalistic’ approach, the credit for popularising the Direct Method usually goes to Charles Berlitz, who marketed it as the Berlitz Method. The basic premise of the Direct Method was that one should attempt to learn a second language in much the same wayRead MoreHerbert Spencer Essay13142 Words   |  53 Pagesneglecting such traditional subjects as history. Spencer initially followed up the scientific interests encouraged by his father and studied engineering. For a few years, until 1841, he practiced the profession of civil engineer as an employee of the London and Birmingham Railway. His interest in evolution is said to have arisen from the examination of fossils that came from the rail-road cuts. Spencer left the railroad to take up a literary career and to follow up some of his scientific interests. He