Jack London(01/12/1876 - 11/22/1916) - American writer.
John Griffith "Jack" London was born on 12 January 1876 in San Francisco. His mother, Flora Wellman, lived in Ohio but then moved to San Francisco where she worked as a music teacher. It also known that she was interested in spiritualism. Some biographers suppose that Jack London's father was William Chaney who lived with Flora Wellman in San Francisco. It is not known if Flora and William were legally married. The house where Jack London spent his childhood was destroyed after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
In 1885 London read Ouida's long Victorian novel Signa. Jack London maintained that this book was the beginning of his literary career. In 1886 he became acquainted with Ina Coolbrith who was a librarian in the Oakland Public Library. She encouraged London’s learning.
In 1889 he started working at Hickmott's Cannery. His working day lasted 12 to 18 hours. Afterwards Jack London bought the sloop Razzle-Dazzle and became an oyster pirate. After a while he came to Oakland and entered Oakland High School where he started writing articles for the school's magazine, The Aegis. The first work of London was “Typhoon off the Coast of Japan” in which he described his sailing experiences.
In 1896 Jack London entered the University of California, Berkeley but because of financial difficulties he left the university in a year. Jack London spent a lot of time at Heinold's saloon where he met Alexander McLean. He was a cruel captain whom the character Wolf Larsen in London's novel is based.
At the age of 21 Jack London joined the Klondike Gold Rush. This period of life was a basis for some of his popular stories but his health declined there. As a result London had the scurvy. All the events in the Klondike were an incitement for him to write a short story “To Build a Fire” which is considered one of his best.
From 1898 Jack London started working intentionally to publish his writings. The first published work was “To the Man on Trail”. When London began his literary career the new printing technologies appeared. consequent popular magazines became available for many people and in 1900 he could earn $2,500. In 1903 The Saturday Evening Post bought London's work The call of the Wild for $750. In addition to that he sold the book rights to Macmillan for $2,000 and as a result London achieved a swift success. When London lived in Oakland he became acquainted with poet George Sterling who became his best friend. Sterling was described in London's autobiographical novel Martin Eden as Russ Brissenden.
Jack London's first marriage was in 1900. He married Elizabeth “Bessie” Maddern with whom he had two children: Joan and Bessie (later called Becky). But they divorced and London married Charmian Kittredge in 1905. They didn’t have children because the first child died at birth and the second pregnancy ended in a miscarriage.
Jack London died November 22, 1916. There are a lot of different suppositions about London's death. Some people consider that he could commit a suicide but his death certificate gives the cause as uremia. His ashes were interred in Jack London State Historic Park, in Glen Ellen, California.
A biography of Jack London in English is given in this article.
Jack London biography in English
Jack London"s full name was John Griffith London, and he was born in San Francisco. After completing grammar school, London worked at various jobs to help support his family. He briefly enrolled in a university and took English classes, for he loved to read and write.However, he was not happy with this formal education and he soon dropped out.
In 1897 and 1898, London, like many other American and Canadian men, went north to Alaska and the Klondike region of Canada to search for gold. This was the Alaska Gold Rush. Although London never found any gold, his experience in the extreme environment of this cold part of the world gave him ideas for the stories he would write when he decided to return to California.
Upon his return to the San Francisco area, he began to write about his experiences. After winning a writing contest, he succeeded in selling some of his stories and in 1900, he published a collection of his short stories, The Son of the Wolf.
Like Stephen Crane, London wrote in a Naturalistic style, in which a story's actions and events are caused mainly by man's internal biological needs, or by the external forces of nature and the environment. Many of his stories, including his masterpiece The Call of the Wild (1903), deal with civilized man getting back in touch with his deep, animal instincts.
Among London's most important books were People of the Abyss (1903), written about the poor people of London, England; The Sea Wolf (1904), a novel based on the author's experiences as a seal hunter; John Barleycorn (1913), an autobiographical novel about his struggle against alcoholism; and The Star Rover (1915), a collection of related stories dealing with reincarnation.
London wrote more than 50 books and enjoyed enormous international popularity as an author. His exciting, often violent and brutal writing style attracted readers from all over the world and his stories and novels were translated into many different > Despite his success, however, alcohol and two broken marriages added to his growing unhappiness. In 1916, at the age of only 40, Jack London committed suicide.
vocabulary
achieve- achieve; achieve
to achieve success- succeed
advertise- to advertise; place ads
arrest- 1. arrest, detention 2. arrest
to be arrested- be arrested
When was he arrested?
ashamed- ashamed
to be ashamed- hesitate
shame- 1. shame 2. shame
attempt- attempt
to make an attempt- to attempt
audience- public, audience, spectators (used with a singular verb); audience
awful- horrible
base- 1. base, foundation; base 2. base 3. low, base, vile
to be based- be founded
Many of London's stories were based on his own experience.
betray- change, change
break (broke, broken) with break up with (someone or something)
condition- condition, circumstance
conditions of life / living conditions - living conditions
conflict- conflict, confrontation
contest- competition, competition, competition
decide- decide, decide
describe- describe, portray
experience- 1. (life) experience; impressions, experiences 2. feel, learn from experience
fang- fang; tooth root
frustration- disappointment; collapse, collapse
gain- 1. profit, gain, gain 2. receive, acquire
to gain friends(experience, a wide audience) - make friends (experience, a wide audience)
gold rush- (original) gold rush
heel- 1. fifth 2. heel
hope- hope, hope
impulse impulse, urge, urge, impulse
individual- 1. personality, individual 2. personal, individual, characteristic
justice- justice; justice; justice
injustice- injustice
job- work, place of service
kind- 1. good 2. variety, kind, class, category
main- main, principal
to move to- move, move to When did the Browns move to Boston? - When did the Browns move to Boston?
movement- motion
observation- observation, study
observe- 1. observe, follow 2. observe
poor- poor, indigent
the poor- the poor, the poor, the poor
prison- prison
quit (quit/quitted, quit/quitted)- to stop, quit, quit
realize- (clearly) understand, realize
reflect- display, reflect
ride (rode, ridden)- ride, ride (on horseback, on a bicycle, horse, etc.)
sailor- sailor, sailor
social order- social order / order
storyteller- the narrator
struggle for- struggle for
success- success, luck
suicide- suicide
survive- to survive, survive
theme- subject
tramp- 1. vagabond 2. hiking 3. hiking
tuition- tuition fee
to turn to smth- take on something
unemployed- unemployed, unemployed
used to- to have a habit (in the past)
vagrancy- 1. deprivation, wandering life 2. (jur.) vagrancy
vagrant- 1. vagabond, loafer 2. vagabond, traveler
vagabond- 1. tramp; (colloquial) Idler 2 vagrant
wild- wild
the Wild- wild nature
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.
In the terrible world that Jack London shows us in his stories, a man who makes even the smallest mistake must fall and die in the snow. But his people are afraid of nothing, and nothing can stop them.
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. The Biography (part 1)
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 1876-1916
Jack London's Creed (translated into Russian)
I would rather burn with a bright flame than choke on the dust. I would rather be a sparkling meteor than a dormant and eternal planet. Man must live, not exist. I'm not going to waste my days trying to prolong my existence. I'm in a hurry to LIVE!
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.
Jack London was born in San Francisco, California, in 1876. His father was poor, and there were many other children in the family. 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. There he saw wonderful places: beautiful green islands in the endless blue sea, and high mountains that threw red fire into the black night sky. But the paid ships boys very little, and when Jack came back to California he had almost northing.
So he left home again, this time to look for work in the big cities of the United States, and in the great forests and on the great lakes and rivers of Canada. He never had a day's rest and he worked from morning to night. But when the day's work was over, he listens to the men's jokes and their conversations about places and people, about workers and revolution.
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. “I am sure they will be interesting to other people too.”
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. “I never learned English,” he thought, “because I couldn’t go to school. But why can't I go to school now? The pupils will be surprised when they see somebody so much older in the class room. But I'll be ashamed when I can't pronounce difficult words. But my memory isn't bad, and if they can study physics and mathematics and biology, I can too. And I'll learn English together with science!”
And he did! 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.
If you study English, find in the text and read aloud:
a) the sentences in the text about the places that Jack London visited:
b) the sentences that explain what is new in his stories:
* * *
Jack London. The Biography (part 2)
"I haven't had enough time to learn so slowly."
Pupils went to high school for two years, but Jack London finished high school in three months. He even went to college for a short time, but then he decided not to continue. “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, but then he said:” Perhaps they are right. I haven't yet become a writer. But I haven’t lost this fight – no, I am only beginning.” 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.
There were thousands and even millions of men in America who thought of Alaska, who wanted to go 
there, but who could not decide to leave their homes in the south. Jack London was not one of them. He bought a ticket on the first ship to the North. He wanted to see the life of the thousands of men who came to look for gold in the mountains and rivers. Perhaps only a few could find gold, but they all hoped to be the lucky man.
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. When he was twenty three, a small magazine agreed to publish his stories: soon, well-known, important magazines invited him to write for them.
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.
If you study English,
a) try to say what you have learned about Jack London, his books and his characters
b) say if you like Jack London and why
I have to admit that I "m fond of reading. I like to read books about the history of our country, about famous people and adventures. Literature means much in my life. It helps to form the character and the world outlook, to understand life better. Books teach us to be honest, modest, and courageous. They help us to feel compassion for weak people.
Jack London became my favorite writer from his first books I "d read. First of all I got interested in Jack London as a personality. His life story struck me not less than his works. What a man! He was strong and talented. He lived a life of adventures and hardships, so he knew what he was writing about. In his novel Martin Iden he describes his biography. What a hard life he lived!
Jack London was born in San Francisco in 1876. From his childhood he suffered greatly. He changed a lot of jobs: selling out newspapers, working at the factory. He hated that kind of job, which exhausted people and made them suffer physically and morally.
Young Jack had no opportunity to go to school, so he studied privately reading much at night.
When gold was found in Alaska, Jack London joined the gold rush. He returned home without gold but with rich impressions about people with whom he met and made friends. They became the prototypes of his heroes.
The American novelist and short-story writer knew life in Alaska very well because he experienced it himself. That is why it is so interesting to read his novels "The Call of the Wild" and "White Fang" His heroes are bright personalities. They are physically strong and enduring people. They try to find a way out from the most difficult situations. They fight and survive.
The very first story The Love of Life caught my fancy. I was struck by the will of a sick man who found himself alone, side by side with a wolf. Both the man and the wolf were sick and weak. And each of them was waiting for the other to grow still weaker and faint in order to feed on him. The man won. While reading the story I admired the courage and human spirit of the hero.
The story "Brown Wolf" is not less interesting. Its about a dog and his devotion to people.
Later I read more novels and stories by Jack London. My fondness of Jack London, the greatest American writer, will stay with me all my life.
Jack London
I must confess that I love to read. I like to read books about the history of our country, famous people and adventures. Literature means a lot in my life. It helps to form character and horizons, to better understand life. Books teach us to be honest, humble and brave. They help us feel compassion for weak people.
Jack London has been my favorite author since the first books I read. First of all, I became interested in Jack London as a person. The story of his life struck me no less than his work. What a man! He was strong and talented. He lived a life of adventure and hardship, so he knew what he was writing about. In the novel "Martin Eden" he describes his biography. What a hard life he lived!
Jack London was born in San Francisco in 1876. He has experienced a lot since childhood. He changed many jobs: he sold newspapers, worked in a factory. He hated such work that exhausted people and made them suffer physically and morally.
Young Jack did not have the opportunity to go to school, so he studied by reading on his own, mostly at night.
When gold was found in Alaska, Jack London joined the gold rush. He returned home without gold, but with rich impressions of the people he met and befriended. They became the prototypes of his heroes.
The American novelist and short story writer knew life in Alaska very well because he had experienced it first hand. That is why it is so interesting to read his novels "Call of Nature" and "White Fang". His characters are smart people. They are physically strong and resilient. They try to find a way out of the most difficult situations. They fight and survive.
The very first story, "Love of Life", captured my imagination. I was amazed at the strength of the will of a sick person who was alone, face to face with a wolf. Both man and wolf were sick and weak. And each of them waited for the other to become weaker in order to eat it. The man won. Reading the story, I admired the courage and fortitude of the hero.
The story "The Brown Wolf" is no less interesting. It's about a dog and its devotion to people.
Later I read other novels and short stories by Jack London. My admiration for Jack London, the greatest American writer, will stay with me for the rest of my life.
17 Sep
English Topic: Jack London
Topic in English: Jack London. This text can be used as a presentation, project, story, essay, essay or message on the topic.
American writer
Jack London was born in 1876 in San Francisco. His real name was John Griffith. He was America's most successful writer of the early 20th century, whose life symbolized willpower.
Origin
London's family was very poor, so he started working at the age of 8. He sold newspapers, worked on ships and factories. Jack traveled across the ocean as a sailor, walking from San Francisco to New York with an army of unemployed and back across Canada to Vancouver. London studied the great masters of literature and read the works of great scientists and philosophers.
Conclusion
The turning point in Jack's life was a thirty-day imprisonment, which forced him to study and later to take up writing.
Best Short Stories
In 1987, Jack London joined the gold rush and headed to the Klondike. He brought no gold with him, but those years left their mark on his best short stories; among them are "Call of the Ancestors", "White Fang", "Son of the Wolf" and "White Silence". They are a compelling tale of man's struggle with nature. His novel The Sea Wolf is based on experiences at sea.
The problems of individuals and society, as well as some of the difficulties that London himself faced in his early years as a writer, are described in The Iron Heel and Martin Eden.
last years of life
During the 16 years of his literary activity, Jack London published about 50 books: Short stories, novels and essays. In 1910, London settled near Glen Helen in California, where he intended to build his dream home. After the house burned down before its completion in 1913, London was a broken and sick man. Jack London died of various illnesses and drug treatment at the age of 40 in 1916.
Download Topic in English: Jack London
Jack London
American writer
Jack London was born in 1876 in San Francisco. His real name was John Griffith. He was the most successful writer in America in the early 20th century, whose life symbolized the power of will.
background
London's family was very poor, so he began to work at the age of eight. He sold newspapers, worked on ships and in factories. Jack traveled across the ocean as a sailor, tramped from San Francisco to New York with an army of unemployed and back through Canada to Vancouver. London studied the great masters of literature and read the works of great scientists and philosophers.
Imprisonment
The turning point of Jack's life was a thirty-day imprisonment, which made him decide to turn to education and pursue a career in writing.
His best short stories
In 1897 Jack London joined the gold rush to the Klondike. He didn't bring any gold back with him but those years left their mark in his best short stories; among them The Call of the Wild, White Fang, The Son of the Wolf, and The white silence. They are gripping narratives of a man's struggle with nature. His novel The Sea Wolf was based on his experiences at sea.
The problems of the individual and society as well as some of the London difficulties himself met during the first years of his literary work are described in The Iron Heel and Martin Eden.
The last year of life
During the sixteen years of his literary career Jack London published about fifty books: short stories, novels and essays. In 1910 London settled near Glen Ellen in California, where he intended to build his dream home. After the house burned down before completion in 1913, London was a broken and sick man. Jack London died from various diseases and drug treatments at the age of forty in 1916.
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