e 1 1 BiographyBiography 2 2 Major Works 3 Writing Style 4 Theme of Jack London s Works 5 Comments on London s life philosophy He is the one of the representative writers Naturalism 1865 1914 in literature the term refers to the theory that literary composition should aim at a detached scientific objectivity in the treatment of natural man The movement is an outgrowth of 19th century scientific thought following in general the biological determinism of Darwin s theory or the economic determinism BiographyBiography He was born John Griffith Chaney in San Francisco on January 12 1876 the illegitimate son of a self taught man and an eccentric woman He took the last name of his stepfather and was called John Griffith London He grew up in extreme poverty as a street urchin along the water front where he began at an early age to indulge his boundless appetite for adventure Before he was ten years old he had to work before and after school and even on weekends in order to support the family At the age of 13 he took a job in a cannery and at the age of 15 he was the captain of an oyster pirate boat He supported himself with menial and dangerous jobs experiencing the struggle for survival He lived on the fringes of society until he was seventeen In 1893 he became a sailor For the next four years he worked his way around the world He learned the jungle law of nature the survival of the strong and the death of the weak He wandered his way across the United State even begging his food from door to door Determined to get an education he went to high school at the age of nineteen entered preparatory school and then spend a semester as a special student at the University of California in 1896 He had to drop out after a few months to make money for the family But he read extensively by himself London believed both in the success of the working class and in the survival of the strongest He also learned practical knowledge in between journeys as a tramp and participation in the Klondike gold rush in 1897 He failed to find gold but the experience became a rich source for his literary creation later London believed both in the success of the working class and in the survival of the strongest He also learned practical knowledge in between journeys as a tramp and participation in the Klondike gold rush in 1897 He failed to find gold but the experience became a rich source for his literary creation later In 1903 he wrote The Call of the Wild an all time best seller This book made him immediately popular and his name was soon known all over the county For the next twelve years he wrote reports in Asia at the time of the Russian Japanese War and served in the same capacity in the Mexican Civil War in 1914 He liked the excitement of it Wherever there was action London was present For a period of many years especially between 1905 1907 London was a strong supporter of the socialist movement in the United States Many of his writings reflect his interest in socialist ideas With the success of his fiction he was also in demand on the lecture circuit The marked decline of his writing after 1913 coincides with his drifting away from the socialist movement He became a millionaire He spent money on the building of his ship for the voyage around the world and on his splendid Wolf House but both ventures failed He died of a guestrointestinal type of uraemia 尿毒症 on November 22 1916 Jack and Jack and CharmianCharmian London s Grave Site London s Grave Site Newsboy报童 at 10 Oyster pirate 16 A hard laborer muscle seller A tramp流浪者 beggar at 18 A knowledge pursuer A successful writer A rancher 大农场农场 主 His Major Works The People of the Abyss 1903 深渊中的人们 The Call of the Wild 1903 野性的呼唤 The Sea Wolf 1904 海狼 White Fang 1906 白牙 The Iron Heel 1908 铁蹄 Martin Eden 1909 马丁 伊登 The Valley of the Moon 1912 月谷 The Star Rover 1915 星游人 The Little Lady of the Big House 1916 大屋 里的小妇人 Writing Style Social Darwinism 社会达尔文主义 Neitzchean superman socialist doctrines of Marx Naturalism mingled with Romanticism Forceful and colorful Subjectivity and enthusiasm His characterizations were often stiff and his dialogue stereotyped Theme of Jack London s Works primitive violence Anglo Saxon supremacy biological evolution class warfare and mechanistic determinism Hope for human civilization Father of American proletariat 工人阶级 literature Realist spokesman of socialism Great thinker the struggle to survive with dignity and integrity combative love of knowledge love for the whole humankind Rebellious individualism superman strong will freedom Hope for human civilization Comments on London s life philosophy Father of American proletariate literature Realist spokesman of socialism Great thinker His writings inspired later writers like John Steinbeck and Jack Kerouac Ernest Hemingway and Robert Ruark Sinclair Jack s notable sayings Youth is always young and elderly will only grow old 青年总是年青的 只有老年才会变老 The only way to get smart is to buy with the youth 得到智慧的惟一办法 就是用青春去买 I would rather