Analysis of the Reasons for Jack London ’s Disillusion

第12卷第3期读与写杂志2015年3月Vol. 12 No.3R ead and W rite Period icalMarch 2015Analysis of the Reasons for Jack I ondon' sDisillusion秦宏莉张玲Qin HongliZhang Ling(College English Department, Guilin Institute of Tourism, Guilin, Guangxi, 541006)Abstract:Jack London is an outstanding realistic writer in the American modern times, creating 19 novels and 125 short stories.He came from a poor working class family. Through his hard work, he finally became a world famous writer. However ,he endedup with suicide of his 40-year- old life after his success. Jack betrayed his success in the way of death. This outcome is not onlythe end of life, but is also a negative to the empty life. What on earth is the meaning of life? This paper analyzes the reasons forJack's disillusion from the aspects of his family background, the era he lived, his experience, his education, his works and hisoutlook on lifeKey words :Jack London; disillusion中图分类号:106文献标识码: A文章编号:1672-1578(2015)03- -0001-021 Introduction of Jack Londonwanted to lull the fight will of the working class.Jack London (1876-1919) is an outstanding realistic writerThe maturation of industrial capitalism had led toin the American modern times， holding an important position fundamental changes in the nature of American life and mostin American literature. In his literary creation he created 19 artists responded in varying degrees of fight and flight. As anovels and 125 short stories. Some of them are realistic works，member of the society, London was unavoidably subjected tohich review and criticize the bourgeoisie and capitalisticthe influence of fight and flight to the reality.system; call on the poor people to struggle for liberation. But 3 Jack London 's familysome are plunged into the bourgeoisie moral concepts. Even inJack London was the llgitimate son of Flora Wellmanhis outstanding works, the weakness exits in the strong.and an itinerant astrologer. Later in 1846 Flora married JohnThe contradiction of his work shows the contradiction ofLondon. His mother was a driving woman with pioneer spirit.his outlook on life. On one hand, he wasn't satisfied with the She was constantly plunging into schemes for making a fortunereality and had the spirit of rebel against the capitalist society.overnight. His stepfather, a quiet gentle man with love of soilOn the other hand, he had the strong idea of individualism. and animal breeding， was unable to cope with either herHe managed to get rid of his poverty by his own struygle and ambition or her terible fits of temperament. She drove hirto step into the upper class of capitalist society. The shaping into a series of business fiascos all over the San Francisco Bayof the contradiction can't be separated from the era in whicharea desperately striving to improve their condition andhe lived, his family, his education and his experiences.inevitably making it worse. The pattern of failure and flight2 The era in which Jack London livedseared London permanently.Jack London was bor in 1876 in San Francisco. DuringIn Flora, the boy respected driving and overbearinghis youth, America stepped into the imperialist stage from individualism, the first impulse toward becoming thecapitalist stage.American monopoly bourgeoisie comitted Nietzschean superman. But influenced by his stepfather'sforeign aggression and at home cruelly exploited the working sympathy for the poor, London laid the roots of his concern forpeople. The capitalist economic crisis brought disaster to thethe working people and socialism. The contrast between theirpeople. Where there is oppression, there is resistance. At the working -class conditions and Flora's middle- -class valuesperiod American working class developed trade union activitiesintensified London ’s aspirations: in spite of his position in thand went on strike. The scale of the socialist movement economic cellar of society, London was determined to succeed.becamestronger and stronger. Facing the awakening of the4Jack London ' s experienceworking people， for one thing American bourgeoisie carriedLondon's shame and guilt about his poverty andsupression. For another, they bought over laboilgitimacy worked with these conflicting impulses and led himaristocracy by money to separate and destroy the working- -class try to convert中国煤化工with reliouisstruygle. Besides, American bourgeoisie employed men of letters:T.CHCNMHG'temnated betweeno propagate the “American life style". In this way they try to be a“wDeast of d Deast 0l prey, betveen flight第12卷第3期读与写杂志2015年3月Vol. 12 No.3Read and W rite PeriodicalMarch 2015from the society and aggression against it.6 The reasons for Jack London's disllusionFrom working in a cannery, London switched to being anIn the cellar of the society London had embraced two .oyster pirate. At 17, he signed on a boat as a seaman. Whenopposing methods of escape: individualism and socialismhe returned home, the depression of 1893 forced him back to the first an assertion of his strength and cunning for personalwork in a jute mill, and then in a power plant. In revolt and and material success; the second avowing mass strength andrevulsion，London became a tramp and hit the road. After political revolution for social justice and the transformation ofjoining“Kelly's Army", he not only became part of a massocial protest group, but also lived off the countryside begging long time, London had maintained the conflicting ideas side byfrom the farmers. After leaving the Army and wandering around side， but individualism gradually dominated socialism， andthe country， London was finally imprisoned for vagrancy in though it never conquered altogether, it became London ' sNew York.primary mode of belief and expression.The penitentiary and Kelly's Army reinforced the lessonsFrom that time on, though he was to become world -of his early experiences. His hostility and rellion against famous and a millionaire, London was dogged for an intensifiedsociety increased because of the cruelties and injustices he hadense of failure and hopelessness.He was estranged from hisseen and endured. He developed an interest in socialism which first wife and his children. His second wife proved less thebecame superimposed on his individualism. The two contrary'mate woman”than he had hoped. He was alienated from hisimpulses were to co-exist for the rest of his life. In addition, old Socialist comrades and finally resigned from the Socialisthe found physical labor wore out too quickly and was paid forParty. He publicly supported the imperialist aggression andtoo cheaply; if one wanted out of the social pit, one had toaggrandizement. He was now a confrmed alcoholic. Slowly,sell brain power: it last longer and paid better.inevitably，the two well -springs that had sustained him, hisAs a resul, London decided to retur home to become a writing and his socialism, were poisoned. Though he forcedbrain merchant". The real beginning of his literature careerhimself to write, his inventiveness and creativity flaggedwas in 1898 when he came back from the gold fever of badly that he began to buy plots and plagiarize other books, .Alaska and Klondike. Back in Oakland, penniless， Londonand his writing was no longer seriously received.threw himself into efforts to become a writer, studying andIn his country retreat in Sonama County, London built aworking withenergy and purpose. He found a mine of great $70,000 manor, the “Wolf House”". It mysteriously burmedliterature ore more precious than gold, a vein which made him down, uninsured, before he could live in it. It gave him arich and famous.heavy blow.5 Jack London 's education backgroundFinally, bitterness and baflement overwhelmed him. OnEarly at the age of 8 years old, London found a real the night of November 22， 1916, only 40 years old, Jackfavorite in his life -- reading. Though poorly schooled, he London committed suicide by taking an overdose of morphine.studied himself. He usually went to the Oakland PublicLike Antaeus, the hero in Greek myth who was killed byLibrary. Even when he was an oyster pirate and s seaman,le the enemy after being tempted from the land, London, whoread with great eagerness. During years of 1895 to 1897， he came from an extremely poor family and ever received the :went back to school, first to Oakland High School and then tosocialist idea, took the road to ruin after being separated fromthe University of California. He read many books， involving the working class and socialist movement by his individualismphilosophy, economics, anthropology, biology and the theory ofand bourgeoisie life style.evolution, etc. Because he lived through poverty and References:exploitation and was dissatisfied with the society,he easily[1tp://en.wikipedia.org/wikiMartin_ Edenreceived the idea of Communist Manifesto -- the analysis and lhtp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack. _Londonrevealing of the capitalism and bourgeoisie, the prediction that[3]桂扬清,吴翔林.英美文学选读[M].中国对外翻译出版公司.socialism would eventually replace capitalism. But the works of 1985 :376-377.Nietzschean and Herbert Spencer also had an important effect[4]Jack London. Martin Eden[M]. Moderm Library. 2002.in shaping his outlook on life. The consciousness of superman:the survival of the fttest, the race to the siftest and victory作者简介:秦宏莉(1969年-),女,硕士研究生,副教授,桂林旅o the powerful man, London received completely. Thus 游高等专科学校大学外语部英语教师，研究方向英语语言文学socialism and individualism co -existed in his mind. So his和大学英语教学literature creation at every period reflected two sides: on one张玲(1963年-中国煤化工，等专科学校大学.hand, to plead on the poor people's behalf, on the other hand,外语部英语教师，YHCNMHGto beautify and sing the praises to the powerful man.