Jack London

Jack London Some say he was “the successor to Poe” (Unger). Was he truly the successor to Edgar Allen Poe? Jack London believed in a fine line between Social Darwinism and social justice, and individualism and socialism. He reflected his beliefs into all of his novels and stories. American writer, Jack London, made a successful career out of his experiences and adventures. Jack “London was born in San Francisco, the illegitimate child of Flora Wellman” on January 12, 1876 (Jack London St). It appears that “Flora was an ardent spiritualist, and séances were offered” (Unger). Research reveals that London’s father by only blood “William Henry Chaney” was “an itinerant Irish astrologer” (London Jack). Jack London was “deserted by his father” (London Jack) at an early age. Records state that Jack’s “mother had married John London, a widower with two daughters” (Jack London St) before he was one year old. John London was a “lowan immigrant worker” (London Jack). It is believed that this is from “whom Jack London took his surname” (London Jack). Evidence points out that William Chaney had “always denied the paternity of Jack London” (Unger). It is believed that “poverty would prove to be the strongest feature of London’s childhood” (Jack London St).As shown, Jack London did not have much of a life at an early age. Jack London’s school life did not last very long. London “entered the working world at age nine” (Jack London St). Since Jack London was “denied a formal education” he “compensated through voracious reading” (Jack London St). He bought a small boat and learned to sail” when he was thirteen (Unger). When Jack London was 15, he “found a job in a local cannery “after his “stepfather was struck by a train” (London Jack). London eventually quit his job and entered the world of crime. He survived “by thieving oysters from the commercial beds around San Francisco” (Unger). Also when London was 15, he began to “drink very heavily and nearly killed himself in the

Cited: Jack London 1900. N.d. Photograph. Web. 8 Nov. 2012. "Jack, London." EBSCOhost. Britannica Biographies, n.d. Web. 6 Nov. 2012. "Jack London." St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Detroit: St. James, 2000. N. pag. Gale Biography in Context. Web. 2 Nov. 2012. "London, Jack." EBSCOhost. The H. W. Wilson Company, n.d. Web. 6 Nov. 2012. "Story of a Dog." New York Times 25 July 1903: n. pag. Print. Unger, Leonard, ed. "Jack London." American Writers A Collection of Literary Biographies. Vol. 2. New York: Simon and Schuster Sons, 1974. N. pag. Print.