Jack London, born as John Griffith Chaney on January, 12, 1876, in San Fransisco, …show more content…
After this, London decided to make a career of writing short stories; however, he had trouble finding publishers. London left for the Yukon during the Alaskan Gold Rush in a vain attempt to make money. At 22, he returned to the East Coast. At 27, his novel, The Call of the Wild became popular. During the last 16 years of his life, Jack London published more than 50 books. London made it a practice to write 1000 words a day, everyday. London's incredible work ethic led to success; however, it also led to health problems. Jack London died of kidney disease on November 22, 1916.
Jack London's short stories, "Love of Life" and "To Build a Fire", both tell amazing tales of surviving in the wilderness of the Yukon. In "Love of Life", a man is left on his own to survive with a sprained ankle after his traveling companion, Bill, abandons him in a river. This unnamed man travels across the Yukon in search of a hidden cache that contains food and ammunition for his gun. Winter begins while he looks for his cache and he has to resort to eating live baby birds and minnows; he also has to give up his 15 pounds of gold. After a close run-in with a wolf that ends in the man biting the throat out of the sick animal,