D london biography. Jack London - biography, information, personal life

Who is Jack London? The biography of this person is extensive and diverse. We can say that it is full of adventures worthy of its heroes. Yes, it is: he wrote, drawing plots from own life, the conditions surrounding it, the people passing through it, their struggles and victories.

He always strove for the truth, tried to understand the system of values ​​penetrating society and expose mistakes. How he looks like a Russian in this! But Jack is 100% American by birth. His phenomenon of similarity will surprise for a long time until the boundaries of mentalities are erased.

Childhood

In the middle of winter, January 12, 1876, John Griffith Cheney saw the light in Frisco. Unfortunately, the father did not recognize the pregnancy and left Flora without seeing his child. Flora was in despair. Leaving the newborn in the arms of the black nurse Jenny, she rushed to arrange her personal life.

As an adult, Jack London, whose biography is replete with adventures, did not forget her. He helped these women, considering both of them his mothers. Jenny sang songs to him, surrounded him with love and care. Later, it was she who lent him money for the sloop, giving away all the savings.

When the son was not even a year old, the family was reunited. Flora married a widower farmer with daughters Louise and Ida. The family moved constantly. Disabled war John London adopted Jack and gave him his last name. He grew up as a strong, healthy child. He taught himself to read and write at the age of five, and has been constantly seen with a book in his hand ever since. He even got caught for slacking off from household chores.

Stepfather became Jack's real father. A boy under 21 did not even suspect that he was not his own. They fished together, went to the market, hunted ducks. John gave him a real gun and a good fishing rod.

Young hard worker

There was always a lot to do on the farm. Coming home from school, Jack immediately joined in the work. He hated this "stupid work," as he called it. Even with great effort, this way of life did not lead to prosperity. The family rarely ate meat.

Finally ruined, the family moved to Auckland. Jack London has always loved books, he becomes a frequenter of libraries here. Reads avidly. When John was hit by a train and became crippled, thirteen-year-old Jack began to feed the whole family. Education was over.

He worked as a newspaper salesman, an errand boy in a bowling alley, and delivered ice. He gave all his earnings to his mother. From the age of 14, he becomes a worker at a cannery, and there is no time left for anything. But the head is free! And he thinks, thinks... Why do you need to turn into working cattle in order to live? Is there any other way to make money?

Jack himself believed that his work deprived him of adolescence.

Oyster Pirate

What did Jack London not work for! His biography also includes piracy. Fishing for oysters was regulated on the coast, a patrol followed the order. But sea romantics managed to illegally collect oysters under their noses and hand them over to a restaurant. There were frequent chases.

He was called the Prince of the Oyster Pirates for his courage at the age of 15. He himself said that if he had been convicted for all transgressions before the law, he would have received a sentence of hundreds of years. After that, he already served on the other side, in the oyster patrol. It was no less dangerous: desperate pirates could take revenge.

At the age of 17, he enters the service as a sailor and goes to the Japanese coast for seals.

How did he start writing

When Jack was eight years old, he read a book about an Italian peasant boy who became a famous writer. From then on, he pondered, discussing with his sister, whether it was possible for him or not. teacher elementary school gave him writing assignments during music lessons. Then he began to call himself Jack. This was the start of it writing activity.

At the age of 17, his essay, written from his own experience, "A Typhoon Off the Coast of Japan", was highly praised by the San Francisco city newspaper. He writes that he knows well what he himself witnessed. At this moment, the writer Jack London was born. In 18 years he will write 50 books.

Jack London personal life

While studying at the university, Jack met a young man whose sister, Mabel, seemed to be an unearthly creature. The girl liked this rude guy, but marriage was out of the question - how to provide for a family? Jack is sure that you won't earn much with your hands. Need knowledge, and he sits down at the desk.

Jack London writes stories with the same tenacity with which he worked on the assembly line. He writes and sends them to the editors. But all manuscripts are returned. Then he becomes a laundry ironer until he leaves for Alaska. He does not find gold, he returns home and works as a postman. Still writing. The manuscripts are still coming back.

But here's the story accepts a monthly magazine, paying a fee. Following another magazine accepted another work. The young decided to get married, but Mabel's mother was against it. In funeral mood, at the grave of a friend, he meets Bessie, mourning her fiancé. Their feelings coincided, and they became spouses.

Jack becomes famous writer, but Bessie is not interested in his work. House - full bowl and two daughters do not make him happy. Three years later, in 1904, he goes to Charmian. This " new woman”, as the writer called her, is a true friend, they go through life together. They had no children, but with Charmian he sailed in the Pacific.

She was his secretary, typing and answering letters. A true collaborator. She wrote a book about him. Firsthand, we now know what Jack London was, whose biography was recorded by the closest person. She survived her husband by four years and wished to lie next to him after death.

Alaska

In 1987, America was covered Golden fever. Jack goes to try his luck with his sister's husband. That's where his sailor skills came in handy. His name was Wolf. All whites were called that by the Indians, but Jack signed the letters "Wolf". Later, he will build the "Wolf House", dreaming of gathering friends there.

The area that was staked out was not rich in gold, but in mica. Scurvy finished off Jack, and he returned to native home. As always, he was in need. He sat down to write. He had something to fill the pages: during the long winter he absorbed the stories of hunters, prospectors, Indians, postmen and merchants.

Jack London filled his stories with their speech, their laws. Belief in goodness is the core of the entire Klondike series. He said he found himself there. “No one speaks there,” he wrote. Everyone thinks. Everyone, being there, received his worldview. Jack got his.

Data

Interesting facts about Jack London:

• He covered the events Russo-Japanese War, unambiguously condemning Japan's methods. When the civil war broke out in Mexico, he again began to write on the front line.
• He went to circumnavigation. The sailboat "Snark" was built according to his drawings. Charmian learned to steer the ship along with him. For two years they conquered the Pacific Ocean.

• He advocated for the protection of animals from cruelty.
• Films based on Jack London only from 1910 to 2010 make up a huge figure - 136.
• Lake Jack London is in Russia, in the Magadan region.
• He is the first writer whose work brought in a million dollars.

Jack London for kids

unshakable faith in good start in man, the triumph of friendship over meanness, self-sacrifice true love- all these principles make the writer's stories indispensable for the education of children. When not to see in the surrounding life worthy examples, literature saves:

• « White Fang"- a story that will not leave anyone indifferent. The adventures of the wolf dog and his appreciation for the friendship of the new owner completely change the nature of the animal. He even saves the house and those living in it from a dangerous criminal, and when the owner is in trouble, he tries to bark for the first time.
• "Call of the Wild" - a story about a dog and written from her perspective, she, however, tells a lot about people icy desert mastering the land.
• "Hearts of Three" is the first films based on Jack London. But even despite the many film adaptations, it is still much more interesting to read the book.
• "White Silence" - stories about Alaska.

Jack London, whose books are in every library, instills courage in the face of trials. His heroes are strong noble people. He was like that too.

Best Books

The works of Jack London, the list of which includes 20 novels, can be divided according to the direction of the plot:

• These are, first of all, "Northern stories", the novel "Daughter of the Snows".
• Then "Tales of the Fishing Patrol" and other marine works, the novel "The Sea Wolf".
• Social works: "John is a Barleycorn", "People of the Abyss" and "Martin Eden".
• "Tales of the South Seas", written on travels on the schooner "Snark".
• His dystopian novel Iron heel» (1908) portends the victory of fascism.
• "Moon Valley", "Little Housewife big house where he describes life on the ranch using his own experience.
• The play "Theft".
• Scenario "Hearts of three".

The works of Jack London (everyone has their own list of favorites) do not leave indifferent. Some like strength, struggle and victory over the elements. Others appreciate the love of life. Still others admire moral choice heroes.

To understand what it is like to freeze to death - to turn into an insensitive machine, to decide whether to live free or die - you can read the stories "Bonfire", "Apostate" and "Kulau the Leper".

ranch museum

When Jack became disillusioned with the "talking shop" about socialism, he got excited about the idea of ​​farming. Realizing that everything comes from the earth - food, clothing, shelter - he literally started with himself, buying an infertile ranch with depleted soil. At first, they did not collect anything from him, they only invested.

Neighbors were surprised at the newcomer's success: his pigs brought in several times more income. The owner simply bought thoroughbred animals and looked after them according to science.

He called his ranch "Beauty" and lived here for the last 11 years. He insisted: “This is not a summer cottage, but a house in the country, because I am a farmer.” In the center of a valley of vineyards, among heady smells, it was supposed to become a family nest of Londons. A “Wolf House”, similar to a castle, is being built. it burns.Jack is sure it's arson.The carcass now stands as a memorial to his good intentions.

After the death of the writer, there is a park and a museum here. He bequeathed to bury himself right there.

grave

The writer died on November 22, 1916 at his ranch in Glen Ellen. Even when he bought it, he drew attention to the fenced oak. It turned out to be the grave of the children of the first settlers of Greenlaw. “They must be very lonely here,” Jack said. He chose this place for himself as his last refuge.

Shortly before his death, he expressed to his sister and Charmian the wish that his ashes be buried on the hill where the children of Greenlaw lie. And he ordered to put a large red boulder instead of a tombstone. And so it was done. The stone was taken out of the ruins of the "Wolf House" and carried on four horses.

He organically blended into the surrounding landscape. The fact that there is nothing made by human hands on the grave causes many thoughts and feelings. He wanted it that way. And until now, his grave speaks silently.

“I love my ranch so much!” - we feel, looking around. “David and Lilly, you are no longer alone. I am with you,” we understand the choice of location. “Don’t you dare put up a monument to me. I'm not the Commander," emanates from the stone. “Friends, I am with you. I am in my books. These are my letters to you,” we realize the message through the years.

Abstract

The volume presents the most famous works classic American Literature Jack London.

JACK LONDON

white silence

Son of the Wolf

Forty Mile

In a distant land

For those who are on the way!

Northern Odyssey

great riddle

Daughter of the Northern Lights

Law of life

League of Old Men

a thousand dozen

Tertiary shard

Love of life

brown wolf

One day stay

The path of false suns

Disease of the Lone Leader

gold mine

Aliens from the Sun

Where the paths diverge

The courage of a woman

Piece of meat

Mapui house

Atu them, atu!

scary solomon islands

New Gibson Jokers

Night on Goboto

Pearls of Parley

Like the Argonauts of old...

JACK LONDON

Collection of stories and novels

white silence

Carmen won't even last two days.

Mason spat out a piece of ice and looked dejectedly at the unfortunate animal, then, raising the dog's paw to his mouth, he began to bite the ice again, frozen between her fingers in large bumps.

No matter how many dogs I met with intricate nicknames, they were all no good, ”he said, having finished his business, and pushed the dog away. “They get weak and eventually die. Have you seen anything bad happen to the dog, which is simply called Kasyar, Sivash or Husky? Never! Look at Shukum: he...

Once! The emaciated dog shot up, almost grabbing Mason's throat with his fangs.

What did you come up with?

A strong blow to the head with the handle of the whip knocked the dog over into the snow; she trembled convulsively, yellow saliva dripped from her fangs.

I say, look at Shukum: Shukum will not let you down. I bet it won't be a week before he's bullied Carmen.

And I,” said Malemute Kid, turning over the bread that was thawing by the fire, “I bet that we ourselves will eat Shukum before we get to the place. What do you say to that, Ruth?

The Indian woman threw a piece of ice into the coffee to settle the thick, looked from Malemute Kid to her husband, then to the dogs, but did not answer. Such an obvious truth did not require confirmation. They had no other choice. There are two hundred miles of unpaved road ahead, there is only enough food for six days, and there is nothing at all for the dogs.

Both hunters and the woman moved closer to the fire and began to eat a meager breakfast. The dogs lay in the harness, as it was a short day's stop, and enviously watched every bit of them.

WITH tomorrow no breakfasts, said Mailmute Kid, and keep an eye on the dogs; they are completely out of hand, and look, they will pounce on us if an opportunity presents itself.

But I was once the leader of the Methodist congregation and taught Sunday school!

And, having announced this for no reason, Mason plunged into the contemplation of his moccasins, from which steam was coming. Ruth snapped him out of his reverie by pouring him a cup of coffee.

Thank God we have plenty of tea. I've seen tea grow at home in Tennessee. What wouldn't I give now for a hot corn tortilla! Don't worry, Ruth, just a little more, and you won't have to starve anymore, and you won't have to wear moccasins either.

At these words, the woman's frown ceased, and her eyes lit up with love for her white master - the first white man she met, the first man who showed her that in a woman one can see not only an animal or beast of burden.

Yes, Ruth, - continued her husband in that conditional language, the only one in which they could communicate with each other, - soon we will get out of here, get into the boat white man and we'll go to Salt Water. Yes, bad water, stormy water - like water mountains bouncing up and down. And how much of it, how long to go on it! You drive ten dreams, twenty dreams - for greater clarity, Mason counted the days on his fingers - and all the time water, bad water. Then we will arrive in a large village, there are a lot of people, just like midges in summer. The wigwams are so tall - ten, twenty pines!.. Eh!

He fell silent, unable to find words, and cast a pleading look at Malemute Kid, then carefully began to show with his hands how high it would be if twenty pine trees were stacked one on top of the other. Malemute Kid smiled mockingly, but Ruth's eyes widened with surprise and happiness; she thought that her husband was joking, and such mercy gladdened her poor womanly heart.

And then we sit in ... in a box, and - piff! - go. - As an explanation, Mason threw an empty mug into the air and, deftly catching it, shouted: - And now - puff! - already arrived! O great shamans! You're going to Fort Yukon, and I'm going to Arctic City - twenty-five dreams. A long rope from there to here, I grab this rope and say: “Hello, Ruth! How are you?" And you say, "Is that you, hubby?" I say yes". And you say: “You can’t bake bread: there is no more soda.” Then I say: “Look in the closet, under the flour. Goodbye!" You go to the closet and take as much soda as you need. And all the time you're in Fort Yukon and I'm in Arctic City. Here they are, shamans!

Ruth smiled so innocently at this fairy tale that the men rolled with laughter. The noise raised by the fighting dogs interrupted the tales of the wonders of the distant country, and by the time the fighters were separated, the woman had already managed to tie the sledges, and everything was ready to move on.

Go ahead, Bald! Hey go ahead!

Mason deftly cracked the whip and, when the dogs began, slowly squealing, to stretch the traces, he rested on the swivel pole and moved the frozen sled from its place. Ruth followed him with the second team, and Mailmute Kid, who helped her move, brought up the rear. A strong and stern man, capable of knocking down a bull with one blow, he could not beat the unfortunate dogs and, if possible, spared them, which the drovers rarely do. Sometimes Mailmute Kid almost wept with pity as he looked at them.

Come on, lame-legs! he muttered after a few futile attempts move heavy sleds.

Finally, his patience was rewarded, and, squealing in pain, the dogs rushed to catch up with their brethren.

The conversations were silent. Hard way does not allow such luxury. And riding in the north is hard, murderous work. Happy is he who, at the cost of silence, endures a day of such a journey, and even then along a paved path.

But there is no more exhausting work than laying a road. At every step, the wide wicker skis fall through, and the legs sink into the snow up to the knees. Then you need to carefully pull out the leg - a tiny fraction of an inch deviation from the vertical threatens disaster - until the surface of the ski is clear of snow. Then step forward and you begin to raise the other leg, also at least half a yard. Whoever does this for the first time falls from exhaustion after a hundred yards, even if before that he does not hook one ski to another and does not stretch to his full height, trusting in the treacherous snow. Whoever manages all day long not to get under the feet of dogs once, he can climb into a sleeping bag with a clear conscience and with the greatest pride; and the one who walks twenty dreams along the great North Path, even the gods can envy.

The day was drawing to a close, and the travelers, overwhelmed by the grandeur of the White Silence, silently made their way. Nature has many ways to convince man of his mortality: the continuous alternation of the ebb and flow, the fury of the storm, the horrors of the earthquake, the thunderous peal of the celestial artillery. But the most powerful, the most devastating is the White Silence in its impassibility. Nothing moves, the sky is bright as polished copper, the slightest whisper seems sacrilegious, and a person is frightened. own voice. The only particle of the living, moving through the ghostly desert dead world, he is afraid of his insolence, acutely aware that he is only a worm. Strange thoughts arise by themselves, the mystery of the universe seeks its expression. And a fear of death, of God, of the whole world, finds itself on a person, and together with fear - the hope of resurrection and life and longing for immortality - the futile striving of captive matter; that's when a person is left alone with God.

Typhoon off the coast of Japan

After the birth of the baby, Flora left him for some time in the care of her former slave Virginia Prentiss, who remained for London important person throughout his life. At the end of the same 1876, Flora married John London, an invalid and veteran of the American Civil War, after which she took the baby back to her. The boy began to be called John London (Jack is a diminutive form of the name John). The London family (John London brought two of his daughters into the family, the eldest of whom, Eliza, became true friend and Jack's guardian angel for life) settled in a working class neighborhood of San Francisco, south of Market Street. At this time, the country was gripped by the most severe economic crisis that began in 1873, hundreds of thousands of people lost their jobs and wandered from city to city in search of odd jobs. Jack's stepfather made several attempts at farming, which were brought to naught by Flora, who constantly hatched adventurous plans for getting rich quick. Constantly in need, the family moved from place to place until they settled in the city of Oakland, neighboring San Francisco, where London eventually graduated from elementary school.

Jack London. 1914

Jack London early began an independent working life full of hardships. As a schoolboy, he sold morning and evening newspapers, worked part-time at the bowling alley, arranging skittles, and also as a cleaner of beer pavilions in the park. After graduating from elementary school at the age of fourteen, he entered a cannery factory as a worker. The work was very hard and he left the factory. For $300 borrowed from Virginia Prentiss, he bought a used schooner and became an "oyster pirate" (fishing oysters illegally in San Francisco Bay), and then served in the fishing patrol (described in Fishing Patrol Tales). In 1893, he was hired as a sailor on the fishing schooner Sophie Sutherland, setting off to catch seals off the coast of Japan and in the Bering Sea. The first voyage gave London many vivid impressions, which then formed the basis of many of his sea ​​stories and novels ("Sea Wolf" and others). Subsequently, he also worked in a jute factory, as an ironer in a laundry and as a stoker (described in the novels "Martin Eden" and "John Barleycorn").

First sketch of London Typhoon off the coast of Japan, which served as the beginning of his literary career, for which he received the first prize from one of the newspapers of San Francisco, was published on November 12, 1893.

In 1894, he took part in the march of the unemployed to Washington (feature "Hold on!"), Was arrested near Niagara Falls for vagrancy, after which he spent a month in prison ("Straightjacket"). While wandering along the roads with an army of vagabonds, London came to the conclusion that physical labor cannot provide a person with a decent existence and only intellectual labor is valued. At this time, he becomes convinced that he should become a writer. On the campaign, for the first time, he gets acquainted in detail with socialist ideas (and, in particular, with the “Communist Manifesto” by Marx and Engels, which made a huge impression on him. In 1895, he joined the Socialist Labor Party of America, since 1900 (according to some sources 1901 is indicated) - a member of the Socialist Party of America, from which he left in 1914 (1916 is indicated in some sources); the reason for the break with the party in the statement was the loss of faith in its "fighting spirit" (meaning the party's departure from the path of revolutionary transformation society and her course on a gradual reformist path to socialism) Returning home, Jack enters high school. IN school magazine"Aegis" he publishes his first socialist essays and stories about the times of his wanderings along the roads of the United States. The pace of learning categorically did not suit him and he decides to leave school and prepare on his own.

Self-prepared and successfully passed entrance exams, Jack London entered the University of California, but after the 3rd semester, due to lack of funds for his studies, he was forced to leave.

"Sea Wolf". 1904. First edition

In the spring of 1897, Jack London succumbed to the Gold Rush and left for Alaska. At first, Jack and his comrades were lucky - ahead of many other gold diggers, they managed to make their way to the headwaters of the Yukon River and stake out a site. But there was no gold on the site, and it was not possible to stake out a new one until spring, and, to top it all off, London fell ill with scurvy during the winter. He returned to San Francisco in 1898, having experienced all the charms of the northern winter. Instead of gold, fate endowed Jack London with meetings with the future heroes of his works.

He became more serious about literature at the age of 23, after returning from Alaska: the first northern stories were published in 1899, and already in 1900 his first book, a collection of stories, was published. "Son of the Wolf". The following collections of short stories followed: "God of his fathers"(Chicago, ), "Children of the Frost"(NY , ), "Faith in Man"(NY , ), "Lunar Face"(NY , ), "Lost Face"(New York,), as well as novels "Daughter of the Snows" () "Sea Wolf" (), "Martin Eden"() who created the widest popularity for the writer. The writer worked very hard, 15-17 hours a day and wrote about 40 books in his entire not very long writing career.

The artistic method of London is expressed primarily in the desire to show a person in a difficult life situation, at the turn of fate, combining realistic descriptions of circumstances with the spirit of romance and adventure (the author himself defined his style as "inspired realism, imbued with faith in a person and his aspirations"). The works of London are characterized by a special poetic language, a quick introduction of the reader into the action of his work, the principle of symmetrical narration, characterization of characters through dialogues and thoughts. He considered R. Stevenson and R. Kipling as his literary teachers (although with a worldview last London disagreed, admiring only its stylistic merits). Huge impact on life philosophy the writer was provided by G. Spencer, C. Darwin, K. Marx and F. Engels and, to some extent, F. Nietzsche. Jack London highly appreciated the works of Russian writers, especially M. Gorky (London calls his novel "Foma Gordeev" a "healing book" that "affirms goodness").

IN last years London was going through creative crisis, in connection with which he began to abuse alcohol (later he quit). Because of the crisis, the writer was even forced to purchase a plot for a new novel. Such a plot was sold to London by aspiring American writer Sinclair Lewis. London managed to give a name to the future novel, - " Murder Bureau", - however, he managed to write quite a bit, since he soon died.

Jack London's grave in Jack London State Park (Jack London State Park, Glen Ellen, CA)

• For the love of gold (English) For Love of Gold , )

In the USSR and Russia, films based on the works of London were also staged more than once:

Literature about Jack London

• Stone, Irving. Sailor in the saddle. - ISBN 5-85880-382-2
• Bykov, Wil. Following in the footsteps of Jack London. - ISBN 5-211-03473-2
• Rosin, Alexander. House of the Wolf. Return to Jack London // Florida. - 2005. - No. 3 (51).
• Foner F. Jack London is an American rebel. M: Progress, 1966. 240 p.
• Theological V. N. Jack London. Moscow: Education, 1964. 240 p.
• Sadagursky A. Jack London: Time, ideas, creativity. Kishinev, 1978. 200 p.
• Bykov Wil. Jack London. Saratov: Publishing House of the State. un-ta, 1968. 284 p.

see also

Notes

Links

• The Jack London Collection
• "How I Became a Socialist" "What Life Means to Me" by Jack London
• "Jack's Cabin" Russian newspaper» - Week No. 5084 (5) of January 14, 2010
• Alexander Karpenko The other side of the dream

JACK LONDON
(1876-1916)

Born January 12, 1876 in San Francisco. At birth, he was named John Cheney, but eight months later, when his mother married, he became John Griffith London. The writer's mother, Flora Wellman, came from a wealthy Welsh family, was a smart and well-read woman who graduated from college, studied music, but had a nervous disposition with a rapidly changing mood. At the age of 20, she had been ill with typhus and after the disease, she was left with some kind of "confusion in her head." This led to the fact that all her life Flora was a very specific lady, was fond of divination, spiritualism and did not pay due attention to raising her offspring. Motherly duties were not to Flora's liking. She had no time to look after the boy, who began to get sick. On the advice of the doctor, the family moved to a rural area. Flora began looking for a nurse. She was a black woman Jenny Prentice, who not so long ago lost her baby. She became for Jack not only a nurse, but also a foster mother and transferred all her unspent love to a little snow-white boy. London always remembered his black mother with warmth and tenderness.

London's childhood was spent in San Francisco. He read a lot, imagining himself as the hero of adventure novels. Jack became a regular visitor to the local public library. He practically devoured every book. He read at night, read in the morning, read when he went to school, read on his way home, and again went to the library for a new book.

At school every morning the students sang in chorus. At one fine moment, noticing that Jack was silent, the teacher sent him to the director. There was a long and stern conversation, as a result of which the director sent the boy back to the classroom with a note saying that it was possible to exempt London from singing, but instead Jack had to write compositions every morning while the other students sang in chorus . Jack London later attributed to this punishment his ability to write a thousand words every morning.

London graduated at 13 elementary school, but he could not go to high school: the family did not have the means to pay for education. And already at the age of 15, Jack had to go to the factory to provide for his family, since his stepfather was hit by a train and became a cripple. The constant lack of sleep, lethargy and the desire to rest at least 1 morning and not go to boring work over the years inspire the world-famous writer to create a poignant and strong story The “apostate”, whose hero, after months of languid labor, which turned him practically into an animal, rebels and instead of a smoky workshop goes into the field, lies down in the grass and for the first time in a long time meets the sunrise (the creator’s childhood desire is realized in a literary character).

London's youth came at a time of economic depression and unemployment, financial situation The family got worse and worse. Until the age of 23, he changed great amount occupations: was an "oyster pirate" (poacher); fishing patrol inspector; a sailor on the schooner "Sophie Sutherland", where he participated in the hunt for fur seals; workers in a jute factory; arrested for vagrancy (participated in the march of the unemployed to Washington); was a prospector in Alaska during the Gold Rush. These were the years of growing up and gaining relevant experience, which was so useful to London in the upcoming literary activity.

In 1893, Jack London won a seat in literary competition the San Francisco Call newspaper. His essay "Typhoon off the coast of the Country rising sun”took 1st place and brought the creator the 1st fee - $ 25 (it is significant that students from the California and Stanford institutions received 2nd and third places). This prompted London to think seriously about future prospects. Actual experience gave a hint that a person physical labor it is difficult, and from time to time it is completely unrealistic to achieve success in life, as opposed to a person of intellectual work, which does not dry out with age, but flourishes, spiritual development. And Jack London consciously decides to become a writer. To do this, he is engaged in self-education, passes entrance exams in California Institute and even successfully studied during the 1st semester (there were not enough funds for more).

The future life of a professional young man is associated with rich self-education and cruel creative work aimed at mastering the difficult writing activity, developing a personal style. This period of the writer's life is very vividly depicted by London in his autobiographical novel Martin Eden (1909). 1896 dramatically changed the life of Jack London: gold was found in Alaska, the so-called gold rush begins, in which young writer. He was never destined to find gold after a couple of years of exhausting work, but real treasure for London, there are personal memories and experience of this typical land, which received the title in the following works - “Snow-White Silence”. Alaska becomes the literary Klondike of the writer: he creates a personal, incomparable world of languid trials, formidable natural criteria, strong human friendship and love that overcomes any obstacles. The so-called northern stories brought fame to the young creator.

In 1900, the first collection of short stories, The Son of the Wolf, was published, then the 2nd, The God of His Fathers (1901), and, at the end finally, a novel"Daughter of the Snows" (1902). Jack London becomes a world famous writer with his own special style, inimitable manner of writing, unique problems. For the next seventeen years, he published two, even three books a year. The secret of Jack London's extraordinary popularity lies, according to the famous South American literary critic Van Wyck Brooks, in that "fresh intonation" of his works, which "so contrasted with the general sugary direction of American literature" and was a direct challenge to "the painstakingly filtered, sweetened milk of actual illusions", which the creators of mass fiction treated the public.

Carried away by the thoughts of K. Marx and F. Engels (the development of which coincided with the writer's personal intrigue with the inconsistencies of social justice), London in 1901 joins the ranks of the Socialist Party. At the same time, the writer is fond of the works of H. Spencer and F. Nietzsche. Reflection of London's preferences of those times can be seen on the pages of the novel "Martin Eden" (1909), saturated with political, philosophical and literary discussions.
Literary and actual path Jack London was challenging. He was one of the most prominent socialists in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century and at the same time remained a staunch individualist. He made images of ordinary courageous people and was immediately not far from the "specific vanity", sang the stamina of the "white gold diggers" in battles with the "Snow-White Silence" of Alaska. His pen belongs to novels and short stories saturated with the true breath of life, and handicrafts, narrow-minded and, from time to time, with a taste of racist theories. And yet, the observations of London of that period testify to the deepest awareness of the creative originality different writers, about the ability to assess the general state of modern American literature.

Jack London was one of the founders of the animalistic tradition not only in American but also in world literature. Images of feral and pets in London affects not only big love to "our smallest brothers", and the knowledge of the animal world, their behavior and habits. The best among the animalistic works, of course, were "The Call of the Wild" (1903), "White Fang" (1906), "Jerry the Islander" (1917), "Michael, Brother Jerry" (1917). Specifically, dogs and wolves are Jack London's favorite animals (his own big house in the Lunar Plain, the writer called the "House of the Wolf").

A significant phenomenon in American literature at the beginning of the 20th century was London's novel The Sea Wolf (1904), which, on the one hand, reveals the writer's intrigue with a "strong personality" (which is Captain Wolf Larsen), on the other hand, is an expressive criticism and disclosure of the perniciousness of the very ideas" strong personality as anti-social.
The result of an active civilian position and socialist preferences of Jack London was the eminent "Heel of Steel" (1907) - a utopian novel, a warning novel.

One of the best works Jack London is considered the novel "Martin Eden" (1909), dedicated to the fate professional personality in bourgeois society. The autobiographical image of Martin the Eaten becomes an example of the great potential of a man of the people. An ordinary sailor, thanks to superhuman assertiveness and natural talent, becomes a famous writer. The novel has become a typical anthem creativity person.
Tasks of simplification, flight from cities - carriers of social. conflicts, return to the land, to agricultural labor receive strength and artistic reproduction in the best novel late period"Moon Plain" (1913).
At the end of his life, London is seriously ill with uremia and takes morphine to reduce pain, each time increasing the dose. On the night of November 22, 1916, he was found dead in own office in a cottage in Glen Ellen, California. On the night table was found a healing agent and a piece of paper with calculations for a new, stronger dose of morphine, which turned out to be fatal. What was it - tragic accident or a conscious step of a seriously ill person - it remains unclear. But if we recall the novel "Martin Eden" and the last act of the protagonist, we can speak with a great deal of conviction about the suicide of the great South American writer.

Jack London) - famous American writer. Born January 12, 1876 in San Francisco. At birth, he was given the name Griffith Cheney (John Griffith Chaney). He worked in the genre of literature, the author of several dozen world-famous works.

With his birth more precisely history his birth, not very related bright story. His mother Flora Wellman was a music teacher and was actively involved in spiritualism, i.e. summoning spirits. She claimed that she was in constant communication with the Indian leader, but it is very difficult to prove this. She lived with William Cheney, who was an astrologer. Upon learning of her pregnancy, the father of the future writer forced her to have an abortion, but she refused and tried to commit suicide, but as a result she only slightly injured herself by firing a pistol.

After the birth of Jack London, they gave the care of Virginia Prentiss, who was a former slave. For Jack, she became a second mother. In 1876, his mother married John London and took her son to her. Since then, they began to call him Jack London.

Before becoming a writer, Jack London eked out a half-starved existence. He sold newspapers and books, was a cannery worker, fished oysters illegally, was an ironer, a fireman and a sailor. It was the work of a sailor that became for him one of the biggest impressions in his life. He later wrote many nautical works about this, in particular The Sea Wolf.

The beginning of his literary career dates back to 1893. Then his first essay was published, called Typhoon off the coast of Japan. For this work he received his first prize. Close fiction he began to study only in 1899, when, after returning from Alaska, he wrote a whole cycle of stories about the northern lands. These books, stories and novels brought him worldwide fame. Some of the most famous are White Fang, Hearts of Three, Call of the Ancestors and so on. In total, he wrote about 40 books in his life. In addition to his adventure works, D. London also wrote several works: Goliath, Scarlet Plague, When the world was young and some others.

In the last years of his life, he began to abuse alcohol heavily, as he was going through a severe creative crisis. He even had to go to buy a plot for a new novel. For $78,000, he bought it from fellow writer Lewis Sinclair. The novel was called The Murder Bureau, but Jack London was never destined to write it.

November 22, 1916 at the age of 40, in the town of Glen Ellen, famous writer, who gave the world many amazing books that are still studied in schools in many countries, died of morphine poisoning. He was not a drug addict at all - morphine was prescribed to him for a kidney disease of uremia. His grave is in Jack London State Park (Glen Ellen).

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Books by Jack London:

White Fang

Daughter of the Snows

Moon Valley

Little mistress of a big house

Smoke Bellew

Sea Wolf

call of the ancestors

Scarlet Plague

In Addo Bay

In a distant land

great riddle

Great sorcerer

Enemy of the whole world

John - barleycorn

yellow handkerchief

Pearls of Parley

For those who are on the way

Law of life

green serpent

golden canyon

sperm whale tooth

moon valley

Interstellar wanderer

Traveling on the Snark

Northern Odyssey

Hearts of Three

Scary Solomon Islands

Son of the Sun

The path of false suns

A thousand deaths

Temple of Pride

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