JACK LONDON
(1876-1916)
Jack London , the great American
novelist, is at the same time one of
the popular writers in the world.He was born in San Francisco in 1876.during his school years, when he was only 10 years old, he had to support himself by selling newspapers or by working as a sailor and as a goldminer.In spite of his hard work, he could spare time to satisfy "the true passion of his life", reading.He travelled a lod and had the opportunity to know peoples and countries and took a deep interest in man, in nature, in social problems.
During the first years of his literary activity , J.London met with various material difficulties.He succeeded nevertheless in winning public recognition thanks to his great novels:"THE IRON HEEL"and "MARTIN EDEN", as well as to such captivating short stories as:"LOVE OF LIFE", "THE WHITE SILENCE", THE CALL OF THE WILD","WHITE FANG"
The experiences of London ''s restless life are often reflected in his writings.As a remarkable novelist and storyteller, London is highly appreciated for having unmasked the horrors of the capitalist
society , for his clearsighttttted anticipation of fascism, for his firm belief in the final victory of the working class , by means of revolution.These
revolutionary ideas are especially manifest in his novel"THE IRON HEEL".
But, in spite of his revolutionary views , in this novel he considers revolutionists as powerful individuals opposed to the multitude.In "MARTIN EDEN" he glorifies a strong but isolated individuality who is deeply disgusted by the bourgeois society.Yet Martin does not return to the working class to which he belonged , but from which he grew estranged;this is the cause of his moral conflict and at the same time London;s own conflict.