"Jack London: a life." Labour/Le Travail 43 (Spring 1999): 272-4. Academic OneFile
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Let's see what a superhuman can do just by himself~ "Martin Eden" publishes in 1909, the first half had Discusses Jack London himself, selected material myself before the experience and afterwards becomes famous the process in the Jake London, the main plot then was fictionalizes.
Six "Labels" About Jack London
1. Realism
Broadly defined as "the faithful representation of reality" or "verisimilitude," realism is a literary technique practiced by many schools of writing. Although strictly speaking, realism is a technique, it also denotes a particular kind of subject matter, especially the representation of middle-class life. A reaction against romanticism, an interest in scientific method, the systematizing of the study of documentary history, and the influence of rational philosophy all affected the rise of realism. According to William Harmon and Hugh Holman, "Where romanticists transcend the immediate to find the ideal, and naturalists plumb the actual or superficial to find the scientific laws that control its actions, realists center their attention to a remarkable degree on the immediate, the here and now, the specific action, and the verifiable consequence"
It is very clear in "Martin Eden". "Martin Eden" is one of the first American novels which is realism.
2. Romanticism
It is rarely used in this book...
3. Naturalism
A modified definition appears in Donald Pizer's Realism and Naturalism in Nineteenth-Century American Fiction, Revised Edition (1984):
The naturalistic novel usually contains two tensions or contradictions, and . . . the two in conjunction comprise both an interpretation of experience and a particular aesthetic recreation of experience. In other words, the two constitute the theme and form of the naturalistic novel. The first tension is that between the subject matter of the naturalistic novel and the concept of man which emerges from this subject matter. The naturalist populates his novel primarily from the lower middle class or the lower class. . . . His fictional world is that of the commonplace and unheroic in which life would seem to be chiefly the dull round of daily existence, as we ourselves usually conceive of our lives. But the naturalist discovers in this world those qualities of man usually associated with the heroic or adventurous, such as acts of violence and passion which involve sexual adventure or bodily strength and which culminate in desperate moments and violent death. A naturalistic novel is thus an extension of realism only in the sense that both modes often deal with the local and contemporary. The naturalist, however, discovers in this material the extraordinary and excessive in human nature.
In this book Jack London is hard to balance between realism and naturalism. Sometimes it seems more like realism but sometimes it looks just like naturalism.
4. Individualism
Jake London's original intention is that he writes this book to attacks the individualism, but the majority critics all think him really for the individualism defense, but quite many readers accept this book as "individual struggle" the model.
5. Herbert Spencer and Nietzsche
Two of the most important philosophers who affect Jack London in this book. This is why this book looks like the defense for individualism.
6. American Dream
The American Dream can be described as a belief in the freedom that allows all citizens and residents of the United States of America to achieve their goals in life through hard work. Today, in America it generally refers to the idea that one's prosperity depends upon one's own abilities and hard work, not on a rigid class structure, though the meaning of the phrase has changed over America's history. For some, it is the opportunity to achieve more prosperity than they could in their countries of origin; for others, it is the opportunity for their children to grow up with an education and career opportunities; for others, it is the opportunity to be an individual without the constraints imposed by class, caste, race, or ethnicity.
In the American literature history, "Martin Eden" plays the pioneer role. After that many works, which "the American dream" was disillusioned all more or less to come under its influence.
Broadly defined as "the faithful representation of reality" or "verisimilitude," realism is a literary technique practiced by many schools of writing. Although strictly speaking, realism is a technique, it also denotes a particular kind of subject matter, especially the representation of middle-class life. A reaction against romanticism, an interest in scientific method, the systematizing of the study of documentary history, and the influence of rational philosophy all affected the rise of realism. According to William Harmon and Hugh Holman, "Where romanticists transcend the immediate to find the ideal, and naturalists plumb the actual or superficial to find the scientific laws that control its actions, realists center their attention to a remarkable degree on the immediate, the here and now, the specific action, and the verifiable consequence"
It is very clear in "Martin Eden". "Martin Eden" is one of the first American novels which is realism.
2. Romanticism
It is rarely used in this book...
3. Naturalism
A modified definition appears in Donald Pizer's Realism and Naturalism in Nineteenth-Century American Fiction, Revised Edition (1984):
The naturalistic novel usually contains two tensions or contradictions, and . . . the two in conjunction comprise both an interpretation of experience and a particular aesthetic recreation of experience. In other words, the two constitute the theme and form of the naturalistic novel. The first tension is that between the subject matter of the naturalistic novel and the concept of man which emerges from this subject matter. The naturalist populates his novel primarily from the lower middle class or the lower class. . . . His fictional world is that of the commonplace and unheroic in which life would seem to be chiefly the dull round of daily existence, as we ourselves usually conceive of our lives. But the naturalist discovers in this world those qualities of man usually associated with the heroic or adventurous, such as acts of violence and passion which involve sexual adventure or bodily strength and which culminate in desperate moments and violent death. A naturalistic novel is thus an extension of realism only in the sense that both modes often deal with the local and contemporary. The naturalist, however, discovers in this material the extraordinary and excessive in human nature.
In this book Jack London is hard to balance between realism and naturalism. Sometimes it seems more like realism but sometimes it looks just like naturalism.
4. Individualism
Jake London's original intention is that he writes this book to attacks the individualism, but the majority critics all think him really for the individualism defense, but quite many readers accept this book as "individual struggle" the model.
5. Herbert Spencer and Nietzsche
Two of the most important philosophers who affect Jack London in this book. This is why this book looks like the defense for individualism.
6. American Dream
The American Dream can be described as a belief in the freedom that allows all citizens and residents of the United States of America to achieve their goals in life through hard work. Today, in America it generally refers to the idea that one's prosperity depends upon one's own abilities and hard work, not on a rigid class structure, though the meaning of the phrase has changed over America's history. For some, it is the opportunity to achieve more prosperity than they could in their countries of origin; for others, it is the opportunity for their children to grow up with an education and career opportunities; for others, it is the opportunity to be an individual without the constraints imposed by class, caste, race, or ethnicity.
In the American literature history, "Martin Eden" plays the pioneer role. After that many works, which "the American dream" was disillusioned all more or less to come under its influence.
