Hi, my name is Andrew White and my presentation today is on the author Jack London.

Being born unto an unwed family on January 12, 1876, Jack London was considered an outsider. While he was younger he did not make many friends throughout his schooling or in the neighborhood around him. His father left his mother and him a few years after he was born. Being an outsider, Jack never made many relational connections. His solitude led to his love for books and novels at a young age. He read about the vast lands to the north, and he always wanted to explore as a child. When he was 15, he traveled to the Yukon in Alaska and mined for gold. He wrote journals of what he experienced, and after failing to find much gold, he returned home and made those journals, into books. These books made Jack famous and inspired him to open up into his personal life. Jack London’s mother remarried when Jack was older, to a man named John London. Jack respected his step-father so much for marrying his mother, and supporting her financially, that he changed his last name to London. After many years of writing, he wrote a total of 50 novels throughout his lifetime. Sadly, he died early in life, due to a kidney disfunction at the age of 40.

London’s most famous works consist of two novels, “Call of the Wild”, and “Whitefang”. Both of these works are based in the Yukon of Alaska. The land of the Yukon, full of rough terrain and snowy treks, made gold mining miserable. London explains these complications while also telling the story of a dog. This dog is taken on a journey to help these men while mining for gold. The readers get insight into what mining might have been like, from the viewpoint of a dog. London wrote his most famous works about dogs and the journey they went through with people. This exemplifies the importance of dogs in the eyes of gold miners.

An excerpt from Jack London’s novel, “Call of the Wild”, jack states “Life is not a matter of holding a good hand, but playing a poor hand well.” This quote explains that life isn’t about how good the situation is, but how you use that situation to benefit yourself. This resonated with Jack London because he grew up very poor, living on the streets in San Fransisco. He lived with his single mother for most of his life, although he chose to make a better life for his family through writing novels.
London also said “The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.” This quote explains how Jack London took advantage of his time, even in the slums, and made money to support his mother.

Jack London is significant because he wrote many influential stories that included facts about nature and life during the gold rush. The language he uses is simple and it makes his books easy to read for all levels. His books catch they eyes of children searching for a book about animals and adventure.

The essential question I composed after learning about Jack London is Why does society outcast the poor? I developed this question by learning about Jack London’s life and how he became an outsider because of his social status. Jack London stayed an outsider most of his life, because, unlike many other children, he stayed inside and read books.

I think that Jack London helped many people experience an unfamiliar time period through his encounters with nature and people during the gold rush. He gives us insight into an age where many people were not able to experience that environment. His novels, “Call of the Wild” and “Whitefang”, exemplify his love for nature that he wanted to share with the world.