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London’s Childhood

London’s Childhood. Born in 1876 on the Barbary Coast of San Francisco Raised by mother, Flora Wellman, and stepfather, John London Childhood marked by poverty & unhappiness. London at age 8 . London as a school boy.

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London’s Childhood

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  1. London’s Childhood • Born in 1876 on the Barbary Coastof San Francisco • Raised by mother, Flora Wellman, and stepfather, John London • Childhood marked by poverty & unhappiness

  2. London at age 8

  3. London as a school boy

  4. Became an avid reader at age 10 when an Oakland librarian encouraged him to escape his life of poverty throughreading. • Bought his first sailboat at age 12—loved to sail

  5. Youth—Adventure/Responsibility • Dropped out of school at age 14 & had series of low-paying jobs: Seaman delivered paperssweatshop worked in canneryfreight train hobo cleaned local saloon • Loved to listen to stories about theCalifornia Gold Rush of 1849

  6. Forming Ideas/Attitudes • Experiences that shaped London’s life and attitudes: -oyster pirate -seal hunter in the North Pacific -1894—arrested & jailed in Niagara Falls for vagrancy -adopted socialistic views • Educated self by reading in public library • Attended University of California at Berkeley • Left school after 1 year to seek his fortune in gold fields

  7. Adventure • Traveled to Klondike Gold Rush in 1897 • Spent one winter at Split-Up Island, near the Stewart River • Did not find gold; had a wealth of experiences he would later use to write stories and books • Returned home to support himself and his family by publishing his writing

  8. Gold DISCOVERED in the Yukon

  9. Jack London outfitted to travel to the gold fields of the Klondike Gold Rush Photo actually taken in at Truckee, CA.

  10. Adult Life • An avid sailor • loved his boat, the Snark

  11. http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/London/jack.html Aboard the Snark with friends

  12. Married twice Had two daughters

  13. Bess Maddern—London’s first wife • Becky and Joan London—London’s daughters

  14. Charmian London Jack London’s second wife

  15. London owned and loved a ranch in Sonoma Valley

  16. London’s Directions to his ranch at Glen Ellen

  17. “Next to my wife, the ranch is the dearest thing in the world to me.” Jack London

  18. The Londons at home

  19. “I believe the soil is our greatest asset.” Jack London

  20. “I hope to do two things with the ranch:To leave the land better for my having been;To enable 30 or 40 families to live happily on the ground that was so impoverished when I bought it.”

  21. “..he was mighty good to us, and there never was a man who came here who went away hungry.” Ranch workman

  22. London—the Author • Began avidly writing in 1897 • He commonly spent 15 hours a day writing • Had a daily quota of 1000 written words a day • Became recognized as a talented & successful writer

  23. Jack London wrote 50 books and 1,000 articles between 1899 and 1916.

  24. “The greatest story London ever told was the story he lived.” Alfred Kazin Literary critic

  25. “By 1916, London was the highest-paid writer in the country and the most widely read American author in the world.”

  26. “His literary works like TheRoad, written in 1907, inspired later writers like John Steinbeckand Jack Kerouac.”

  27. Now…2000 2.3 tv’s per household 20% of U.S. connected to the Internet 1 lb sugar—43 cents Dozen eggs--$1.12 1 lb. Butter--$2.35 Camera—too many to list Life Then and Now • Then…1900 • 1 in 7 homes had a bathtub • 1 in 13 homes had a telephone • Camera cost $1.00 • 1 lb sugar--4 cents • Dozen eggs--14 cents • 1 lb. Butter—24 cents

  28. The Londons several weeks prior to his death

  29. Jack London died on November 22, 1916. • A memorial for he and his second wife, Charmian Kittredge, is located at Glen Ellen.

  30. Stone at Glen Ellen serves as the memorial for the Londons.

  31. “One of the reasons Jack London’s popularity as an author remainsso high in the world today is because his life was as interesting as his works.”

  32. Thoughts about life.. from Jack London journals…

  33. “It is so simple a remedy, merely service.”

  34. “Not one ignoble thought or act is demanded of any or all men and women than to make fair the world.”

  35. "The call is for service, and such is the wholesomeness of it.He who serves all best serves himself.”

  36. London’s Creedo

  37. I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out     in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot.…The function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.

  38. What others thought of Jack London

  39. “No writer, unless it were Mark Twain, ever had a more romantic life than Jack London.”Ernest J. Hopkins

  40. The story of his adventure-filled life still intrigues readers of all ages and from all walks of life. Russ Kingman

  41. London was described “as a “born teller of tales who wrote as he lived—in a hurry.”Howard Lachtman

  42. “The fact that his gift for writing was ever realized came to be used as an example of someone achieving “The American Dream.”

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