London statue

Jack London is a famous American realist writer. His works are not only widely circulated in the United States, but also welcomed by people all over the world. Lenin, the great revolutionary teacher, once asked people to read novels aloud when he was sick, including Jack London's short story "Love Life". Lenin gave this novel a high praise.

Jack London was born on January 12, 1876, into a bankrupt farmer's family in California. As a child, he experienced poverty and hardship. At the age of eight, he had to work as a shepherd boy on a livestock farm in order to earn a living. After the age of 10, he began working as a newspaper boy, dockhand, sailboat sailor, linen mill worker, etc. in Oakland, near San Francisco. During this period, Jack London began reading a large number of novels and other reading materials. At the age of 16, he lost his job and had to wander around the eastern United States and Canada, living in slums in large cities. He was arrested and imprisoned for "unemployed loitering" before regaining his freedom a few months later.

Jack London had no opportunity to study systematically. He studied diligently against the clock in order to master cultural knowledge and practice writing. He wrote new words on pieces of paper and inserted them into the mirror seams of the dressing table, so that he could recite them in the morning when he trimmed his face and dressed. He hung strings of words on the clothesline with buckles so that he could see them when he looked up or walked through the room. Each of his pockets contained pieces of paper with lines written on them, which he read aloud when he went to the library or when he went out, and even recited silently when he ate or slept. He carried a notebook with him and recorded what he saw and heard during his labor: depictions of scenery, sketches of characters, brilliant language, fragments of conversation, moving stories... He also made a card index of everything he read. Over time, he not only learned culture, but also accumulated a large amount of vocabulary and established a "reference reading room" for storing writing materials, which were not used up until his death.

The work that marks Jack London's realist tendencies is his reportage "People in the Abyss". This work was written after he visited London, the capital of England, as a newspaper reporter. In 1905, Jack London participated in the labor movement as a member of the Socialist Party. During this period, his creation reached its peak, and a large number of works and political essays on the theme of social struggle against capitalism and imperialism appeared. In addition to short stories, there are also novels "Iron Shoves" and "Martin Eden", and a collection of essays "War and Revolution between Classes".

Jack London began writing at the age of 24 and died at the age of 40. In 16 years, he wrote 19 novels, more than 150 short stories, 3 plays and quite a few essays and papers. These works have had a profound impact in the United States and other countries around the world. Jack London's creative career was short, but he gained time and life by studying tenaciously and writing hard. He presented outstanding works to the people, and his life's contribution is beyond measure in years.