The works of Jack London have been and remain extremely popular all over the world. He is the author of numerous adventure novels and short stories. It is worth noting that in the USSR he was the most published foreign author after the storyteller Andersen. The total circulation of his books in the Soviet Union alone amounted to more than 77 million copies.
Biography of the writer
The works of Jack London were originally published in English. He was born in San Francisco in 1876. Early began his working life, while still a schoolboy. He sold newspapers, arranged skittles in a bowling alley.
After school he became a worker at a canning factory. The work was hard and poorly paid. Then he borrowed $300 and bought a small used schooner, becoming an oyster pirate. He fished oysters illegally and sold them to local restaurants. In fact, he was engaged in poaching. Many of Jack London's works are based on personal memories. So, while working in a poaching flotilla, he became so famous for his courage and courage that he was accepted into the fishing patrol, which was just fighting against poachers. This period of his life is devoted to "Tales of the Fishing Patrol".
In 1893, London went fishing to the shores of Japan - to catch seals. This journey formed the basis of numerous stories by Jack London and the popular novel "The Sea Wolf".
Then he worked at a jute factory, changed many professions - a fireman and even an ironer in a laundry. The writer's memories of this period can be found in the novels "John Barleycorn" and "Martin Eden".
In 1893, he managed to earn his first money as a writer. He received an award from one of the San Francisco newspapers for the essay "Typhoon off the coast of Japan."
Marxist ideas
The following year, he took part in the famous campaign of the unemployed on Washington, was arrested for vagrancy and spent several months in prison. The essay "Hold on!" is devoted to this. and the novel Straitjacket.
At that time he became acquainted with Marxist ideas and became a convinced socialist. He was a member of the Socialist Party of America either from 1900 or 1901. He left the London party after a decade and a half, due to the fact that the movement had lost its morale, heading for gradual reforms.
In 1897, London left for Alaska, succumbing to the gold rush. He failed to find gold, instead he fell ill with scurvy, but he received a lot of plots for his stories, which brought him fame and popularity.
Jack London has worked in all sorts of genres. He even wrote science fiction and utopian stories. In them, he gave free rein to his rich imagination, amazed readers with original style and unexpected plot twists.
In 1905, he became interested in agriculture, settling on a ranch. Tried to create the perfect farm, but without success. As a result, he got into big debts.
In the last years of his life, the writer began to abuse alcohol. He decides to write detective novels, even buys an idea from him, but he does not have time to finish the novel "The Murder Bureau". In 1916, the writer dies at the age of 40.
According to the official version, the cause was morphine poisoning, which was prescribed to him for a kidney disease. London suffered from uremia. But researchers also consider the version of suicide.
Jack London stories
The stories brought great popularity to the writer. One of the most famous is called "Love of Life".
The events take place in Alaska during the gold rush. The main character was betrayed by a comrade and thrown to the snowy desert. He heads south to save himself. He gets a leg injury, loses his hat and gun, meets a bear, and even engages in single combat with a sick wolf, which lacked the strength to attack a person. So everyone was waiting to see which one of them would die first. At the end of the journey, he was picked up by a whaling ship and taken to San Francisco.
"Journey on the" Dazzling "
Jack London wrote this story in 1902. It is dedicated to the real fact of his biography - illegal oyster mining.
It tells about a young guy who runs away from home. To earn money, he has to get a job on the ship of the oyster pirates, which is called "Dazzling".
"White Fang"
Perhaps the most famous works of Jack London are dedicated to the gold rush. The story "White Fang" also belongs to them. It was printed in 1906.
In the story "White Fang" by Jack London, the main character is a wolf. His father is a purebred wolf and his mother is half-dog. The wolf cub is the only one surviving from the entire brood. And when he meets people with his mother, she recognizes her old master.
White Fang settles among the Indians. It develops rapidly, regarding humans as cruel but just gods. At the same time, the rest of the dogs treat him with hostility, especially when the main character becomes the main character in the sledding team.
One day, an Indian sells White Fang to Handsome Smith, who beats him up and makes him realize who his new owner is. He uses the main character in dog fights.
But in the first fight, the bulldog almost kills him, only the engineer Weedon Scott from the mine saves the wolf. Jack London's story "White Fang" ends with the fact that the new owner brings him to California. There he begins a new life.
Wolf Larsen
A couple of years before that, another well-known novel by Jack London, The Sea Wolf, comes out. In the center of the story is a literary critic who goes on a ferry to visit his friend and gets into a shipwreck. He is rescued by the schooner Ghost, commanded by Wolf Larsen.
He sails into the Pacific Ocean to catch seals, and he amazes everyone around with his rabid disposition. The protagonist of the novel "The Sea Wolf" by Jack London professes the philosophy of vital leaven. He believes: the more leaven in a person, the more actively he fights for his place under the sun. As a result, something can be achieved. This approach is a variation of social Darwinism.
"Before Adam"
In 1907, London writes a very unusual story for himself, "Before Adam". Its plot is based on the idea of human evolution that existed at that time.
The protagonist has an alter ego who is a teenager living among the ape-like cave people. This is how the writer describes Pithecanthropes.
In the story, they are opposed by a more developed tribe, which is called the People of Fire. This is similar to the Neanderthals. They already use an arrow and a bow for hunting, while the Pithecanthropes (in the story they are called the Forest Horde) are at an earlier stage of development.
london fantasy
The skill of a science fiction writer Jack London demonstrated in 1912 in the novel "The Scarlet Plague". The events in it take place in 2073. 60 years ago, a sudden epidemic on Earth destroyed almost all of humanity. The action takes place in San Francisco, where an old man who remembers the world before the deadly epidemic tells his grandchildren about it.
He says that during the 20th century, the world was repeatedly threatened by destructive viruses. And when the "scarlet plague" came, the Council of Magnates controlled everything, social stratification in society reached its climax. A new disease broke out in 2013. She destroyed most of the world's population, because they simply did not have time to invent a vaccine. People were dying right on the streets, infecting each other.
Grandpa and his comrades-in-arms managed to take refuge in a shelter. By this time, only a few hundred people remained on the entire planet who are forced to lead a primitive way of life.
"Moon Valley"
Jack London's book appeared in 1913. The action of this work takes place at the very beginning of the 20th century in California. Bill and Saxon meet at a dance and soon realize that they are in love.
The newlyweds begin a happy life in a new house. Saxon does housework, she soon finds out that she is pregnant. Their happiness is overshadowed only by a strike at the factory, which Bill joins. The demands of the workers - an increase in wages. But management hires scabs instead. There are constant skirmishes between them and the factory employees.
Once such a fight happens near Saxon's house. Due to stress, she begins premature birth. The child is dying. Times are tough for their family. Bill is addicted to strikes, he drinks a lot and fights.
Because of this, he ends up in the police, he is sentenced to a month in prison. Saxon is left alone - without a husband and money. She is starving, one day she realizes that in order to survive, they need to leave this city. With this idea, she comes to her husband, who has changed a lot in prison, rethought a lot. When Bill is released, they decide to take up farming to make money.
They set off on a journey in search of the perfect site to start their own business. What it should be, they clearly represent. They meet people, many of whom become their friends. They jokingly call their dream "Moon Valley". In their view, the land that the main characters dream of can only be on the moon. So two years pass, finally they find what they were looking for.
By coincidence, the area that suited them is called Moon Valley. They open their own farm, things are going uphill. Bill discovers an entrepreneurial vein in himself, it turns out that he is a born businessman. Only his talent was buried deep for a long time.
The novel ends with Saxon's confession that she is pregnant again.
At Cape Horn
One of Jack London's most fascinating novels is The Mutiny on the Elsinore. It was written in 1914.
Events unfold on a sailing ship. The ship sails to Cape Horn. Suddenly, the captain dies on board. After that, confusion begins on the ship, the team is divided into two opposing camps. Each of them has a leader who is ready to lead people.
The protagonist finds himself among the raging elements and rebellious sailors. All this makes him stop being an outside observer and start making difficult and responsible decisions himself. Become a strong-willed and strong person.
Abstract
The volume presents the most famous works of the classic of American literature Jack London.
JACK LONDON
white silence
Son of the Wolf
Forty Mile
In a distant land
For those who are on the way!
Northern Odyssey
great riddle
Daughter of the Northern Lights
Law of life
League of Old Men
a thousand dozen
Tertiary shard
Love of life
brown wolf
One day stay
The path of false suns
Disease of the Lone Leader
gold mine
Aliens from the Sun
Where the paths diverge
The courage of a woman
Piece of meat
Mapui house
Atu them, atu!
scary solomon islands
New Gibson Jokers
Night on Goboto
Pearls of Parley
Like the Argonauts of old...
JACK LONDON
Collection of stories and novels
white silence
Carmen won't even last two days.
Mason spat out a piece of ice and looked dejectedly at the unfortunate animal, then, raising the dog's paw to his mouth, he began to bite the ice again, frozen between her fingers in large bumps.
No matter how many dogs I met with intricate nicknames, they were all no good, ”he said, having finished his business, and pushed the dog away. “They get weak and eventually die. Have you seen anything bad happen to the dog, which is simply called Kasyar, Sivash or Husky? Never! Look at Shukum: he...
Once! The emaciated dog shot up, almost grabbing Mason's throat with his fangs.
What did you come up with?
A strong blow to the head with the handle of the whip knocked the dog over into the snow; she trembled convulsively, yellow saliva dripped from her fangs.
I say, look at Shukum: Shukum will not let you down. I bet it won't be a week before he's bullied Carmen.
And I,” said Malemute Kid, turning over the bread that was thawing by the fire, “I bet that we ourselves will eat Shukum before we get to the place. What do you say to that, Ruth?
The Indian woman dropped a piece of ice into the coffee to settle the thick, looked from Malemute Kid to her husband, then to the dogs, but said nothing. Such an obvious truth did not require confirmation. They had no other choice. There are two hundred miles of unpaved road ahead, there is only enough food for six days, and there is nothing at all for the dogs.
Both hunters and the woman moved closer to the fire and began to eat a meager breakfast. The dogs lay in the harness, as it was a short day's stop, and enviously watched every bit of them.
From tomorrow no breakfast, said Malemute Kid, and keep an eye on the dogs; they are completely out of hand, and look, they will pounce on us if an opportunity presents itself.
But I was once the leader of the Methodist congregation and taught Sunday school!
And, having announced this for no reason, Mason plunged into the contemplation of his moccasins, from which steam was coming. Ruth snapped him out of his reverie by pouring him a cup of coffee.
Thank God we have plenty of tea. I've seen tea grow at home in Tennessee. What wouldn't I give now for a hot corn tortilla! Don't worry, Ruth, just a little more, and you won't have to starve anymore, and you won't have to wear moccasins either.
At these words, the woman's frown ceased, and her eyes lit up with love for her white master - the first white man she met, the first man who showed her that in a woman one can see not only an animal or beast of burden.
Yes, Ruth,” her husband continued in that conventional language, the only one in which they could communicate with each other, “we will soon get out of here, sit in the white man’s boat and go to Salt Water. Yes, bad water, stormy water - like water mountains bouncing up and down. And how much of it, how long to go on it! You drive ten dreams, twenty dreams - for greater clarity, Mason counted the days on his fingers - and all the time water, bad water. Then we will arrive in a large village, there are a lot of people, just like midges in summer. The wigwams are so tall - ten, twenty pines!.. Eh!
He fell silent, unable to find words, and cast a pleading look at Malemute Kid, then carefully began to show with his hands how high it would be if twenty pine trees were stacked one on top of the other. Malemute Kid smiled mockingly, but Ruth's eyes widened with surprise and happiness; she thought that her husband was joking, and such mercy gladdened her poor womanly heart.
And then we sit in ... in a box, and - piff! - go. - As an explanation, Mason threw an empty mug into the air and, deftly catching it, shouted: - And now - puff! - already arrived! O great shamans! You're going to Fort Yukon, and I'm going to Arctic City - twenty-five dreams. A long rope from there to here, I grab this rope and say: “Hello, Ruth! How are you?" And you say, "Is that you, hubby?" I say yes". And you say: “You can’t bake bread: there is no more soda.” Then I say: “Look in the closet, under the flour. Goodbye!" You go to the closet and take as much soda as you need. And all the time you're in Fort Yukon and I'm in Arctic City. Here they are, shamans!
Ruth smiled so innocently at this fairy tale that the men rolled with laughter. The noise raised by the fighting dogs interrupted the tales of the wonders of the distant country, and by the time the fighters were separated, the woman had already managed to tie the sledges, and everything was ready to move on.
Go ahead, Bald! Hey go ahead!
Mason deftly cracked the whip and, when the dogs began, slowly squealing, to stretch the traces, he rested on the swivel pole and moved the frozen sled from its place. Ruth followed him with the second team, and Mailmute Kid, who helped her move, brought up the rear. A strong and stern man, capable of knocking down a bull with one blow, he could not beat the unfortunate dogs and, if possible, spared them, which the drovers rarely do. Sometimes Mailmute Kid almost wept with pity as he looked at them.
Come on, lame-legs! he muttered after several futile attempts to move the heavy sled.
Finally, his patience was rewarded, and, squealing in pain, the dogs rushed to catch up with their brethren.
The conversations were silent. The hard way does not allow such luxury. And riding in the north is hard, murderous work. Happy is he who, at the cost of silence, endures a day of such a journey, and even then along a paved path.
But there is no more exhausting work than laying a road. At every step, the wide braided skis fall through, and the legs sink into the snow up to the knees. Then you need to carefully pull out the leg - a tiny fraction of an inch deviation from the vertical threatens disaster - until the surface of the ski is clear of snow. Then step forward and you begin to raise the other leg, also at least half a yard. Whoever does this for the first time falls from exhaustion after a hundred yards, even if before that he does not hook one ski to another and does not stretch to his full height, trusting in the treacherous snow. Whoever manages all day long not to get under the feet of dogs once, he can climb into a sleeping bag with a clear conscience and with the greatest pride; and the one who walks twenty dreams along the great North Path, even the gods can envy.
The day was drawing to a close, and the travelers, overwhelmed by the grandeur of the White Silence, silently made their way. Nature has many ways to convince man of his mortality: the continuous alternation of the ebb and flow, the fury of the storm, the horrors of the earthquake, the thunderous peal of the celestial artillery. But the most powerful, the most devastating is the White Silence in its impassibility. Nothing moves, the sky is bright as polished copper, the slightest whisper seems sacrilegious, and a person is frightened of his own voice. The only particle of the living, moving through the ghostly desert of the dead world, he is afraid of his insolence, acutely aware that he is just a worm. Strange thoughts arise by themselves, the mystery of the universe seeks its expression. And a fear of death, of God, of the whole world, finds itself on a person, and together with fear - the hope of resurrection and life and longing for immortality - the futile striving of captive matter; that's when a person is left alone with God.
Jack London(born John Griffith Cheney) is an American writer best known for writing adventure stories and novels.
Born January 12, 1876 in San Francisco. The mother of the future writer, Flora Wellman, was a music teacher and was fond of spiritualism, claiming that she had a spiritual connection with an Indian leader. She became pregnant by the astrologer William Cheney, with whom she lived together for some time in San Francisco. Upon learning of Flora's pregnancy, William began to insist that she have an abortion, but she categorically refused and, in a fit of desperation, tried to shoot herself, but only slightly injured herself.
After the birth of the baby, Flora left him for some time in the care of her former slave Virginia Prentiss, who remained an important person for London throughout his life. At the end of the same 1876, Flora married John London, an invalid and a veteran of the American Civil War, after which she took the baby back to her. The boy began to be called John London (Jack is a diminutive form of the name John). After some time, the family moved to the city of Oakland, neighboring San Francisco, where London eventually graduated from high school.
Jack London early began an independent working life full of hardships. As a schoolboy, he sold morning and evening newspapers. After graduating from elementary school at the age of fourteen, he entered a cannery factory as a worker. The work was very hard and he left the factory. Was an "oyster pirate", illegally caught oysters in San Francisco Bay. In 1893, he was hired as a sailor on a fishing schooner, going to catch seals to the shores of Japan and the Bering Sea. The first voyage gave London many vivid impressions, which then formed the basis of many of his sea stories and novels. Subsequently, he also worked as an ironer in a laundry and as a fireman.
London's first essay, "A Typhoon Off the Coast of Japan", which served as the start of his literary career, for which he won the first prize in one of the San Francisco newspapers, was published on November 12, 1893.
In 1894 he took part in the march of the unemployed to Washington (the essay "Hold on!"), After which he spent a month in prison for vagrancy. In 1895 he joined the Socialist Labor Party of the USA, from 1900 (in some sources 1901 is indicated) - a member of the Socialist Party of the USA, from which he left in 1914 (in some sources 1916 is indicated); the reason for the break with the party in the statement was the loss of faith in its "fighting spirit".
Having independently prepared and successfully passed the entrance exams, Jack London entered the University of California, but after the 3rd semester, due to lack of funds for his studies, he was forced to leave. In the spring of 1897, Jack London succumbed to the "gold rush" and left for Alaska. He returned to San Francisco in 1898, having experienced all the charms of the northern winter. Instead of gold, fate endowed Jack London with meetings with the future heroes of his works.
He began to engage in literature more seriously at the age of 23, after returning from Alaska: the first northern stories were published in 1899, and already in 1900 his first book was published - a collection of stories "The Son of the Wolf". This was followed by the following collections of short stories: "The God of His Fathers" (Chicago, 1901), "Children of the Frost" (New York, 1902), "Faith in Man" (New York, 1904), "Moon Face" (New York , 1906), The Lost Face (New York, 1910), as well as the novels The Daughter of the Snows (1902), The Sea Wolf (1904), Martin Eden (1909). The writer worked very hard, 15-17 hours a day. And he managed to write about 40 great books in his entire not very long writing career.
In 1902, London visited England, in fact, in London, which gave him material for writing the book "People of the Abyss". Upon his return to America, he gives lectures in various cities, mostly of a socialist nature, and organizes departments of the “Common Student Society”. In 1904-1905 London worked as a war correspondent in the Russo-Japanese War. In 1907, the writer undertakes a round-the-world trip. By this time, thanks to high fees, London becomes a wealthy man.
In recent years, London experienced a creative crisis, in connection with which he began to abuse alcohol (later he quit). Because of the crisis, the writer was even forced to buy a plot for a new novel. Such a plot was sold to London by the aspiring American writer Sinclair Lewis. London managed to give the future novel a name - "The Murder Bureau", - but he managed to write quite a bit, as he soon died.
Jack London died on November 22, 1916 in the town of Glen Ellen. In recent years, he suffered from a kidney disease (uremia) and died from poisoning with morphine prescribed to him (many believe that he committed suicide in this way).
(ratings: 3
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Jack London, whose real name is John Griffith Cheney, was born in the middle of winter - January 12, 1876 in the States. The parents of the future writer cannot be called ordinary: John's mother has always been stubborn, self-willed, besides, she was engaged in spiritualism; his father was an astrologer and loved adventure, which was inherited by Jack London.
Little John received the surname "London" when he was not even a year old. During this time, his mother married a Civil War veteran, John London. Soon the name of the stepfather became the creative pseudonym of the writer. By the way, Jack is just a shortened version of the name John.
Jack has been used to hard work since childhood: as a schoolboy, he sold newspapers. To earn money, he got up before dawn. Both before and after classes, the boy returned to work. Oddly enough, this did not prevent him from reading: as a child, Jack liked adventure literature most of all.
Jack London loved the sea no less than books, so at the age of thirteen he bought a small boat with his own money. On it he made boat trips, fished and read.
When Jack was fifteen, he had to get a job in a cannery, as the family had almost no money to live on. The conditions at the factory were terrible, the wages were paltry, and people were injured every day. Energetic Jack could not stand the monotonous mechanical work, so he began to look for alternative ways to earn money. So he began to engage in illegal oyster fishing and, having become a wild life, he spent everything he earned on drinking parties. Having come to his senses in time, Jack hired a ship for legal work - the extraction of fur seals.
In general, in his youth, the future writer managed to try almost all the “charms” of life: after working for six months on a ship, he joined the march of the unemployed, and as a result, he lived with vagrants for the same amount of time. During this period, Jack decides to still get an education and start a writing career. Now he took up intellectual work: he graduated from high school and even passed the entrance exams to the University of California, Berkeley. But since the young London did not have enough money, he had to leave his studies.
Jack began writing his first stories and novels at the age of 22. All his works were constantly returned from the editorial offices of newspapers and magazines, which soon served as the basis for writing a novel. After six months of persistent unsuccessful attempts, his story was nevertheless published.
The dizzying success was a real gift of fate for Jack London: now he was earning incomparably more than ever, and could afford everything he wanted. Yes, the writer, who grew up in poverty, highly valued his wealth.
Jack London lived only forty years, but managed to write more than two hundred stories, novellas and novels. His works became known to the whole world, and "White Fang" and "Hearts of Three" are included in the school curriculum. But the main thing is not even this, but the fact that this man, thanks to his perseverance, courage and diligence, managed to make his dream come true.
Jack London, bibliography
All Jack London books
Novels
- 1902 - "Daughter of the Snows"
- 1903 - ""
- 1903 - Letters from Campton to Wes
- 1904 - ""
- 1906 - ""
- 1908 - ""
- 1909 - ""
- 1910 - "Time-does not-wait"
- 1911 - "Adventure"
- 1912 - "The Scarlet Plague"
- 1913 - ""
- 1914 - "Mutiny on Elsinore"
- 1915 - "
For a large circle of Russian readers, Jack London is one of the most beloved authors. Surprisingly, love for him has not subsided for many years. In the Soviet years, only collections of fairy tales for children by Hans Christian Andersen could compete with his novels in popularity. From 1918 to 1986, more than 77 million copies of various novels, short stories and London stories were published in the country. He was loved and continues to be loved by children and adults, schoolchildren, students and pensioners.
Today, interest in the writer's work has not faded. And if there is some decline, then it is associated with a general decline in interest in reading in general. Few of the writers are published in huge circulations: for many children, computer games have been replaced by books, and adults simply do not have free time for literature. Nevertheless, the name of Jack London remains at the top not only of adventure literature, but also of philosophical, life-affirming literature, which could only be born under the hand of a strong and strong-willed person.
List of compositions by Jack London
Almost all the works of Jack London set up the fact that a person must fight to the end, no matter how bad and difficult it may be for him. In his works, he sang courage, humanity, strength of will and character, strength of conviction and faith in a just cause. Therefore, you can always find this writer.
List of works by Jack London (novels and short stories in chronological order):
- Daughter of snows;
- Journey on the "Dazzling";
- Call of the Ancestors;
- Letters from Campton to Wes;
- Sea wolf;
- A game;
- White Fang;
- Before Adam;
- Iron heel;
- Martin Eden;
- Time-does not-wait;
- Adventure;
- scarlet plague;
- fierce beast;
- Moon Valley;
- Mutiny on Elsinore;
- Interstellar wanderer;
- Little mistress of a big house;
- Jerry the Islander;
- Michael, Jerry's brother;
- Three hearts.
Video about one of the best books by Jack London "Martin Eden"
He also wrote over 200 short stories. During his lifetime, 16 author's collections were published:
- Son of the Wolf;
- God of his fathers;
- Children of frost;
- male fidelity;
- moonface;
- Love of life;
- Fishing Patrol Tales;
- Lost face;
- Tales from the South Seas;
- When the gods laugh;
- Temple of pride;
- Smoke Bellew;
- Son of the Sun;
- Born in the night
- The strength of the strong;
- Turtles of Tasman.
After the death of the writer, three more collections were published:
- Red deity;
- On a Macaloa mat;
- Dutch prowess.
The most famous works of London
One of the most famous works of the writer is the novel "Martin Eden". The main character, in fact, is London itself. His biographers find many similarities between him and the character he invented.
In this work, the author clearly shows that true humanity, love for beauty, loyalty do not live in the hearts of the upper class, but among ordinary workers, people from the people. A knowledgeable reader will immediately determine that the worldview of the prose writer was seriously influenced by such philosophers and sociologists as Herbert Spencer, Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche.
At the heart of the tragedy is the desire of the protagonist to learn the cultural values of the past. Martin Eden, who has not received any education, suddenly begins to study various sciences, reading books avidly. After a while, he himself becomes a writer, but no publishing house accepts his manuscripts. When success comes to him, Martin realizes that the desire for fame and fortune is nothing.
If you name the best books of Jack London, then you can not ignore the political novel "Iron Heel". Both books were created by the author in the period from 1906 to 1909. He finished writing Martin Eden in 1909, and wrote The Iron Heel in 1907 (during the same period, the collection of articles Revolution and the collection Essays "Road").
Of London's earlier works, the novel "The Sea Wolf" can be noted. The protagonist, Captain Wulf Larsen, pays with his life for misunderstanding the importance of other people in the team and believing too much in his exclusivity.
Jack London stories for children
Jack London is even more famous for his writings for children and teenagers than for his political novels and social tragedies. The list of Jack London books for children is quite impressive. First of all, it is necessary to name the novel "The Call of the Wild".
Although it is classified as children's literature, this work of the writer is one of the earliest in his bibliography, and is also interesting to mature readers. The story takes place during the gold rush. A sled dog named Back is trying to survive in difficult northern conditions. He develops difficult relationships with relatives, he passes from one owner to another, and at the end of the novel it is described how the wild nature draws him to himself, which wins in himself, and he becomes the leader of the wolf pack.
The novel is not very large and is often published in one book with the adventure story "White Fang". As in The Call of the Ancestors, the main character is not a man, but a beast. This time - a wolf, nicknamed the White Fang. As a wolf cub, he first met the world of people. During his life, he encounters human malice and kindness many times. All the ups and downs of fate lead to the fact that he, a wolf by blood, becomes a sled dog, and devotion to a person acquires the status of a law for him. In this work, the author, in his characteristic manner, through cruelty, sings of the justice of nature.
Jack London also has stories for children. At the same time, the writer's work is not usually divided into literature for children and literature for mature readers. Most of his works are written in simple language, they are easy to read, and everyone finds something of their own in them. Children are interested in how the heroes of London cope with difficulties, how they seek adventure. People brought up on his books know how to appreciate kindness and justice. Well, London is close to older readers because he felt the wild nature very well and understood the essence of human nature. In some works, he foresaw the coming political cataclysms (the novel "The Iron Heel"), and in others he spoke about the futility and futility of the individual's selfish desires.
Films based on the works of London
Films based on the books of Jack London were released repeatedly both in the USA and in the USSR (and then in Russia), Canada, and Germany. The domestic audience is best familiar with the film adaptation of the novel "Hearts of Three". It must be said that the novel itself was written during a period of creative crisis in the biography of Jack London, and is not considered a strong work. Nevertheless, the Russian-Ukrainian film was very fond of the Russian-speaking public. The main roles in the film were played by Vladimir Shevelkov, Sergey Zhigunov and Alena Khmelnitskaya. Curiously, according to the novel, the main characters, Henry and Francis, are like two peas in a pod. In the film, these characters are not even remotely similar.
The film based on the novel "Martin Eden" was not filmed in the Soviet Union, but there is a television play that was released in 1976. In the format of a television performance in 1982, the play "Theft" was also released.
Quite often, directors turned to the novel "The Sea Wolf". Interestingly, in the first film adaptation in 1913, London personally took part in the filming as an actor, playing a sailor in one episode. In our country in 1990, a 4-episode film based on the "Sea Wolf" was shot. Wulf Larsen was played by Lubomiras Laucevičius. A small series in 2009 was also directed by American director Mike Barker. The movie masters Tim Roth and Sebastian Koch played in the adventure drama.
Films based on the "White Fang" are very popular. For the first time, a film adaptation of the work was released in the USSR in 1946. Then, in 1973, directors from France and Italy turned to the story. The Hollywood version was released in 1991. And three years later, White Fang 2 was shot in Hollywood, the film was practically not connected with the original work of London.
Film based on the book by Jack London
There are other films based on the stories of Jack London. For example, in 1993, the television series Alaska Kid was released, co-produced by Russia, Poland and Germany. The series is based on several of London's works. The action of the film takes place during the gold rush, the main characters are passionate about the idea of finding gold, for this passion they have to endure various disasters, endure hardships and get into difficult situations, from which they, of course, find a way out.
In total, more than a hundred adaptations of the writer's works are known. Films based on the works of Jack London are also interesting to different viewers. Usually they are loved by both adults and children.
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