4。2 Jack London’s Progressiveness on Gender Issue 12

4。3 Jack London’s Limitation on Gender Issue 13

5。 Conclusion 14

References 15

1。 Introduction

1。1 Introduction of Jack London

Jack London (1876-1916), one of the most prolific and successful realistic writer, played an important role in American literature at the beginning of the 20th century。 He was the first American writers to gain worldwide popularity and large fortune from his fiction。 But it was astonishing that the man who had a unique position in American literature should receive little formal schooling。 He was almost a self-taught man。

Jack London was born of a working-class family in San Francisco in 1876 and grew up in straitened circumstances。 Due to the poverty, he dropped out of school and started to work at a very young age。 Although suffered from the hardship of life, London did not give up learning。 He borrowed books from friends and libraries to study on his own。 Later he started writing and became the most popular writer during that period。 His works were warmly welcomed because they were far beyond those of his literary peers in both perspective and content。 

During his lifetime, London had created a large amount of works of high quality。 19 long novels, more than 150 short stories, 3 plays and a lot of essays had been published。 The Call of the Wild, The Iron Heel, White Fang, The Sea-Wolf, The People of the Abyss and Martin Eden were some of his most representative works。 They had been translated into several dozens of languages and were still widely read throughout the world today。 

1。2 Introduction of Martin Eden

1。2。1 The Story 来自优W尔Y论W文C网WWw.YoueRw.com 加QQ7520,18766

The book mainly narrated the struggle of the impoverished sailor Martin Eden。 He was deeply attracted by a bourgeois lady, Ruth, at the first sight。 In order to narrow their gap and prove himself worthy of Ruth, Martin was determined to become a writer。 He wrote articles, hoping that he can earn enough money to marry Ruth as his manuscripts published。 However, to his disappointment, his stories were all turned down by the publishers。 Even his beloved Ruth opposed his writing。 She admonished him to abandon writing and accept a job at her father’s office。 But Martin did not follow her advice。 With the contradiction intensified, Ruth submitted herself to her parents and broke up with Martin。 It was a fateful blow to Martin, so he finally stopped writing。 But at that point, his old rejected stories were accepted one after another。 He became famous and rich, receiving enormous fees for his publication。 People’s attitudes toward him changed greatly。 People from upper class came to flatter him。 Even Ruth, who used to write a heartless letter to spurn him, went to reconcile with him。 He came to realize the hypocrisy and ugliness of bourgeois society。 Fed up with the aching weariness of the aimless life, Martin finally committed suicide。

1。2。2 The Background 论文网

As a semi-autobiographical novel, Martin Eden demonstrated the writer’s own experience to a great extent。 Therefore, to get a deeper understanding of the novel and London, it would be helpful to make a brief study of the social background in which the writer lived。 

Martin Eden was published in 1909。 The story was set at the turn of the nineteenth and the twentieth century。 During that period of time, America had experienced radical transformation in all aspects of society including economy, people’s mentality, social structure and so on。 The most noticeable change was that with the booming of the industry, more and more women got jobs and no longer be a mere housewife。