Sunday, April 22, 2012

Naturalism

Jack London’s main literary movement was naturalism. Naturalism is the idea of an indifferent universe in which you have very little control. Also, “naturalism has been understood as a dialectic between free will and determinism…” (Hedrick) This idea, in some ways, battled the concept of progressivism and idealism. London is known for being one of the first authors to bring naturalism into his writings. It was quite a shock at first to many, but soon became a popular movement within literature. One of the first major works of his that displayed this novel concept was “The Call of the Wild”. Using a dog as the main character, London paints a clear picture of the dilemma of those who are disadvantaged and their struggle in an indifferent world. He is the type of writer whose opinions and true feelings come out when he writes and it is plain to see. “Jack London believed strongly that he was not put on the Earth to simply live out the rest of his days, but to make something of his life, and that something has been captured in his writing.” (Powell)

Hedrick, Joan D. “Jack London (1876-1916)”. College.cengage.com. 22 April 2012. http://college.cengage.com/english/heath/syllabuild/iguide/london.html

Wilcox, Earl J. “Introductory Remarks about London’s Literary Naturalism” The World of Jack London. 22 April 2012. http://www.jacklondons.net/writings/Essays/intro_literary_naturalism.html

Powell, Timothy. “Naturalism in Jack London’s The Call of the Wild”. Tapowell. 8 Nov 1991. 22 April 2012. http://tapowell.150m.com/CHS/london.html

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