Apologia

Jack London captured a very defined and detailed picture of the Canadian north. Attention should be paid to London for his writings because he didn't imagine the settings of his pieces, he experienced them first hand. London spent a great deal of his life traveling up north. He experienced the hard northern life which helped him capture the Canadian setting perfectly. Through his experiences Jack London produces an adventurous classic titled “The Call of the Wild” resulting in a magnificent contribution to Canadian and American literature.

Born in San Francisco in 1876 London was not originally from Canadian descent he spent a great deal exploring Canada for some of the very same reasons displayed in his books. Growing up as a young boy heard of the great gold strikes in Alaska. London being a rather imaginative fellow sought after this wealth and adventure deciding to travel to Alaska in seek of these great fortunes. “Jack London gained a tremendous amount of insight and perspective while in Alaska and the Klondike. Although he had not discovered much gold, he had uncovered a mother lode of experience from which he would draw material for his future novels and stories” ("Who was Jack London."). These great works deem him one of the greatest American writers of his time.

How did an American writer capture the Canadian wilderness to the most detailed degree painting an almost flawless picture of the northern setting? To answer this, London simply experienced it first hand making that the main reason why attention should be paid to London for his literature contributions. London’s writings are most often considered to be fictional stories designed for the enjoyment of the reader however his writing does contain some non-fictional attributes. His journey to Alaska through the Canadian Yukon in a sense mimics some of the main events in “The Call of The Wild”. The deadly white water rapids that Buck saves John’s life from by dragging him out alive as well as the near death experiences from famine as Buck is starved by the stupidity of his owners are two main events that can be directly related to London’s experiences. Paralleling the novel he is faced with the challenging feat of crossing the great Whitehorse rapids of Lake Bennett which with his team he successfully powers through to find the treasures that await him. While living on preserved food he did not eat properly. As a result London suffered from scurvy loosing his teeth in the process. Finally not to forget the very reason for his travels is to seek gold in the Alaskan wilderness which is the very basis for Buck’s hardships throughout “The Call of the Wild”. His stories are in fact fictional but could be modeled around his experiences in the Canadian North making his greatest contribution to Canadian literature, the way he captures the setting and the life style of the northern regions of Canada.

Jack London is an American writer who helped Canadian literature by creating various pieces set in the northern wilderness allowing the reader to paint a detailed picture in their mind. He strengthened this ability through his travels experiencing the kinds of events in his book. He produced a ripping good yarn combining autobiographical with fictional writings.