One of the focuses in Jack Londons writing is the survival of the strongest beings driven by the primitive desire to live. London shows this belief in many of his novels and short stories; however, it is most apparent in those involving strong animals and brutal men. Within his novels, London illustrates this theory of the survival of the fittest through the forces of nature, animals, and through humankind. The first way which London portrays this theory is through the forces of nature in the novel, The Sea Wolf. The theme of the book was based on Social Darwinism. One of the main characters in the novel is a vicious man named Wolf Larsen.
He is a massive man who is smarter, stronger and faster than any other man in the world was. London seems to use Wolf Larsen to bring some of his own opinions and ideas to the reader. Humphrey Van Weyden, another character in the novel, is perhaps the exact opposite of Wolf Larsen. He is small, weak, and very non-athletic. When he asks Wolf Larsen about his theory on life, Wolf Larsen replied, Might is right and that is all there is to it. Weakness is wrong.(79) One further piece of evidence is gathered in The Sea Wolf when Humphrey Van Weyden is forced to take brutal action against Wolf Larsen. London wrote this when talking about the change in Humphrey VanWeyden: It marked, further, the decay or going to pieces of his moral nature, a vain thing and a handicap in the ruthless struggle for existence.(153) London is saying in this sentence that in order to stay alive, you sometimes need to go against what you believe in and just do what is absolutely necessary to survive.
The Essay on Streets Of London Poem Man Emotional
Shannon McCaw April 19, 2005 Instructor Severson English 105 Streets of London "London" by William Blake is an emotional setting of man who is going though something in his life and he has found himself walking through the streets of London. It leads readers to believe that something has happened in which led this man to go on a long walk along the Thames River. The last line of the poem, "And ...
Jack Londons literary tactics as well as style, helped to define the key theme in The Sea Wolf of being a well-balanced individual capable of survival under any circumstances. By placing Maud Brewster in the position to fall in love with Van Weyden, London stressed the need for the genuinely important love between a man and a woman. In presenting the mind as a mightier force than sheer and brute strength, London displayed the capacity to which a sound mind fulfills. Humpreys adaptation and evolution, for the better, represented the fundamental message London sought to deliver through his writing. As though contesting that two heads are better than one, London deemed it necessary to emphasize the significance of love from a woman. London used Maud to help to contribute to the well-rounded individual that he wanted to create through Humprey. Her love, if not the catalyst, served to strengthen the evolving of Humprey into a man more capable of withstanding the trials of life.
They were able to feed off each other and attain a greater sense of boldness, as well as a broadened perspective on life: … and at the same moment my heart surged with a great joy. Truly she was my woman, my mate-woman, fighting with me and for me as the mate of a caveman would have fought the entire primitive in her aroused, forgetful of her culture, hard under the softening civilization of the only life she had ever known.(London, 234) The bond between Humprey and Maud had cultured into love, which caused their individual status to be elevated as well. Filled with a new assurance, passion, and primitive nature, the two were able to stride toward their place as complete and noteworthy human beings. In his next step toward displaying the model creature, London addressed the value of the mind as the top priority. In presenting Wolf and Humprey, concerning their respective highlights, London defined knowledge as the most powerful attribute toward any kind of successful human being.
It was in fact Humprey, the intellectual, who in the end succeeded in conquering over the physical power as well as the terror of Larsen. By taking knowledge and using it as power, Humprey was able to supersede the striking brutality and force that Wolf presented: You forget you are no longer the biggest bit of the ferment. You were, once, and able to eat me, as you were pleased to phrase it; but there has been a diminishing, and I am now able to eat you. The yeast has grown stale. (220) Wolfs power had been depleted, and he was no longer able to use it to rise above others. The human mind however, Humpreys, was still growing strong, fully capable of survival, but also success. The power of mind enabled Humprey to adapt and acquire skills in new fields.
The Essay on Charles Ives Man His Life
Charles Ives Charles Ives is known in our day as the "Father of American Music," but in his day, he was known just like everyone else- an ordinary man living his life. He was born in Danbury, Connecticut on October 20, 1894 (Stanley 1) to his mother, Sarah Hotchkiss Wilcox Ives and father, George White Ives (A Life With Music, Swafford 4). His father was renowned for being the Union's youngest ...
This helped him to lead to his perfectly embodied life. From a worthless person to an eventually successful man, Humprey was sculpted in a way that ensured both his survival, but also his power and potential, due to his unlocking of gifts. Although born into a cultured and wealthy family, Humpreys primitive nature was forced to be unleashed if he hoped to live. By becoming a more primal man while maintaining his sense of mind, Van Weyden achieved a culmination to be exemplified. A feat, which was shown through Londons powerful and triumphant presentation: It can be done, it can be done, I was thinking and asserting aloud. What men have done, I can do; and if they have never done this before, still I can do it.(188) The level of assertion as well as confidence portrayed by Humprey greatly reflects on the message London sought to deliver.
Van Weyden was shown completely satisfied with his ability, which due to his complete pooling of talents, was applicable. He had risen above the rest, and applied himself in order to fulfill the requirements for survival. Humprey had become the perfectly shaped individual, destined to prosper in this life. The Sea Wolf ends in the inevitable triumph of Humprey Van Weyden over Wolf Larsen, making him the leader of the pack. The extent to which London elevated Humpreys status, undoubtedly assured the reader of the admiration with which he portrayed him. Throughout the novel, it became apparent of the necessity of freedom in order for a man to achieve their full potential, which is what Humprey did.
The Essay on London As Setting For "Mrs. Dalloway"
”When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.” –Samuel Johnson In “Mrs. Dalloway”, Virginia Woolf uses the setting of the city of London to effectively show the vastly different emotional responses of the characters. The city of London, in June, is the primary location in which three of the novel’s ...
By becoming as well rounded as he did, he was able to emerge as victor in the so-called survival of the fittest, which indeed he was..
