We often perceive Jack London as an author of adventure stories for teenagers. But in fact, he is not just an American classic. Jack London was a chronicler of the extreme states of the human soul. He wrote about the moment when civilisation disappears and man is left alone with cold, hunger and eternity.
For Ukraine, which is going through trials, London's work is no longer just literature. His books about survival are perceived differently, more seriously.
Jack London (John Griffith Chaney) was born in 1876, when America was undergoing a painful transformation. It was an era of wild capitalism, economic depression and mass unemployment. Before becoming a writer, London lived a life that would have been enough for ten people. He worked in a canning factory for 18 hours a day (as a child), was an ‘oyster pirate’ and a sailor on a schooner that hunted sea lions in Japan.
But the key moment was the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897. Thousands of people rushed to the far north, to Dawson, Canada, dreaming of riches. London was among them. The reality turned out to be cruel. Instead of gold, he found scurvy, temperatures of -50°C and nature's indifference to man.
He returned home without an ounce of gold, but with something more valuable: stories about how people break and grow stronger.
London became a writer not because he had a good life, but because of his desperate desire to escape poverty through intellect rather than physical labour. He saw the ‘bottom’ of society. His socialist views (which he vividly described in The People of the Abyss) were born out of the understanding that the system can crush a person if they do not have an inner core.
The era demanded strong heroes. London combined the ideas of Nietzsche (about the superman) and Darwin (about evolution). His heroes survive not because they are ‘good,’ but because they adapt.
Vocabulary of Grit
London wrote in a language that is free of unnecessary embellishments. It is perfect English for reading, teaching you to express yourself directly and powerfully.
Useful vocabulary about adventure will help you understand its philosophy:
- Grit (Grit / Strength of character). This word best describes London's heroes. It is a combination of passion and perseverance. It is the ability to fall seven times and get up eight.
- The Call of the Wild. An idiom meaning a return to instincts, to something primitive and genuine within us.
- To rough it (To live in spartan conditions). A phrase meaning to do without comforts.
- Survival of the fittest. Darwin's term, which is at the heart of London's plots. Important: not ‘the strongest,’ but those who know how to change.
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London is relevant to Ukrainians not as a romantic, but as a realist. His texts are a vaccine against illusions, and self-development through reading his works becomes a form of therapy.
Jack London's major works:
- The Call of the Wild (1903) is about awakening inner strength. Buck, a dog, goes from being a domestic pet to the leader of a wolf pack. He changes outwardly, becoming tougher, but finds his true self.
- White Fang (1906) is about the journey from savagery to love. While Buck returns to the wild, White Fang undergoes a painful evolution from a lone wolf to a loyal friend. The novel demonstrates how the environment shapes the psyche: cruelty breeds a killer, while love and patience can heal even the deepest wounds.
- Martin Eden (1909) is about the power of self-education and the tragedy of disappointment. Martin Eden, the hero of the novel of the same name, made himself through books and iron discipline. For us, he is a vivid example of a self-made person. Education is not a diploma, it is a tool for survival.
- ‘To Build a Fire’ (1902/1908) is a short but powerful story about the price of mistakes. In the story, the protagonist dies because of his overconfidence and disrespect for nature. In 2026, this is a reminder that technology does not save us; attentiveness, preparation, and respect for reality do.
Jack London showed that language is a social ladder. Learning English through literature in the SARGOI community opens up a world of opportunities. When you read Jack London in the original, you hear the author's true voice, unfiltered by translation. Don't be a passive observer of your own life. As Jack London said:
I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot.
Choose growth. Join SARGOI, where we turn language learning into an exciting journey through life.
