Biography and Background:
Charles John Huffam Dickens was born on February 7, 1812 in Portsmouth, United Kingdom; he was the second of eight children of John and Elizabeth Barrow Dickens. Known as a social couple, John and Elizabeth Dickens spent an exorbitant amount of funds towards entertainment. In addition to the cost of the family’s social gatherings, the family’s large size constantly had the Dickenses concerned about finances (“Childhood” 1). John Dickens worked as clerk at the Naval Pay Office, which caused the family to have to move frequently. Despite his hard work, the Dickenses were unable to keep up with their expenses (“Charles” 1). In 1824, John Dickens was arrested and thrown into prison for excessive debts. While his father
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London was raised by his mother Flora Wellman Chaney, and William Chaney, his biological father, was never involved in London’s life. Eight months after Jack London was born, his mother married John London (“Facts” 2). London’s childhood was overshadowed by poverty; his family constantly had to move houses to find jobs to support the family. At fourteen years old, Jack London decided against attending high school and instead worked eighteen-hour days at a cannery. In 1891, desperate for a better life, London borrowed money from his black foster mother Virginia Prentiss. With the $300, London bought a sloop named the Razzle Dazzle; he became an oyster pirate and poacher. In 1894, he spent a month in jail on vagrancy charges; in the jail London witness many horrors of “human degradation”. After being released from jail, London educated himself at the Oakland Public Library. He was admitted to the University of California in 1896; however, he was forced to leave due to financial issues (“Jack” 1). In 1897, London moved to the Canadian Yukon to join the Klondike Gold Rush; he experienced many hardships like malaria, scurvy, and dysentery that left his health severely damaged (American