Trauma commonly brings forth the best or the worst in people. Writers especially suffer traumatic moments which are conveyed through their writing. Jack London expertly portrayed this in his infamous book, The Call of the Wild. To elucidate, The Call of the Wild portrays London’s strife through the main character and the theme of survival. Although Jack suffered through plenty of moments, Jack pushed on and survived. To begin, Jack was born to William Henry and Flora Wellman in San Francisco on January 12, 1876 (“Jack London” 1). Jack’s dad left early on, and Jack received his last name from his stepfather, John London. Unfortunately, money cultivated countless challenges for Jack. As a result, London worked numerous jobs, beginning at a prepubescent age. …show more content…
Sadly, Jack became a beggar after his sloop was robbed. Eventually, London attended and graduated from Oakland High School. However, he attended college at the University of California at Berkeley, but he dropped out because of financial drought. However, in 1897 after dropping out, London went on to strike fortune in the Klondike Gold Rush. Unfortunately, London only found itself scurvy and misfortune. This event instilled an intense sense of survival and adaptation within London (McEwen2). During his scurvy, Jack wrote “To Build a Fire” (“Jack London”). Fortunately, London survived and returned home, and ended up meeting and marrying Bess Maddern on April 7, 1900 (1). The couple had 2 daughters, Joan and Bess. Subsequently, 4 years after marriage, the couple divorced. Later on, Jack remarried to Charmian Kittredge whom he remained with. Although Jack lived through chaos, he still found the time to write. London wrote over 100 short stories and 20 novels and novellas (McEwen 1). Jack drew the most inspiration from his chaotic life. The Call of the Wild showcases this. The Call of the Wild was published in 1903 (“Jack London”