Book Review | Martin Eden

Jack London, America’s iconic novelist, short story writer and activist, is best known for his works “The Call of the Wild” published in 1903 and “White Fang” published in 1906.

Jack London was born on January 12, 1876 in San Francisco, California. It is not known for sure whether Jack London’s mother Flora Wellman and father William Henry Chaney were married. When Chaney left Flora, Flora married John London and Jack took his last name. Flora’s second marriage brought Jack two half-sisters. Her sisters were named Eliza and Ida. The family moved several times until they settled in Oakland, where Jack London graduated from elementary school. Jack London, who came from a low-income working-class family, was forced to take on a “newspaper childhood” at the age of 10 to help support his family. Despite living in a difficult environment and fighting to hold on to life every day, Jack never gave up and continued to live as a child with hope for his future. He was very fond of reading and writing. After discovering a library in Oakland, he began to get lost in the world of literature. During this time, Jack London worked sometimes in a cannery and sometimes in a hemp mill. He tried to make a living at various jobs from cleaning windows to being a watchman. In the meantime, Jack London, who did not fail to learn how to sail, bought a cheap sloop with borrowed money and fished for oysters in the bay. Unfortunately, things did not go well and Jack London had his new source of income, the small sailing sloop, stolen and started begging. These difficult days of Jack London caused the author to form his views against the social class system and human behavior. He returned to California with the desire to live a better life and entered the University of California at Berkeley. Unfortunately, he had to drop out of school due to financial problems. Jack London spent his education years working and in the meantime he was busy writing for a long time. He wrote the story Typhoon Off the Coast of Japan in 1893 on the sloop he sailed to the coasts of Siberia and Japan. After this, Jack London took writing more seriously and began a successful career as a writer. Jack London, who joined the Socialist Workers Party in 1896, can easily be seen in his famous novel The Iron Heel published in 1908. Jack London left London in 1897 during the Gold Rush and went to the Klondike; however, he could not find gold there and as if that was not enough, he became ill. After a difficult winter season, London wrote his story To Build a Fire. His articles were published in the important monthly magazines The Overland and The Atlantic. He earned a good income with the books in which he recounted his experiences during the Gold Rush. Jack London, who had a very difficult life, was one of the rare writers who earned an income through writing. He wrote dozens of stories and books until he passed away on November 22, 1916, on his farm, now known as Jack London State Historic Park.

Jack London’s semi-autobiographical novel Martin Eden was widely accepted in American literature at the beginning of the 20th century with its content focused on social and ideological issues. While London reveals the differences in mentality and values ​​between different classes, he points out the vital importance of status and wealth in American society. One of the main themes of the novel is the American Dream, which can be summarized as the path to success and prosperity being open to everyone regardless of social class. Or the tremendous disappointment created by this ideal…

London wrote the novel in the tradition of the Künstlerroman, which deals with the process of an artist’s transition from apprenticeship to maturity. It tells the story of Martin’s struggle to transform from an uneducated young worker to a successful and refined writer for the sake of his love. However, when the hero reaches his goal, he has already lost his motivation and excitement and is now dragged towards a tragic end.