Introduction: Jack London and “What Life Means to Me”
Jack London and “What Life Means to Me” are interrelated as the former is the writer of this autobiographical essay in which he delves into existential questions and personal reflections. Jack London has been an excellent author and pioneer of science fiction. In his autobiographical essay, “What Life Means to Me,” he has beautifully built the argument of shunning materialism after finding that it is rotten to the core.
Jack London and “What Life Means to Me”
The essay starts with his argument that he has dreamed to go up the ladder of status and wealthy since his childhood. He starts his life seeing dreams of going at the top in the social hierarchy of classes to become a person having noble and glorious thoughts and deeds like that of the educated and upper class. However, he sees that his “ideals and illusions” about that upper class are his handicaps.
Money, Jack London and “What Life Means to Me”
Then he turns to the remarkable way of becoming rich by investing money in government bonds, but soon he discovers that it is actually a slow way of becoming a rich man. The real way is to start a business, as he experiences by selling newspapers and doubling his earnings at the same spot. This makes him sick of the working class who always use their muscles, which become weary and worn out with labor. Following this, he becomes “The Prince of the Oyster Pirates” and starts his piracy business but soon faces huge losses and leaves it. Finally, he hits upon the idea of using his mind to reach the top, and it works well. With a lot of reading and hard work, he becomes a socialist but finds that all the demagogues, politicians, and other professionals who seemed noble and glorious to him are materialistic, eating up the lower classes through exploitation.
Moreover, he finds the glorious ladies of the upper class very materialistic and “sentimentally selfish.” This leads to his disillusionment with this upper class. He engages in brawls with several people over their hypocrisy and their way of life exploiting the lower classes. By the end, he finds that it is “the same everywhere”: a pursuit of more money and more wealth, often achieved through “crime and betrayal” of other human beings.
Conclusion: Jack London and “What Life Means to Me”
Finally, he becomes so disenchanted with this life of artificiality, crime, and betrayal that he once again joins the working class, where he finds sincerity and faith. By the end, he declares that his faith lies with the working class. In fact, his conclusion is that the pursuit of wealth does not bode well for humanity, as his biographical details provide ample evidence of this.
The essay serves as a critique of capitalism. He posits that on the surface, becoming a rich man may seem glorious and noble, making others feel jealous or envious. However, it involves the exploitation of the lower working class. Even in socialism, the upper crust comprising professionals exploit the lower class by pretending to represent them. However, this is all “crime and betrayal,” prompting him to aspire to return to the same class he had left.
Works Cited: Jack London and “What Life Means to Me”
Williams, James. “The Composition of Jack London’s Writings.” American Literary Realism, 1870-1910, vol. 23, no. 2, 1991, pp. 64–86. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/27746444. Accessed 31 Jan. 2024.
Relevant Questions about Jack London and “What Life Means to Me”
- Jack London and “What Life Means to Me” illuminate the impact of personal experiences and struggles on the essay’s themes and perspectives. How do London’s own challenges shape the narrative within the text?
- How does Jack London, in “What Life Means to Me,” skillfully navigate the complexities of nature and the human condition, utilizing literary devices to convey profound ideas and reflections?
- In “What Life Means to Me,” Jack London’s exploration of the human condition is rooted in the socio-economic context of his time. How do the historical conditions of London’s era shape the essay’s themes, and how do these themes resonate with readers in the present day?