JACK LONDON By Ryan Antar and Sahil Sheth

Bio  Born in : San Francisco  Birth name: John Griffith Chaney  Born on 1876  Height: N/A  Weight: N/A

Jack London had a very interesting childhood. He never met his real father, William Chaney who was an Astrologer and journalist. When Jack’s mother was pregnant, William denied it being his son so he left Flora and Jack behind. Jacks mother Flora was always with Jack and even got him a wet nurse to take care of him named, Virginia Prentiss. When he was 8 years old he read his first novel called, Signa. Jack’s family moved from place to place and from state to state. He moved from San Francisco to Oakland to Alamanda then back to San Fran. Jack was a hard worker and helped his step dad a lot. He usually worked in the farm but loved to go to sea. He said it cooled him down and let him relax. In 1884, the London family moved to a big ranch in Livermore Valley, San Francisco. He was lonely in his early life, but books made him feel better. He took huge responsibility by delivering newspapers after school. That was a hard job back then and he was still young. He had many jobs after that. He was a pinsetter at the bowling alley. At age thirteen, he left school for good and began to work at Hick Mott’s Cannery. He got 10 cents an hour. He eventually saved enough money to buy a tiny sail boat. Jack’s Childhood

Teenage Years He gave up his jobs so he can sail in the San Francisco Bay. He soon became an expert and a drinker. He began to sell oyster and became an oyster pirate. He soon joined the California Fish Patrol (CFP). In 1892 he quit being a sailor and went back to his parents. He then found a Seal Hunter and wanted to join him on journeys. Jack set off with a Seal Hunter on a journey for seals. Their ship hit a huge storm near Japan. They got through the storm and soon caught hundreds of White Seals. This is when he wrote the book, The Sea Wolf. They returned to San Francisco on August 26, 1893.

The Convict You are probably wondering what Jack London did to get into Jail. He was arrested for Vagrancy or for wondering around town for no good reason. That’s dumb!!!!! He was sentenced for thirty days in jail. He was taken to jail in a dingy train. There were always fights in there. He worked hard in jail. It was very brutal. Many prisoners were ill or many died, but he survived. On July 29, 1894 he was released, but he still experienced brutal, harsh, and aggressive things.

Back To School!!! He began school again in January of He was nineteen when he started High School again. At this age, people graduated. He wrote for the school magazine and was interested in only reading, writing, and English. He loved to discuss politics and often joined political debates. He soon joined the Socialist Labor Party, (SLP). Finally, in the spring of 1896 he dropped out of High School. After he dropped out of School he began to go to Universities. He enrolled for one semester at the University of California, Berkeley. In February of 1897 he dropped out.

The Klondike Jack made a deal with Captain Shepard, his sister’s husband, to go on a journey to the Klondike to get gold to sell for money. Wealth was on the line. On January 25, 1897 they set off for the Klondike. In August 7 they arrived to the Klondike. It took them about 7 months to get to the Klondike. They returned from the Klondike in 1898, due to him getting scurvy. Scurvy is a disease that you get if you have low vitamin C.

His Luck He entered his story, “ An Odyssey of the North” to the Atlantic Monthly Magazine, which was a major magazine company. They accepted his story and gave him 120 dollars. On November 1, Houghton Mifflin would publish all of Jack London’s Klondike Stories. He received checks and cash from random magazine companies that used his stories and articles. On December 25, he signed a book contract. An article company paid him 125 dollars per month for five months. He was called a local celebrity. On December , Jack signed another contract to Macmillian for 150 dollars per month for two years, to publish six books. He began to send books he wrote to random companies to publish. He sent an animal book to the Saturday Evening Post and they accepted and gave him 750 dollars.

The Macmillian CO. Jack received an offer from MacMillian Co, that they will heavily advertise, send his books to book reviewers, print, publish, and illustrate,” The Call of the Wild”. Jack agreed and gave Macmillian CO. 2,000 dollars but for agreeing on the contract he only received 2,750 dollars. He was now considered Famous.

His Love Life His love life was interesting and we believe it had no effect on his writing except for when he wrote White Fang. He married a lovely lady named Bessie. She was serious, young, and thoughtful. Jack eventually bought Flora, his mother another house. On January 15, 1901 Bessie gave birth to a baby girl. Then they had another baby. He began to go on lecture tours. In October 10 of 1905, White Fang was published. He daughters were named Becky and Joan.

His Sad Death Jack London will always be remembered as one of the best writers and men of all time. He died due to uremia and blood poisoning as a result of Kidney failure. This was a slow death. His ashes are in Valley of Moon. He has a grave in the Jack London National Park.

Work Cited 1.Dyer, Daniel. Jack London. New York, Scholastic Press, Book 2. Streissguth, Tom. Jack London. Minneapolis, Lerner Publications Company, Book Books Web Dr. Clarice Stasz. Jack London. 5/26/11. August Pictures from Google Images. Video from Animoto.