Jack London And Martin Eden: Pursuit And Disillusion Of American Dream; Theories And Techniques Uaed In Martin Eden

Jack London (1876-1916), a modern and productive writer in America, is one of the most famous realist novelists in the world. He wrote many novels, among which Martin Eden, is the most famous and successful one. Martin Eden is regarded as the writer's autobiographical novel. Jack London uses this image to describe a tragedy of the intellectuals. This paper compares the differences and the similarities of the writer and the hero, and analyzes the reason why they pursue the American Dream and why they are doomed to fail and uses some theories to show Jack London's and even the hero's belief.The American Dream originated in the colonial period of America when Benjamin Franklin was famous for his success through his persistent self-improvement. The American Dream let people think that they should try their best to make their dreams come true, although many of them failed. Just like the novel The Joy Luck Club which reflects the American Dream, when the reality conflicts with dream, the dream will be shattered.The thesis is principally divided into five parts. Chapter one presents the writer's life experience and his works. Chapter two presents literature review and a brief introduction to the work—Martin Eden. The third chapter, the more important part of the thesis, analyzes the reason why they pursue the American Dream and why they are doomed to fail. Chapter four uses some theories of Spencer to show Jack London's and even the hero's belief, the naturalistic and realistic techniques used in Martin Eden. The last chapter is the conclusion.