Eco-Socialist Ideas In Jack London’s Martin Eden

Jack London is a brilliant representative of American literature from the late 19th century to the early 20th century.Despite his short lifespan,he devoted himself to his writing career and played an important role in social activities.He was a novelist,journalist and social activist,Martin Eden,as one of his masterpiece,narrates the formation and development of an artist.Eden rejects socialism,attacking it as "slave morality" and relies on humanism,and Jack London rejects capitalism,which is a key concept of eco-socialism.On the basis of David Pepper’s Eco-socialism theory,which merges socialism and capitalism,and concentrate on the development without harming the nature,this thesis analyzes the life experience of the protagonist in Martin Eden in order to reveal Jack London’s Eco-socialist ideas and to ring the alarm for contemporary society.Chapter one concentrates on the humanistic ideas of Martin Eden.According to David Pepper,eco-socialism is anthropocentric and humanist theory.In this novel,Martin is a man of strength and spirit,a simple worker,and a sailor from a working class family.However,a girl named Ruth from a noble wealthy family falls in love with him due to his sincere and powerful nature.The power of love makes miracle and Martin takes on the hard road of self-education and spiritual growth.After making titanic efforts,he becomes a real writer.This chapter mainly studies Martin Eden’s personality,his love to Ruth,and the artistic conception of Martin Eden.Chapter two unpacks Martin Eden from the angle of socialism with an emphasis on the economy.London,dissatisfied with the rewards of his own success,intended Martin Eden,an impoverished seaman who pursues,obsessively and aggressively,dreams of education and literary fame,as an attack on individualism and a criticism of ambition.In the novel,Martin Eden’s political view is a combination of socialistic ideology and capitalistic structure,which is in line with David Pepper’s Eco-socialism theory.In this chapter,the political views of Martin Eden and the conception of poverty will be analyzed.In the third chapter,the harmony of human and nature will be explored.The symbolism of water has a universal undertone of purity and fertility,which has renewed by our research.There is a tight connection of Martin’s drowning into the sea and finding a peace in the water.