Outside Reading #2

Jack London has a very specific voice in his novel, "The Son of the Wolf". A very good example that shows much of the voice is as follows:

"Then came the expected knock, sharp and confident, and the stranger entered. Dazzled by the light, he hesitated a moment at the door, giving to all a chance for scrutiny. He was a striking personage, and a most picturesque one, in his Arctic dress of wool and fur. Standing six foot two or three, with proportionate breadth of shoulders and depth of chest, his smooth-shaven face nipped by the cold to a gleaming pink, his long lashes and eyebrows white with ice, and the ear and neck flaps of his great wolfskin cap loosely raised, he seemed, of a verity, the Frost King, just stepped in out of the night."(106)
Jack London uses a great deal of descriptive writing in his book. Every new character or setting has at least a page dedicated to its description. The fact that everything is situated really helps add to one's understanding of the story, especially as an outsider that has never been to the Yukon. Many of the descriptions share the same tones. This passage has a tone that is very impressed and awe inspired. In this case, the character becomes framed in a sort of formidable appearance. This gives him much more power in the story, because the first impression of him is almost that of royalty. London even mentions that he seems to be a "Frost King". Jack London's voice is very formal and serious, yet it is still nonchalant. He has a dry yet quite descriptive manner of writing. He is also very knowledgeable about the subject of the Yukon and the types of people in it.

Outside reading #1

"Here is Jack London, writer of The Son Of The Wolf. He is also the author of The Call of the Wild, White Fang, and The Sea Wolf. Nice to have you on the show Jack."
"Its good to be here."
"So Jack, tell me a little bit about why you started writing, for example, where does your inspiration come from?"
"Well Simon, as you may know, I went to Cal, mostly to pursue my passion for writing. However; I eventually dropped out of school to try my luck at the Alaska Gold Rush, also known as the Klondike. I lived in very harsh conditions for a winter, and at one point I even got scurvy because of our lack of fresh foods. It was during this time that I became acquainted with many of the situations that I described in my books."
"Hmm interesting. Here is a quote from "The Son of the Wolf" that I found very interesting: "Man rarely places a proper valuation upon his womankind, at least not until deprived of them. [. . .] But the hunger will continue and become stronger; he will lose interest in the things of his every-day life and wax morbid; and one day, when the emptiness has become unbearable, a revelation will dawn upon him."(21) Much of the book is written in much the same tone, lack of female contact being a prominent recurring theme throughout the story. Do you have any reasons for this prominence?"
"The Yukon is one of the most lonely, cruel places I have ever been, and I went on my voyage there with only one other man, my brother-in-law. I felt exactly as I wrote, that the emptiness soon became unbearable."
"You truly do write like one who has true experience, the story even feels like non fiction, due to a tone of knowingness. Its been great to talk to you. Thank you for coming on the show."
"It has been my pleasure."
"For more information on Jack London visit http://london.sonoma.edu/jackbio.html or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_London. Tune in next time on NPR."
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