THE GOLD RUSH THEME IN JACK LONDON'S NORTHERN STORIES

Abstract

Jack London's «Northern Stories» is the conventional name of the early writer's works, with which he entered the world literature. The collection is composed of a system of motifs related to the theme of «gold rush». The theme of «gold rush» raises serious problems for barbaric looting of nature to satisfy greed. Jack London reproduced beautiful pictures of nature and at the same time the terrible consequences of human activity in Alaska. The testing theme was the central theme in Jack London’s «Northern Stories». The writer consistently reproduced situations in which a person, remaining alone with danger, was given the opportunity to test their own forces in a difficult struggle against circumstances threatening its existence. Reproducing the realities of everyday life of goldsmiths, Jack London, of course, could not escape the naturalistic detail. But the writer’s proposed interpretation of man strongly opposed the leading concepts of naturalists. In particular, he freed characters from biological dependence: even under the worst circumstances, the heroes of the «Northern Stories» are not helpless – they overcome physical deterioration due to solid positions and moral stability. Characters that Jack London frankly sympathizes with embody the romantic ideal of the author: they are strong personalities who adhere to the laws of brotherhood and justice. One of the main features that permeates all Jack London’s writings about the North is the adventure motif, it unites people of different professions and nationalities, includes the danger, uncertainty and romanticism. Jack London wrote his «Northern Stories» based on his practical experience, in which the cruelty of «white silence», on the one hand, and the romance of the struggle for life, on the other hand, and, moreover, the preservation of the moral person’s face and kindness in situations where could stand only a person who has a strong spirit.