Scientific project: Is Martin Eden autobiographical novel?

Scientific project: Is Martin Eden autobiographical novel?

Scientific adviser : Parvina Ismailova

Aims and tasks of the project:

• Analyze author’s biography
• Analyze story “Martin Eden”
• Compare author’s biography with story “Martin Eden”

CONTENT:

• Introduction
• Jack London’s biography
• Jack London’s novel “Martin Eden”
• Main characters
• Difference between Jack London and Martin Eden
• Similarity between Jack London and Martin Eden
• Conclusion

• Jack London is a famous American writer, author of the novel “Martin Eden”, some of the plot lines of which coincided with his life. The novel is autobiographical, but there are many differences. Now I want to tell you about him and his creative work, what is the main meaning of the novel “Martin Eden” and find out if novel “Martin Eden” autobiographical novel or not.

Biography.

Jack London was born in 1876 in San Francisco. His real name was John Griffith. His father was a farmer. His family was extremely poor and the boy had to earn his living after school. He hold newspapers, worked at factory. Later he became a sailor; during some time he wandered with the unemployed. For a year he attended the Oakland High school and spent a semester at the University of California, but as he had no money he had to stop his studies and went to work again.

This time it was a laundry. In 1897 he went o the Klondike as a gold miner. His first short story was published in 1898.

• Jack London has gained wide recognition outside of America, especially in Russia. His beautiful story "Love of life" liked Lenin very much. Gorky, Kuprin, Leonid Andreev spoke warmly about him. He promoted Russian culture. Jack London supported the Russian revolution of 1905.

Life in London was very rich with impressions. The artist's instinct did not leave him even in the most difficult moments. Once in swimming, the yacht ran out of water and travelers for weeks thirsty. Once when it became unbearable, London went to the cabin and after a few hours, read them a story about a sailor, escaped from the ship and dying without water in the ocean, saved by the rain. the next day, a downpour fell on the deck of their yacht.

• Syndrome Martin Eden is when a person aspires to some goal , and upon reaching it begins to realize that everything that he previously loved and believed in is a lie that is not worth any attention.

• During the 16 years of his literary career Jack London published about 50 books: short stories, novels and essays. In his best stories London described the severe life and struggle of people against nature. He died at the age of 40 in 1916

Martin Eden

Martin Eden is a 1909 novel by Jack London about a young proletarian autodidact struggling to become a writer. It was first serialized in The Pacific Monthly magazine from September 1908 to September 1909 and published in book form by Macmillan in September 1909. Martin Eden is the story of the rise and tragedy of the writer. The story of his nomination, his incredible success. In his autobiographical novel Jack London argues that only the most persistent manages to break through, and this endless struggle takes all.

• Martin Eden is the main character of the novel “Martin Eden”. He is a sailor from the working class, who became a famous writer. His path was very difficult. Initially, his works were rejected by publications. He lived in poverty for years. Inside the hard work achieved his goals, but this did not please him anymore. The girl he loved did not really loved him, and was sure that he would not succeed in writing. Gradually his forces were constable. He committed the suicide by throwing himself into the sea.

• Ruth Morse

Ruth Morse is a bright, kind, rich girl from high society, Martin's lover. She helped him study. Ruth did not want Martin to become a lawyer and did not believe that sooner or later he would succeed and writing would become his profession. Under the influence of her parents, she broke off the engagement.

• Lizzie Connolly is a kind and devoted girl from the working classes who really loved Martin. It is not important rich or poor, famous or not.

• Russ Brissenden is Martin's best friend. Only Brissenden really understood him. He recognized Eden's talent and advised him to write stories for himself, not for journalists. Commit suicide.

• Gertrude Higginbotham is Martin Eden's sister. She was very kind and caring. Gertrude invited him to dinner several times, offered him money.

• Maria Silva is a kind woman from whom Martin Eden rented a house. When Martin became rich, he bought her the dairy farm she had always dreamed of.

• Joe is an acquaintance of Martin Eden with whom they survived the hard and exhausting work of laundry.

Difference

Jack London

Martin Eden

Member of the socialist party

Considers the socialists slaves and idiots

First story was published

Twice married; father of 2 daughters

Magazine refused to print a story

Ruth is the only love

Lifelong alcohol addiction

Refused alcohol

Jack London

Studied at Oakland High school, spent a semester at the University of California. Read a lot of books

Martin Eden

Studied by himself. Ruth helped him in this.

Had scurvy, anemia.

Had mighty health

Took a lethal dose of morphine

Rushed into the sea

Similarity

• Birth in poor family
• In early youth he wanted to break up
• First story was written after sailing
• They tried to earn money to become worthy of beloved.
• Influence of Heckenber Spencer
• Exhausting labor at sea and laundry
• Fame did not came immediately
• Success brought money
• Suicide death

• During some time they were sailors
• Fast learning
• At the beginning of their literary career nobody noticed them
• When they had no money, they stopped writing and looked for work. But soon as they had some money, they stopped working and began to write again
• They succeeded by their own efforts

Conclusion

“ It is not good to people, fulfillment of their desires”- said Geraklid. And the more strong desire, the more unexpected and severe can be payment. I thought about it, reading autobiographical novel of Jack London “Martin Eden”.

How much ambition Martin Eden put on love! All his life was concluded on the love of Ruth!

We must understand that Martin’s task was executed only because of his phenomenal physical and intellectual abilities. Any other man will come to the aim many years later. He needed just to reach Ruth, stand on one level with her, but he, absorbed by greatness of task, surpassed not just himself, he absorbed plank he must get over. And this subsequently led him to internal crisis and catastrophe.

I am sure that he would be able to endure all these attacks stoically. He was overwhelmed by excessive faith in love. Feeling to Ruth wore a religious character. And life threw the dodders of the pedestal. It should be noted that such cases in life are not uncommon, they are commonplace. But people continue to dream, soar in the clouds, to one day with horror make sure that the ideal of harsh reality drawn in imagination does not much. Until I read biography of Jack London I didn’t understand, why Martin Eden commits suicide. Emptiness and loss of faith – all this, of course, crisis moments in life, that lead a person to alcohol abuse. Surely the author left some lagoon in his biography, hid from readers the real motives of his act.

Doubt caused me that London after ten years writing an autobiographical novel also committed suicide. It means that he knew in advance that he didn’t consider it necessary to mention in “Martin Eden”! In the work of Goethe also shot himself, but the author didn’t follow his example.

• It turns out that several times year Jack London was tormented by uncontrollable bouts of despondency during which he was trying to commit suicide. Jack didn’t lie. It is just uncomfortable for him to write about it. He was probably trying to cope with his attacks. XX century was marked by an incredible number of suicides among famous writers. Among them: Jack London, Sergey Yesenin, Vladimir Mayakovski, Marina Svetaeva, Stefan Zweig, Jukio Masima, Ernest Hemminge.
• About the suicides of the writers said that that they commit suicide in moments of spiritual weakness. I’m sure that such representations is wrong. The fact is in that all these people were brave life-loving people and in the moment of depression to their death led all the same inexhaustible, indestructible, inhuman life force. Especially good it was shown in “Martin Eden”, where the hero, who has rushed into the sea, desperately resists surfacing, forcing himself to dive deeper and deeper.
• Jack London’s novel “Martin Eden” evokes thirst for life, self-affirmation and self-sacrifice. And it is most valuable. It is energy of thought and action encouraging us to create out own lives

List of using literature:

• The book by Jack London “Martin Eden”
• www.wikipedia.ru
• www.google.com