... category of forces which man has been unable to tame. Ernest Hemingway's novella "The Old Man and the Sea" and Jack London's short story "To build a Fire" put both powers on display. Man tragically struggling against the elements is the key theme to both stories. ... In a struggle, or battle, true men will show honor in defeat and serenity in death. Death will inevitably come, and the comparison of ... death with life makes up a central concept in both stories. The idea of some type of ... according to his own observation: "man is not made for defeat [a] man can be destroyed but not def...

• Word Count: 1216
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... -fighting in general that I wrote "The Game". With this intimate realism, London took boxing out of the realm of disreputable topics and set is on a respectable literary course that extends from A.J. Liebling to Ernest Hemingway to Joyce Carol Oates. The familiarity of London's boxing writing testifies to its profound influence on later literary commentators on the sport, while the story told by " ... The Game" remains one of the most powerful and evocative portraits ever given of prizefighters in the grip of their passion. 1905 Tales of the Fish Patrol 1906 Moon-Face and Other Stories Ja...

• Word Count: 1888
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... to marry Charmian Kittredge. In 1901 London ran unsuccessfully on the Socialist party ticket for mayor of Oakland. He started to produce steadily novels, non-fiction and short stories, becoming in his lifetime one of the most popular authors. London had early built his system of producing a daily quota of thousand words, which he did not give up during his travels and drinking periods. London's first ... novel, THE SON OF THE WOLF, appeared in 1900. London had purchased in 1910 a large tract of land near Glen Ellen in Sonoma ... and Nietzsche. In his later years London was interested i...

• Word Count: 2465
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: High School