Mythes et Héros LV2 Anglais

Notion 1 : Spaces and exchanges

Jack London and the pioneer spirit

Introduction

I'm going to deal with the notion spaces and exchanges and the theme about which we are going to speak is Jack London and the pioneer spirit.

First, we can make a fast chronology of the US.

Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492.

The pilgrims father arrived in 1620, on board a boat, the Mayflower, and established the first colony.

Afterwards, the 13 British colonies declared their independence in 1776.

The French sold Louisiana in 1803 widening the US territory by a third of its existing surface.

Spain ceded Florida in 1819.

Then Texas was annexed by the US in 1845. Later on, Mexico ceded California in 1848.

In 1867, the US purchased Alaska from Russia.

1890 is the end of the conquest of the west. A census reveals that there is no longer a frontier.

The frontier in the US is not a border between 2 countries. It is the border between wilderness and civilization.

The frontier is also a mindset/a spirit.

It is a spirit of conquest, expansion, individualism,...

• Now that the conquest is over, the question is : what is going to become of the pioneer spirit ? Is the US going to become like the old Europe or is this spirit going to be transformed into something  else ?

We shall see in first the pioneer spirit transposed to capitalism, and after the pioneer spirit preserved in literature.

1. The pioneer spirit transposed to capitalism

Jack London is a writer who was born in 1876.

This date is a turning point in the history of America. He was born at the same time as modern America was born.

He was a sailor, a ranger, a reporter and the most famous writer of his time. He was an observer and a participant : he travelled a lot, he had exotic experiences.

He was born in San Fransisco (where the God Rush started in 1849). So he was born at the core of the  America adventure.

In this period America is changing :

• immigration from Europe
• industrialization and technical progress : skyscrapers are being built, electric tramways are set up, the railways is developing.

It is a period of prosperity for some billionaires (Rockefeller, John Morgan..), but there is a gap between those financiers and the poor classes which are exploited.

˃ the pioneer spirit has not disappeared. It has been transferred to the conquest of new markets, of new techniques. It has been transferred to capitalism.

Jack London had the pioneer spirit :

he adapted to any circumstances : he was a factory worker, an oyster pirate, a seal hunter, he became a vagrant and he also wrote some stories which earned him a price.

He has the coarseness of the pioneers : he worked hard and travelled 1,200 miles, he was homeless.

He also wanted to improve his situation : he resigned when he realized he was exploited for the sake of profit.

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