Reference no: EM13130610 , Length: 806 words

• -There is some short stories need to read but just choice answer THREE questions only, please. 
  
  • -There is some short stories need to read but just choice answer THREE questions only, please. 
  • BOOK: The Portable Jack London
• Readings of London's Short Fiction from The Portable Jack London:
  • "The Law of Life"
  • "The Apostate"
  • "The Chinago"
  • "To Build a Fire" (1908 version)
  • "The Night-Born"
  • "A Piece of Steak"

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"What Life Means to Me" and "How I Became A Socialist"

1. How are politics and/or class structure central to the ideas and views London articulates in "What Life Means to Me" and/or "How I Became of Socialist"?

"The Law of Life"

1. At the end of "The Law of Life," does Koshkoosh go down with dignity, or does he just give up on life? Or does London depict Koshkoosh's death somewhere in between heroism and cowardice? Explain your view.
2. What kind of philosophical world-view does Koshkoosh articulate in "The Law of Life"? Do you agree with his views? Does the story imply that life is not worth living?

"The Apostate"

1. Given the conditions his mother and siblings will have to endure and given his own needs and rights as an individual, do you feel that it is morally correct for Johnny to leave his family at the end of "The Apostate"?
2. How are the descriptions and images of machines and the factory thematically significant in "The Apostate"?

"The Night-Born"

1. Evaluate London's characterization of Lucy. What does she represent for Trefethan and for you as a reader? Is she merely a male fantasy or a liberated, self-determining female, or a little of both?
2. Describe exactly why you feel Trefethan fails in this story, and explain how his failure is central to the core point of the story.

"The Chinago"

1. Select what you feel is the core passage in "The Chinago" and discuss how it reveals the central idea or point London is making in this story.
2. Describe the cultural clash that forms the core conflict of "The Chinago." How is the story a criticism of cultural blindness (or stereotyping), and how is it a critique of imperialism and the pressures to "make a profit"?

"A Piece of Steak"

1. What exactly does Tom King come to realize over the course of "A Piece of Steak"?
2. If the "boxing game" represents the larger "dog-eat-dog" world of capitalism, what kind of social critique is London making through this story? How does Tom King's plight recall some of the ideas London expresses in "What Life Means to Me" or "How I Became a Socialist"?

"To Build a Fire"

1. Explain in detail what the man lacks in comparison with a.) the "old-timer of Sulphur Creek" (wisdom) and b.) the dog (instinct)? What are the major flaws in his character, actions, and attitudes that lead to his demise?