Martin Eden :: essays papers

Martin Eden Jack London, prestigious author of Martin Eden writes his opinions into his work. Aspects of different societies are prevalent throughout his work and the class struggle between different classes of characters is apparent in his writing. Although not an autobiography much of his writing can appear to include his personal views on life. Martin Eden, the protagonist created by London begins as a petty seaman works his his way to the upper class of society. Through self-determination and self-education he is able to become a member of the bourgeois. Writers with styles similar to London in that they all write in the same style in that shows the struggle of the poor and their climb to the upper class only to see that it reveals a faux ideal. Alice Hoffman author of Here On Earth appears to hold many of the same beliefs as Martin which are seen throughout her novel. Martin Eden was forced to make his own living. Eden was never given anything and had to work to gain everything he wanted. Everyday struggles included finding the simple necessities of food and shelter. As a poor sailor, Eden looked around and saw the ideals of the bourgeois. Through the eyes of Eden the Bourgeois were the educated, wealthy, and were what Martin desired to become. He dreams of becoming educated and belonging to the upper class; ultimately he finds one small connection that opens up a new world to the once struggling seaman. Although later disproved, his first impressions of this class were seen from an outsider^s view as perfect. ^Here was intellectual life, he thought, and here was beauty, warm and wonderful as he had never dreamed it could be.^ (p. 40) Martin comes into contact with a family that introduces him to this new world. The Morse family was all Martin dreamed of, he viewed them, as them part of a perfect society and Ruth was the focal point of it.! Ruth was heavenly like a flower; her culture and sophistication stimulated him. Introduction to this new class surprised Martin. The library, a new idea to him, becomes his new haven. Although he lacked both the time and money necessary for a traditional education between sailing he began his way to self-education. In the beginning Martin was separated from Ruth because of their class difference, but as this yearning for education developed he and Ruth become involved. ^He wasn^t of their tribe, and he couldn^t talk their lingo was the way he put it to himself. He couldn^t fake being their kind.^ (p. 51) Although he wasn^t born any with any of these ^privileges^ he made it his business