8A – Select one of Stephen Crane’s poems included in the module and explain how it expresses a naturalist approach to writing and/or draws upon the philosophical perspective of determinism. Incorporate at least one direct quotation from the selected poem in a response of at least 200 – 250 words.
As PDF: Crane poems.pdf
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from War Is Kind “[Do not weep Maiden]” (1899) http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/177117
(Links to an external site.)
“A Man Said to the Universe” (1899) http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173305
(Links to an external site.)
“God Lay Dead In Heaven” (1895) https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/God_lay_dead_in_heaven
(Links to an external site.)
Bonus Short Story
As PDF: the-bride-comes-to-yellow-sky.pdf
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“The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky” originally appeared in McClure’s Magazine in 1898
8B – How does Jack London steer the reader to favorably accept the protagonist’s choice in “South of the Slot?” What does this reveal potentially about London’s attitude toward social class in U.S. society at the turn of the century. Support your reasoning with at least one direct quotation from the short story in a response of at least 200 – 250 words.
Jack London wrote more than 50 books, including naturalist classics The Call of the Wild (1903) and White Fang (1906), both of which depict the struggle for survival through allegories of animals that represent elemental human characteristics.
Born in San Francisco in 1876, out of wedlock, his early biography has gaps in its documentation. He dropped out of school when he was a young teenager and worked at many jobs, including oyster fishing in the San Francisco Bay, serving on fish patrol to capture poachers, and sailing the Pacific on a sealing ship. When he returned home, he joined Kelly’s Army (unemployed working men) and hoboed around the country. London educated himself at public libraries with the writings of Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, and Friedrich Nietzsche, usually in popularized forms and was drawn to the ideals of early socialist thinkers. At the age of 19, he returned to high school but quit again to follow the gold rush.
London spent the winter of 1897 in the Yukon, which provided him the “gold” for his first stories. He began to publish in the Overland Monthly, in 1899. Although he became the highest-paid writer in the United States at that time, his earnings never matched his expenditures, and he was never freed of the urgency of writing for money.
London was troubled by physical ailments, beginning in his 30s. He developed a kidney disease of unknown origin and died of renal failure on November 22, 1916, at his ranch, at the age of 40.
We will read London’s short story “South of the Slot” first published in the Saturday Evening Post, a popular magazine known for its many covers by Norman Rockwell.
PDF: London_South of the Slot.pdf
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Link at Saturday Evening Post archives: https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2017/04/south-slot-jack-london/
(Links to an external site.)
Bonus: short video clip of San Francisco, London’s hometown, c. 1900 – the clip ends abruptly but was going to transition into talking about the great fire the city experienced.
200-250 words for part A AND B
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