Getting the Perspective: The Northland Stories

Abstract

This chapter centers on the short stories inspired by London’s Klondike Gold Rush experiences, which provided the settings that galvanized the thematic focus of his writing. The major Northland stories are discussed in relation the motifs of literary Naturalism, with a concentrated emphasis on Darwinian themes and London’s depiction of the primal influence of the natural environment. These stories are discussed in relation the complicated issues of imperialism, primitivism, and racialism that recur throughout these texts. The stories ‘To Build a Fire,” “The White Silence,” “The Law of Life,” “In a Far Country,” “Love of Life,” “The League of Old Men” are analyzed in depth.