JACK LONDON QUESTIONS FOR E222 AMERICAN LITERATURE
CSU FULLERTON, FALL 2014
EMAIL | SYLLABUS | POLICIES | QUESTIONS | PRESENTATIONS | JOURNALS | PAPER | EXAM
Note: see Journals page for details on keeping your journal.
Assigned: London, Jack. From “What Life Means to Me” (Norton Vol. D 917-20). From Tales of the Pacific (Penguin edition): “The House of Mapuhi” (31-53); “Koolau the Leper” (135-50); “The Bones of Kahekili” (151-73). Not assigned this semester: “Mauki (64-79); “The Sheriff of Kona” (121-34).
From “What Life Means to Me” (Norton Vol. D 917-20)
1. How does Jack London describe his early life experience in his essay “What Life Means to Me” (published in Cosmopolitan in 1906)? What does he have to say about labor, workers and the capitalists who employ them? How, as he recounts it, did his experiences shape his thoughts on the course he must follow in the future?
2. How much of the revolutionary philosophy in the 1906 essay “What Life Means to Me” can you find either directly or indirectly in one or more of the Jack London short stories we are reading, which were the product of his voyages through the Pacific Ocean aboard the ship he called the Snark?
“The House of Mapuhi” (Penguin 31-53)
3. From 29-36 of “The House of Mapuhi,” why does the native Mapuhi of Fakarava atoll (French Polynesia), who has found a remarkably large and high-quality pearl, want a house including various amenities built for him as payment rather than accepting cash? What kind of deal does the trader Alexandré Raoul offer him, and what terms does he end up getting from another trader, Toriki? What do his family members think of the deal, and why?
4. From 37-45 of “The House of Mapuhi,” the great cyclone of 1903 (this was an actual event in which nearly four hundred people lost their lives) comes on, ravaging Hikueru atoll where the story is set. How does Jack London convey the power of this cyclone? Moreover, what inflection of his favorite theme “man vs. nature” does the extended description offer when we factor in the segment’s focus on the struggles of trader Alexandré Raoul?
5. On 45-46 of “The House of Mapuhi,” the narrative shifts briefly to Mapuhi’s survival (as well as Raoul’s), and then moves strongly on 46-51 to an account of the successful struggle of Mapuhi’s mother Nauri to ride out the storm once she is torn away from Mapuhi, his wife Tefara and their daughter Ngakura. What trials does Nauri undergo before and after washing up on tiny Takokota island, and what qualities does she summon to overcome them?
6. On 51-53 of “The House of Mapuhi,” the narrative cuts to the hut of Mapuhi and Tefara, who are arguing about how Mapuhi managed to get more or less robbed of his pearl by the now-deceased trader Tariki and has nothing to show for it. Into this domestic dispute comes Nauri, who is at first feared to be a ghost. But what news does she bring home with her, and how does it change things for the family as well as perhaps adding a symbolic dimension to the story?
“Koolau the Leper” (Penguin 135-50)
7. On 135-39 of “Koolau the Leper,” Koolau makes a speech to his small group of fellow sufferers in the wilds of Kaua’i Island, all of whom are trying to avoid internment in a leper camp on Moloka’i Island. In this speech, how does Koolau assess the situation and prospects of himself and his band of followers?
8. On 139-43 of “Koolau the Leper,” the sheriff pursuing Koolau makes his best attempt to capture the diseased fugitive. How does that attempt turn out? What kind of ethical and martial qualities does Koolau show as the white men or “haoles” (foreigners) try to hem him in and capture him?
9. On 143-50 of “Koolau the Leper,” soldiers shell Koulau’s refuge, his band of followers surrenders, and he is left to fend off his captors alone. Trace his emotions and reflections as he progresses from hunted fugitive to dying man: what qualities in the man persist? What has he proven by virtue of having eluded his would-be captors for so long?
10. General question about “Koolau the Leper”: how would you characterize Jack London’s strategy for representing the condition called leprosy? How does he make the narrator describe the disease and picture it forth for us? What do you think is the intended aim of such a representational strategy?
“The Bones of Kahekili” (Penguin 151-73)
11. On 151-53 top, Hardman Pool’s personal history is recounted while he sleeps. What is that story, and how is he currently regarded by the Hawaiians whose chief he has become?
12. On 153-57 top, Hardman Pool wakes up and dispenses advice and help. Then, from 157-60, he begins talking with old Kumuhana. What does Hardman want to learn from this man, and how does he go about getting him to talk – what is Hardman’s strategy in dealing with Kumuhana?
13. On 161-73, Kumuhana tells his story, which harbors the secret of where “the bones of Kahekili” ended up. What are the highlights of the story the old man tells? What can we ourselves learn from it about this particular slice of Hawaiian culture – about matters of social rank, love, matters of life and death?
14. On 161-73, Kumuhana tells his story, which harbors the secret of where “the bones of Kahekili” ended up. The previous question asked about the highlights of the story, so there’s no need here to dwell on that. But what does Hardman Pool learn from Kumuhana; more particularly, why is it so important to him (a man in the odd position of being the elderly white chief to a group of native Hawaiians) to learn the secret that Kumuhana grudgingly coughs up
Edition: “What Life Means to Me” (Norton Vol. D 917-20). From Tales of the Pacific (Penguin edition): “The House of Mapuhi” (31-53); “Koolau the Leper” (135-50); “The Bones of Kahekili” (151-73).