The Heathen by Jack Landon

 The Heathen by  Jack Landon

Introduction : 

Jack London, pseudonym of John Griffith Chaney, (born January 12, 1876, San Francisco, California, U.S.—died November 22, 1916, Glen Ellen, California), American novelist and short-story writer whose best-known works—among them The Call of the Wild (1903) and White Fang (1906)—depict elemental struggles for survival. During the 20th century he was one of the most extensively translated of American authors.

  

London educated himself at public libraries with the writings of Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, and Friedrich Nietzsche, usually in popularized forms. At 19 he crammed a four-year high school course into one year and entered the University of California, Berkeley, but after a year he quit school to seek a fortune in the Klondike gold rush. Returning the next year, still poor and unable to find work, he decided to earn a living as a writer.

 

NOTABLE WORKS

“The Call of the Wild”

“To Build a Fire”

“The Iron Heel”

“Martin Eden”

“The Sea-Wolf”

“White Fang”

“The Cruise of the Snark”

“Burning Daylight”.

Introduction : 

The title of the short story 'The Heathen' is describe a strange world. The meaning of this word is a 'person who doesn't believe in God', an etheist the narrator meets Otoo. 'The Heathen' during his Journey in the Pecific and then he remains with the narrator for 17 years. The story highlights greater qualities of the Heathen.

              'The Heathen' like many other American story highlights the adventures in the mid of the Sea. It shows how the narrator and Otoo spend life together at various partrs of the world. It also introduces the character sketch of Otoo as a nobel human being the story shows how a white man, the narrator and a native, belonging to ab Island and developed friendship. 'The Heathen' introduces mainly two characters the narrator himself and Otoo. Jack London draws the character sketch of Otoo very powerfully. he is a kind, nobel and more than a family member to the narrator. He is peaceful by nature. Here no any female character.

The Heathen is a short story which introduces us the life of sailors through Jack London's eyes.it takes readers into a different world of sea,ships,sailors,buyers of pearls & different territories.

It introduced Jack's racist ideas with his experiences.as a sailor,to make a truly humanist tale of two macho sailors who maintains an unbreakable 17 years bond. The story highlights the dangerous at the Pacific ocean very closely.

The story is narrated by first person singular. The narrator comes as a Pearl buyer.on the middle way,the ship faces many hurdles like small pox,a deadly disease which claims many lives in the ship.then a terrible Strom damaged the ship very badly.

The narrator luckily survives himself & with the heathen,Otoo visits other parts of the sea. Otoo becomes like a brother.he makes money in certain business too.on the way, the narrator about to be swallowed by a shark,but Otoo comes in between & saved him.unfortunately he lost his life himself.

In short,the story leads into the world of sea life. It also shows the bond of him with Otoo & lay man's sacrifice for him.