Universidad Latina

Faculty of Social Studies

English Language Teaching

Professor: Jonathan Acuña

Marxist Approach

Archetypal Approach

The Golden Poppy

By Jack London

Analysis

By Erik García

July 15, 2016

Jack London (1876- 1916)

Jack London was born on January 12, 1876 and had the given name of John Griffith

Cheney. His father left both him and his mother, Flora Wellman, at young age so she

remarried a man named John London and Jack took his last name London. London left

school at the age of fourteen to escape poverty and seek adventure. Some of his

adventures included a fish patrol in San Francisco bay and military service in Japan. He

joined Kelly`s industrial army which was a protestant army against the unemployment.

When he was nineteen he took four years of high school in a matter of a year. Later, he

entered the University of California, Berkeley, but after a year he quit to seek a fortune in

the Klondike gold rush of 1987. Returning from it he educated himself at public libraries

with the writings of Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, and Frierich Nietzsche. In span of

seventeen years he wrote fifty pieces of literature. In 1900 London married Bess Madden.

The couple had two daughters together. Their marriage lasted only five years and in 1905

following his divorce with Bess, London married Charmian Kittredge, whom he would be

for the rest of his life. In so much, London was a prominent writer in the early 20th century.

In the present London`s works are viewed as daring adventures and reminiscent on the

past economic opportunities and a very good window to the past American dream and

identity.

The Golden Poppy is a blue print of what Karl Marx and Engels wrote in 1848 in the

“Communist Manifesto”. Thus, Karl Marx wrote, “The history of all hitherto existing society

is the history of class struggles.” Very interesting quote which definitely plays a huge role

in this short story by laying its basic foundations. No one denies that it is conspicuously

to see how the rich are so disconnected from the life struggles of the poor. An example

of this disconnection is seen in the following excerpt,

I felt a sudden shame, I know not why, unless it be that his words had just

made clear to me that a monetary as well as an aesthetic value was attached

to my flowers. The apparent sordidness of my position overwhelmed me, and I

said weakly: “I do not sell my poppies.” (The Golden Poppy, pag, 6)

As mentioned before the capitalist society is disconnected from what the poor are

struggling. London says in words all that he hates; to be sure, the author is exemplifying

a systematic social problem which selects only the best and annihilates the poor.

Admittedly, the story is an embodiment of the capitalism. Fist, because the main

character is depicted as a good investor who owns one of the best portion of land in

California. The main character describes it as follows: “I am each month reinvested with

certain proprietary rights in a poppy field. This field blazes on the rim of the Piedmont Hills

beneath lies all the world.” (The Golden Poppy, pag, 1). The story contributes to illustrate

the terms “Bourgeois” which Engels rendered as follows,

The class of modern capitalist owners of the means of social production and

employers of wage and labor (Edit Academy, 2014).

This serves to clarify why also the main character says that with his property would

stir up envy among his neighbors, so there is this feeling that the capitalist society always

lives by “keeping up with Joneses”. The story also depicts another class of the capitalist

society: the proletarians, who represent the rest of the people who do not have a land to

cultivate nor poppies and they are force to steal poppies in the main character`s field.

Similarly, the proletarian are also subjugated to the rich because they have no chance

but to follow the rules imposed by the owner of the land. In this case, the owner whose

name is not mentioned has put out signs that forbid trespassers to come into his field. As

the story progresses, the protagonist does get very demanding when he dreams about

shooting them in their legs. In respect to this last aspect, I do not want to get too political

about it but for one thing the rich sometimes resort into using the force in order to quell

riots that may spark when people feel that their load is unbearable. Therefore, according

to Sociologist John Macionis,

The wealthy and the working poor have opposing interests and are separated

by a vast gulf of wealth and power making class conflict inevitable. (Brainy

Quotes, 2016)

Behold the quote above, it does help to explain why the upper class live a life of

leisure and abundance while those in the lower class live lives of hardships and poverty.

According to Marx the one thing that determines the classes is who owns the means of

production. John London has this cunning ability to show the disdain that both classes

experience in the many encounters that the main character has with the Goths. One

example is the following,

I went into the bungalow and fetched my rifle: Flourishing it in a sanguinary

manner and scowling fearsomely, I charged upon the invaders. The little girl

fled, screaming, to the shelter of the pines, but the woman calmly went on

picking. (The Golden Poppy,pag,4)

Clearly London shows how Capitalism destroys Human beings in order to acquire

power. He also shows how the upper class society are only concerned about their

happiness, this is viewed in the following extract, “We shall have great joy in our poppy

field” said Bess. “Yes,” said I. This fundamental inequality is the most conspicuous feature

in a capitalist society- and one that London clearly amplifies.

It may be that the story was intended to exemplify the gruesome results from the

capitalism that London so cunningly implements several archetypes in the story. Initially,

some heroic archetypes are: the owner of the land who acts as ruler or may represent the

local government. Picture this, the government owns land and has the power over the

people so London makes sure that his main character has the sufficient land and money

to stand out in his community. Another archetype that fits completely on this story is the

rebel. Again, London has many rebels on this story who like most revolutionist are trying

to survive and by doing so they result in stealing from the rich folks.

In addition to this, the other archetype that stands out in the story is the color

yellow. This color is mentioned throughout the narrative numerous times. Although the

color yellow is link to spirituality I think that for this story is link to the search of better

opportunities. Admittedly, most of the poor people who go to this poppy feel are making

a quest to find a better fortune. Shockingly enough is the fact that London himself had

been a miner and for all those treasure hunters gold means a way out of poverty. Thereby,

most of the people who are poor are looking for work or ways to make their livelihood.

Correlate it to this is the title which takes the color yellow and transforms it into golden.

This title serves as an archetype to the overall theme of the story. For example, gold is

the most precious metal in the face of earth and yet is the most expensive and difficult to

find, so with the title the author is trying to show us that the quest and the straggle that

this people grapple with is about material things that in the end may serve as source of

livelihood.

Embedded in the story is the archetype that represents the wisdom over educated

stupidity. Indeed, the main character has this cunning ability to carry out by all means his

will. He first tries it with signs in order to keep everyone of his property, but that did not

work, then, he tries with sirens and neither; finally he confiscate it and that work just fine.

This last one brings about good results as is portrayed in the following example,

Confiscation was successful, so far as it went, but I had forgotten one thing;

namely, the vast number of the city folk. Though the old transgressors came

no more, new ones arrived every day, and I found myself confronted with the

titanic task of educating a whole city. (The Golden Poppy, pag, 5).

It is clear to see how this short story has an infinity amount of archetypes that server to

amplify the fact that London abhorred capitalism. One last archetype in the story are the

flowers. Now, despite the fact that yellow is an archetype one thing that a capitalist society

cannot miss to expose is their opulence. The main character which I assume is an old

man, has no other way to show his status and money but with a beautiful garden. In my

opinion, the owner is searching for respect and honor in his neighborhood and perhaps

he things that a beautiful garden is the best way to obtain that satisfaction.

In conclusion, Jack London` s writings serve as a personal testimonies of life

experiences and accounts of what was life in the beginning of the nineteen century. His

writings are the reminiscent of an emerging society which still captures the attention of

young readers in modern times. They are a lot of big ideas in this little piece of work in

which the Golden Poppy criticizes the capitalist society of the emerging United States.

Though his works are influenced by his life experiences it does not mean that they are

biographies. Again, though he wrote passionately about the struggle to survive with

dignity and integrity, he sought with his writings to influence people in reflecting about the

meaning of life and the importance to live a life with peace.

Correlate to this is the short store The Golden Poppy which in a crafty way

criticizes the capitalist system and the cold blood people who form part of the upper class.

I do not find enough words to praise this magnificent work full of themes and archetypes.

One that really captured my attention was the use of a poppy field as an allegory to

exemplify goods or work that us the common people are always looking for. In the end I

get a good feeling of satisfaction after reading this short story which I strongly suggest for

everyone to read.

Refence List Academy, E. (2014). The Commnunist Manifesto. Retrieved on July 16, 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaxEBBl-UqM

Britanica, E. (2016). Jack London Biography. Retrieved on July 16, 2016 from the web page

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jack-London

Quotes, B. ( 2016). Brainy Quotes. Retreived on July 16, 2016 from the web page

http://www.bing.com/search?q=the+wealthy+and+the+poor+have+opposing+interests+and+are

+separated+by+a&FORM=AWRE