Jack London 1876-1916

The denouement

• The denouement is quite unpredictable. The unexpected success of Martin does not bring satisfaction. After the death of Brissenden he decides never to engage in writing activities.
• Meanwhile, Ruth Morse agrees to marry him. At this point, Martin realizes that he doesn’t love her any more, that he "loved the bright and radiant image, and not a bourgeois girl." He denies her offer. The suicide of Brissenden, the loss of affiliation with his own class, and the contempt for the values of the class to which he has climbed rob him of zest for living. He makes a voyage to the South Seas, and, his will to live destroyed, jumps from the ship and drowns.

The protagonist

The protagonist is Martin Eden, the antagonist is his beloved. Martin is a very industrious person. He works like a beaver in order to improve his speech and pronunciation. He reads a lot of books.

The character is portrayed dynamically, as later he undergoes changes. He becomes a successful writer. The author uses direct characterization, he evaluates the protagonist himself. The major character is represented through his behavior, speech, lifestyles and thoughts.

Martin is a round character who reveals various sides of his personality. He is brave and hesitant, sensitive and unyielding. Contradictory features within a character make him true-to-life and convincing.

• Martin Eden is a 21-year-old man from the working class. He has no family support and has spent much of his life earning money as a sailor. During his first appearance we see him as an utterly awkward and uncouth man in an old salty clothes, with a rough speech and scars on his skin. But being introduced to a middle-class life he becomes obsessed with becoming its part, one of those intelligent men. He studies hard and reads a lot, he buys new clothes and learns how to speak correctly. But it corresponds only to situations with the middle-class society. When he’s in society of ordinary workers he becomes again a person whom he used to be before meeting the Moarse’s. So, he is torn between two different worlds and he doesn’t fit in any of them completely. His mood also changes throughout the whole novel.