The House of Pride: and Other Tales of Hawaii - Hardcover

London, Jack

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1940849314 ISBN 13: 9781940849317

Publisher: Ancient Wisdom Publications, 2015

Synopsis

The stories in this collection include some of London's finest South Seas tales. In them, Hawaii is portrayed, not as a tropical paradise, but as a land corrupted and despoiled by the arrival of the supposedly civilized white settlers. The tales include "Koolau the Leper," "Good-by Jack," and "The Sheriff of Kona," which deal frankly and sympathetically with the taboos of leprosy; "Chun Ah Chun," the story of a Chinese man displaced by the unyielding encroachments of western ways of life; and "The House of Pride" and "Aloha Oe," which criticize racial intolerance. While in Hawaii, Jack and Charmian spent a week living among the inhabitants of the leper colony on the island of Molokai. Their surprise at finding, not a cursed place of misery and horror, but a joyful, thriving community is evident in London's essay. With compassion and high good humor, London records his impressions of the people and their activities, including shooting contests, band and choir concerts, and a fourth of July festival featuring antic donkey races. In "Koolau the Leper," London describes Koolau, who is a Hawaiian leper-and thus a very different sort of "superman" than Martin Eden-and who fights off an entire cavalry troop to elude capture, as "indomitable spiritually a ... magnificent rebel." This character is based on Hawaiian leper Kaluaikoolau who revolted and resisted capture from forces of the Provisional Government of Hawaii in the Kalalau Valley in 1893.

About this title

About the Author:

Jack London was an American author, journalist, and adventurer. London s early careers as sailor, fisherman, and prospector provided inspiration for his later writing, and it was only when he returned from the Klondike that London decided to focus on social activism and journalism. He soon became a popular magazine columnist and author, and a prolific commercial writer, penning over two dozen novels, and numerous short stories and poems. His most famous works include The Call of the Wild, White Fang, The Sea-Wolf, and the short stories To Build a Fire, and An Oddyssey of the North. London died in 1916.

About this edition

• Publisher: Ancient Wisdom Publications
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1940849314
• ISBN 13: 9781940849317
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 72