The Golden Poppy

1. 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

2. 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

3. 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.

4. 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)

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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.

8. 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