John Barleycorn by Jack London
"John Barleycorn" by Jack London is an autobiographical narrative written during the early 20th century. The work pivots around London's complex relationship with alcohol, portraying its dual nature as both a source of camaraderie and destruction. Through personal anecdotes, London explores themes of addiction, societal norms surrounding drinking, and the bittersweet allure of intoxication, with himself as the primary character who grapples with his experiences. At the start of the memoir, the
author recounts a reflective moment on election day, during which he votes on issues including woman suffrage and prohibition. Imbued with the effects of alcohol, he shares his philosophical musings with Charmian, expressing how alcohol, or John Barleycorn as he calls it, illuminates the harsh truths of life but simultaneously leads one toward despair. He narrates early encounters with alcohol, beginning from a childhood experience with beer to his teenage years spent amidst boisterous company, highlighting how societal acceptance of drinking shapes his life choices. Ultimately, the beginning sets the foundation for a deeper exploration of both the allure and dangers of alcohol as he navigates through various phases of his life, consistently returned to the grip of John Barleycorn. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
Read or download for free
| How to read | Url | Size | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Read now! | https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/318.html.images | 405 kB | |||
| EPUB3 (E-readers incl. Send-to-Kindle) | https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/318.epub3.images | 216 kB | |||
| EPUB (older E-readers) | https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/318.epub.images | 222 kB | |||
| Kindle | https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/318.kf8.images | 377 kB | |||
| older Kindles | https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/318.kindle.images | 360 kB | |||
| Plain Text UTF-8 | https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/318.txt.utf-8 | 374 kB | |||
| Download HTML (zip) | https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/318/pg318-h.zip | 210 kB | |||
| There may be more files related to this item. | |||||
Similar Books
About this eBook
| Author | London, Jack, 1876-1916 |
|---|---|
| Title | John Barleycorn |
| Note | Reading ease score: 80.2 (6th grade). Easy to read. |
| Note | Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Barleycorn_(novel) |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature |
| Subject | London, Jack, 1876-1916 |
| Subject | Authors, American -- 20th century -- Biography |
| Subject | Alcoholics -- United States -- Biography |
| Subject | Drinking of alcoholic beverages -- United States |
| Category | Text |
| EBook-No. | 318 |
| Release Date | Aug 1, 1995 |
| Most Recently Updated | Jan 1, 2021 |
| Copyright Status | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 320 downloads in the last 30 days. |
| Project Gutenberg eBooks are always free! | |
