BoumTAC

John Barleycorn by Jack London

Published on June 29, 2025

I finished reading Jack London's book John Barleycorn. It's an autobiographical novel focused primarily on his alcohol addiction.

I love Jack London, I've read almost all his novels as well as a good number of his short stories. I found it very interesting to learn more about his life and his addiction. I'm going to tell you about certain themes from the novel that struck me and that I found interesting.

The Benefits of Alcohol

Jack London starts consuming alcohol because he realizes that to have a free and adventurous life, you have to drink alcohol. Otherwise he's condemned to being buried in books and reading about other people's adventures rather than living his own.

Such was my escape from the killing machine-toil, and my introduction to the oyster pirates. True, the introduction had begun with drink, and the life promised to continue with drink. But was I to stay away from it for such reason? Wherever life ran free and great, there men drank. Romance and adventure seemed always to go down the street locked arm in arm with John Barleycorn. To know the two, I must know the third. Or else I must go back to my free-library books and read of the deeds of other men and do no deeds of my own save slave for ten cents an hour at a machine in a cannery. No; I was not to be deterred from this. Jack London

This is something I find interesting because I've always stayed away from alcohol for several reasons: the cost, health concerns, the risk of addiction, and the fear of making mistakes under the influence of alcohol. A hundred years later, life is very different from Jack London's, but I think I missed many opportunities in my youth because of my refusal to consume alcohol. These aren't adventures of the same type, it's not about taking a boat to Japan, but they're surely friendships, encounters, and experiences that I didn't have the opportunity to live. Nowadays, refusing alcohol means being condemned to staying home scrolling on social networks or watching series. Not so different from Jack London's life if he had refused to consume alcohol as well.

This is something to keep in perspective when facing the dangers of alcohol. Like everything in life, nothing is necessarily black or white. Alcohol is bad for health in high doses, but in small doses, it's beneficial for our mental health. We need social relationships and new experiences to live a full and enriching life. Alcohol contributes to this.

You Get Good by Practicing

There's no secret: to improve, you have to practice again and again. This also applies to Jack London. In his autobiography, to break through he spent years writing and practicing. He spent his life writing 1000 words per day. At first glance, this seems rather like an absurd challenge, but it's the reality of life. To become better, you have to train and train.

And right here let me break in with experiences no later than last year. I harnessed four horses to a light trap, took Charmian along, and drove for three months and a half over the wildest mountain parts of California and Oregon. Each morning I did my regular day's work of writing fiction. That completed, I drove on through the middle of the day and the afternoon to the next stop. Jack London

But at the same time, Jack London didn't spend his days writing. He devoted his mornings to writing and spent the rest doing something else. This is interesting because I find that nowadays we tend to go "all in" on an activity. This isn't how humans function. Life isn't monotask — it would be far too monotonous to live that way.

An activity like writing requires reflection and imagination. It's not built sitting behind a desk. Nowadays, budding writers spend too much time behind their desks. Yet this isn't the case with great authors as I'll discuss in more detail in a future article. Jack London only spent his mornings writing. The rest of his days were devoted to practicing outdoor activities: hiking, horseback riding, boxing, fencing, sailing, surfing, swimming.

At first glance, this might be considered counterproductive, but it's what allowed him to focus on his writing and produce exceptional works. He managed to find a balance between reflection and action: his adventures nourished his imagination. All great authors in literature function this way and it's still relevant today: Papacito regularly explains that he finds his inspiration during his long walks with his dog.

A Brilliant Man

Jack London shows adaptation throughout his life. A striking passage was the one in high school. After several years working as a fisherman, sailor, and laborer, he realizes it's impossible to earn more as long as he doesn't study — he enrolls in high school with the little savings he has. To feed himself on the side he tries to do odd jobs, but he realizes he won't be able to last the 4 years of high school with so few means. So to save time, he decides to validate high school in a single semester — for this, he works 19 hours a day to learn all the necessary skills. He's summoned by the principal 5 weeks later. Jack London was an intelligent young man and seeing him pass the diploma in just one semester instead of the necessary 4 years makes the high school look like a bad school that teaches students nothing and wastes their time. Although the principal congratulates him, he's forced to expel him, as the act tarnished the school's reputation. Jack London ends up taking university exams as an independent candidate and passes them successfully.

The Importance of Reading

Jack London was an avid reader throughout his life. From his youth, he went to the public library to borrow books to devour at home. Whenever he had free time, he read. And he continued to do so throughout his life.

To become a scholar, spend decades reading 30-40 h/week. Nassim Taleb

Reading provides extraordinary knowledge and depth compared to other media. There's no secret, spending several hours on a subject offers us an exceptional perspective. The majority of the population doesn't read. After years of reading, we find ourselves in dissonance with others.

worth-while fun and stunts seemed no longer worth while; and it was a torment to listen to the insipidities and stupidities of women, to the pompous, arrogant sayings of the little half-baked men. It is the penalty one pays for reading the books too much. Jack London

Jack London notes this repeatedly in the novel. As his life progresses, a feeling of loneliness settles in him. He's an extremely brilliant man. His unique adventures, his success, and his erudition distance him from ordinary people — he feels disconnected.

White Logic

At the end of the novel, Jack London explains his conception of White Logic. This is a term that designates a lucid, disillusioned, and often nihilistic vision of life, induced by alcoholism or intoxication. It's a sharp intellectual clarity, but tinged with pessimism and despair. He sees life raw, as it is: without any charm or meaning. Jack London feels that life isn't worth living — that there's nothing special to do — we live to wait for death.

To counteract the White Logic, Jack London sets himself goals: write an article, publish a book, travel, etc. He finds "excuses," "illusions" to contest this nihilism and find reasons to live.

I found these chapters very striking because it's something we all feel as well in various doses. Why live? Life is monotonous, working isn't fun. Life is empty of meaning — what to do?

Setting goals is fleeing this nihilism. For example, writing this article is part of it. It's a way to give meaning to my life. Is it useful? No, not necessarily, but it challenges my mind, makes me carry many reflections on Jack London's work and then on life in general. I take pleasure in doing it.

I have the impression that life is tricking your mind. It's finding challenges and obstacles to overcome to avoid the White Logic that we would call depression nowadays. Without ambition, without challenge, life has no meaning — we get depressed.

Without goals, we have no more reasons to live, we lose morale. Viktor Frankl wrote the book "Man's Search for Meaning" on this subject. The prisoners in concentration camps who no longer had hope were the first to die. On the contrary, those who hoped, who had the goal of being free one day and reuniting with their families, were the most resilient.

His Life: His Inspiration for His Novels

Reading this passage on White Logic, I realize that his nihilism strongly inspired the character of Wolf Larsen in the novel "The Sea-Wolf."

His novel Martin Eden is also very inspired by his life. The passage where Martin Eden works in a hotel laundry and only has free time for a beer in the evening is very similar to the period when he works as a laborer in the Oakland power plant. It's exhausting work, without interest and without an exit door.

At the end of the Martin Eden novel, when he commits suicide by jumping into the water to drown, I had found this passage of extreme precision. Jack London managed to transcribe the atrocity of drowning with precision.

This is something he experienced. He fell into the water and was carried away by the current. Under the influence of alcohol, an obsessive idea suddenly takes hold of him: that of letting himself be carried away by the tide, of dying. London, who had never had suicidal thoughts before, suddenly finds himself convinced that dying would be a "splendid culmination," a "perfect completion" of his short but exciting career. In his alcoholic delirium, he's convinced he's lived everything, seen everything, and that life isn't worth pursuing.

However, the physical reality of his situation momentarily brings him back to reason. Remembering the power of the current that develops around the island, he decides to avoid this dangerous zone. He then swims vigorously to cross the current at right angles, succeeding in avoiding the deadly suction. After this effort, he returns to floating, alternating between moments of lucidity and alcoholic delirium. Over the hours, the effect of alcohol diminishes. He then realizes he doesn't want to die and discovers "dozens of reasons to live." After four hours spent in the water, at dawn, a boat appears — that of a fisherman: Jack London is saved.

The Little Things That Struck Me

Jack London's life was eventful. He didn't do the metro-work-sleep routine (or rather for San Francisco streetcar-work-sleep). Throughout his life, he sought adventure — that's what made him thrive. Like every human being, he had his share of problems. But that didn't stop him. At no point did he think about stopping and living a conventional life. Every time a problem presents itself, he doesn't complain — he evaluates the choices available to him and makes the most appropriate decision. That's the key to his success — life is made of unexpected events — you have to question yourself and move forward.

A difference from the era is the complete absence of bureaucracy. To find a job, you just had to show up. If there was an opportunity, he could start right away. No contracts to sign, documents to give, or anything else. It was simpler. On several occasions, he borrowed from friends or merchants. It was legal. Grocers, salons, or barbers lent him the equivalent of several hundred euros today. This is unthinkable nowadays! But it was cleverly smart! Who is better placed than the local merchant to evaluate the borrower's repayment capacity? The merchant has known the person for years, sees them every day, and knows their ability to work to repay their debts.

Jack London never stopped working. He continued writing every day until the end of his life. He was an adventurer and until his death he continued traveling around the world. And for the era it was much more complicated than now, it wasn't enough to take a 12-hour flight. Google Maps and Google Translate didn't exist. A trip was an adventure.

Alcohol was an integral part of his life. In small doses, it allowed him to make the right connections and guide his career. It's important to note that alcohol can have positive sides. In high doses, it's harmful. He lost all his sailor friends because of alcohol: killed, drowned, imprisoned, etc. Alcohol is very expensive. He spent his entire salary at the saloon. At first glance, it's wasteful, but it's also what allowed him to develop his life. If he had refused to drink and spend his money on alcohol, his life would surely have been much more miserable. Conversely, among his colleagues, many were filled with dreams after making their fortune seal hunting. Some wanted to learn to dance to meet respectable people, others to send their pay to Europe and join their family there. They squandered everything, the money on alcohol when arriving at port and had to go back to sea immediately.

Conclusion

I really enjoy reading biographies, it's inspiring, it allows you to discover a person in depth. There's no magic, talented people always have exciting lives, they're active people who work hard. No one escapes trials. Those who advance are those who face them instead of lamenting. Everyone draws their own lessons from reading a biography. But everyone will gain something from it.