Don't steal my Gold!

"Guess I'll take another whack at her" (London 99).

During the time of the gold rush in the United States, the rush for adventure and personal gain was highly prevalent. Those virtues are still present to this day. In Jack London's "All Gold Canyon", greed is the overarching motive behind the antagonist. Not only greed, but the total disregard and lack of care for Bill's hard work. The antagonist, who remains unnamed throughout, peers in the shadows and waits forBill to finish digging up the gold before he strikes and attempts to steal the gold for himself.

"Suddenly there came upon him a premonition of danger. It seemed a Shadow had cast upon him. But there was no shadow"(London 105.) Even before the danger struck, Bill felt a sense of paranoia that somebody was watching him. This feeling of paranoia can be directly related to most American's current feelings towards the government. Throughout the country, the economic strains have been prevalent enough to cause distress among citizens, in which they lash out at the government. Many websites have popped up, warning people on how the government likes to see your hard earned money.

Some Americans have even trained their kids on what to think about their leaders:

"All Gold Canyon" certainly portrays a good imagery of what it is like to have someone else try and steal something that they didn't work for, and while this could certainly be compared to the common criminal stealing from someone else, Jack London most certainly was attempting a satire about the government. "You would, would you?....I'll give you a decent burial...that's more than you've done for me!"(London 108).

I will certainly be watching my back the next time I pan for gold!


Works Cited:

London, Jack. All Gold Canyon. pg. 99-109. 1906.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8rWR0cSSg8
http://kevincraig.us/pockets.htm
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/07/01/article-1030860-01D0F2F300000578-357_468x569.jpg