Literary Depiction of the Alaska Gold Rush

Abstract

This bachelor thesis is concerned with the role of setting and the depiction of female characters in the works of Jack London and Peter C. Brown portraying the Alaska Gold Rush at the beginning of the 20th century. The theoretical part of the thesis describes the literary and historical context with emphasis on early discoveries of gold in Alaska, the position of women in society and their role in the Gold Rush. There are also described the influences on the analyzed works of the selected authors. The analytical part of the thesis is initially concerned with how both authors use and implement the setting and how they have managed to portray female characters in their gold rush fiction.