HEADCRAFT AND THE ART OF SURVIVAL:

A Marxist analysis on the Story of Keesh by Jack London

He was the boy who used headcraft and not witchcraft, to become a great
hunter, feed the people of his village, and rose to become the village chief.

The life of the teenager boy named Keesh tells us the struggle for life
in an extreme arctic environment where one needs to find strength to survive.
After his father, Bok, died, the tribe forgot the stories about the legendary
experiences of his father, which aimed to end famine in the village. The death
of his father left Keesh and his mother with shortage of food that forced him
to engage in hunting. Besides, the honor of the dead father inspired the boy
to take part and contribute to the tribe’s access to and availability of food.

When the young boy showed the “blood that ran in his veins and the
manhood that stiffened his back” and declared his intention to the tribe, the
elders did not perceive him seriously. The council did not believe that he was
able to hunt since he was thirteen years old. At this time, children and women
had no say in the council.

Not long after, the unexpected return of Keesh with a killed polar bear
surprised tribal members. The boy repeated his success several times, and his
accomplishments in hunting even exceeded his father’s glory. However, his
victory came with doubts from the villagers, who, however, did not reveal
their suspicions to the boy whose independent excursion brought more meat to
the tribe than common expeditions of adult hunters.

The continuing unexplained success of Keesh worried the tribal elders,

who finally decided to send two spies to follow the boy in his next hunting
campaign. The returned scouts told that they did not see Keesh using any
hunting arms or equipment. Instead, they reported observing the boy walking in
front of the bear, enraging it and making it follow him. The story supported
the earlier suspicions of Keesh practicing witchcraft.

The elders came to the boy’s igloo contracted by thankful villagers for
the abundance of food produced by his hunting campaigns. Upon listening to the
tribal accusing statements, the boy explained how he managed to reach the
hunting glory of his father. Realizing his physical weakness compared to adult
hunters, the boy went another way – he left poisoned balls of food for the
bear and waited until the animal ate it and became ill. Thereafter, Keesh came
and deranged and spore the bear without any danger for himself.

Although the story about young hunger seems simple, it raises some social
and philosophic issues. In this short story, the author placed man against
society, nature and himself. In the pursuit of maintaining his father’s glory
as a great village huntsman, Keesh decided to exert himself to a dangerous and
challenging practice of hunting. He used his intelligence to cope with the
wild nature and its power. Finally, the boy advocated himself in front of the
accusing tribe to prove their unjustified suspicions.

What ignites the will to survive an extreme environment? Does creativity

and determination inspire someone to keep going when their chances of survival
are slim? In the case of Keesh, given his young age and physical
incapabilities, he chose to find the courage and strength within himself to
survive in this extreme arctic environment: his intelligent thinking. He may
be younger and weaker to be a hunter, yet he exercised headcraft and mastered
the art of survival to keep going on.