The Death of Ligoun

"Blood for blood, rank for rank," runs the code of the intense Thlinket people in Jack London's "The Death of Ligoun." A man recounts the tale of a mighty warrior called Ligoun and what took place at a memorable meeting of chiefs long ago. Although Ligoun appreciated fighting, he also advocated peace. Yet the meeting between chiefs is bound to take a grave turn when the code is broken, all insults must be avenged and the code honored until the very end. The short story is one of London's stories inspired by the period the writer spent at the Klondike Gold Rush in the late 19th century and was published in the early 20th century. Jack London (1876–1916) was an American writer and social activist. He grew up in the working class, but became a worldwide celebrity and one of the highest paid authors of his time. He wrote several novels, which are considered classics today, among these 'Call of the Wild', 'Sea Wolf' and 'White Fang'.