In “An Eyewitness Story,” a first-hand account written for Collier's Magazine, Jack London paints a picture of a city in ruins. Through the use of reflexive or parajournalistic literary purposes, along with organizational patterns of narrative and description, London conveys the force of destruction brought upon San Francisco by the 1906 earthquake and chronicles its aftermath. Using his primary reflexive-referential purpose, which is sometimes referred to as parajournalistic purpose, London constructs a factual, comprehensive, and accurate sequence of events, incorporating lucid and expository detail. The step begins with an assessment of the damage caused by the initial earthquake, assuming hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost and damaged property, a fraction of the loss that will follow. Quickly, London turns its attention to the fire following the earthquake, which estimates millions in property losses. Guiding the reader through a chronology of consequences and illustrating the scope of the destruction, London writes: “In history there is no mode...