分析《野性的呼唤》中巴克回归自然的原因---毕业论文 精品

【标题】分析《野性的呼唤》中巴克回归自然的原因

【作者】文程娟

【关键词】回归；原因；冷酷；追求与向往

【指导老师】吴学容

【专业】英语

【正文】

I. Introduction

The Call of the Wild, written by Jack London, was a very famous work in literature field. American writer, Jack London, was very good at describing things and society in the shoes of animals, that is, in personification. So does this work. In this novel, the story happened in the process of gold rush where people need be nefit themselves on the basis of other’s loss or sufferings. Dog protagonist, Buck, was living in this circumstance. He experienced both the warmth and the coldness of human society. Jack London used the style of personification to describe the nature of human and the world in dog’s eye which can full reveal the coldness and cruelty of the Capitalist Society. There are many reasons, both in subjective and objective that led the return of Buck to the wild. Many scholars in domestic have made some studies of this work which were meaningful. It not only can help us learn some society and literary knowledge but also understand this classic work clearly and deeply.

Buck’s return to the wild was not caused by one reason but many. The subjective ones were the characteristics of Buck himself which were hidden in human warmth and revealed in the struggles to survive. The main objective reason was the fact of Struggle for Existence that no one can escape, and other reasons included the coldness and cruelty of human society and the call of the wild. Buck’s life in this cruel and cold circumstance decided that his return to the wild was not occasional but inevitable. However, the author, Jack London, also made some drama effects. The experiences of Buck in human society were not the only purpose for Jack London to write this story, but to criticize the darkness of the Capitalist Society and reflect his wish, that is, the desire of freedom and dream.

There will be five main reasons analyzed in this essay, including the characteristics of Buck; the brutal principle of Struggle for Existence; people’ behaviors in the process of gold rush; the call of the wild and the drama effect made by Jack London.

Ⅱ. Literature Review

A. The Background of the author—Jack London

Jack London was a famous and productive American realistic writer who lived in 20th century with rich but hard experiences in all his life. He came from lower class with a suffering childhood and had a better understanding of the life of poor people. Because of his poor birth and background, Jack London tried many ways to get rid of the poor situation. Such as, went outside to do part-time job; to be sailor and joined the troop of gold rush. Unfortunately, these tries didn’t change the suffering situation. But he didn’t lose the interest in reading. Books companied him during all his hard life. Those hard experiences enriched his knowledge which made contribution to his later writing work. He began his writing career after his failure of gold rush in Alaska. His works were full of strength and strong revealing. The work, the Call of the Wild, was one of his most famous animal novels, in which the gold rush life filled with dangers and struggles of dogs in this special circumstance were deeply described.

Jack London left more than 50 pieces of works in his 16 years’ writing career. After being well-known, he indulged in the pleasure of materials. At last, he committed suicide because of the emptiness and disappointment in his mental world.

B. The Story of the Call of the Wild

The story mainly talked about the process of dog protagonist, Buck’s return from human civilization to primitive wild living with the wolves. Buck was a very strong wolf dog with 140 pounds in weight. He could have lived a comfortable life in a Judge’s place. Unluckily, he was stolen to sell by Judge’s gardener. He was first sold to the Post Office then two French Canadian. These dogs were not only abused by brutal human, but also had to fight and kill with each other for survival. Because of the powerfulness both in physical and mind, Buck won the former leader to be the new leader in the sledding team after a serious fight. Buck had been sold several times in his life with human. Finally he was adopted by John Thornton just when he was beaten nearly to death. Buck recovered quickly under the careful treatment of John Thornton and they made friends with each other. Buck was extremely faithful to his new master. He had ever saved John Thornton twice from dangers. Unfortunately, John Thornton was killed in the process of gold rush. Buck was very angry and bit several Indians to death to take his master’s revenge. He had no affection for human society any more after the death of his master. Meanwhile, there was always a call in forest attracting him. Finally, he obeyed the call and returned to the wild living with wolves. However, he didn’t forget John Thornton but mourn for his master regularly.Ⅲ. The Subjective Reason of Buck’s Return—the Characteristics of Buck Buck had the characteristics of wolf all the time. His wild nature was only hidden in human’s society but not disappeared. When he lived in the sledding team and suffered disastrous experience, it’s no doubt that his wild nature will be revived one day, and lead his return to the wild at last. Buck’s birth made him has the characteristics of wolves. Buck was a