英语泛读教程1, unit7

• Survival of the Fittest
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Major Themes
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Jack London believed in Herbert Spencer's theory of "survival of the fittest," which means basically that an organism or group that is better suited to an environment will have a better chance for survival than an animal or group that is less suited. In other words, Spencer suggested that learning did not play a great role in the survival of a species. More often it had to do with luck -- a major environmental change would suddenly make one group of organisms better off than it had been before, and they would therefore live longer and reproduce more. London clearly makes use of the idea of "survival of the fittest" in The Call of the Wild. By chance, Buck's environment undergoes a tremendous change - he is kidnapped and taken from a "sun-kissed," easy existence to the wilds of the Klondike. Buck survives because he was genetically more suited to that environment than many of the other dogs who were there. He did not need to learn much of anything - the instincts for survival were handed down by his ancestors -- a more poetic version of genetic inheritance. London takes the idea even more literally than is necessary. If Buck had remained in Santa Clara, he would not have passed on his genetic traits, for there were no suitable mates available to him. At the end of The Call of the Wild it reads that "the years were not many when the Yeehats noted a change in the breed of timber wolves; for some were seen with splashes of brown on head and muzzletered down the chest." Buck has had many children, children who will inherit from Buck all of the experience and "fitness" of their ancestors.
Plot Summary
故事 发展
• 在一个法官的家里过着养尊处优的生活 • 被法官那贪婪的助手给拐卖到一个训练狗拉雪橇 的人手里 • 到严寒的阿拉斯加岛上 拉雪橇 • 受尽了皮 肉和精神的双重折磨 • 渐渐适应了没有人性的生活 • 打败了他的对手，当 上 了领头军 • 换了主人，受尽鞭打。仁慈的桑顿带着他离开了 • 桑顿被土著居民打死，暴怒的巴克为了给主人报 仇咬死了许多人 • 野性在向他呼唤，他加入了狼群，走向了那本属 于他的—野性
Jack
死后，我宁愿是一堆骨灰而不是化为尘土。我 宁愿是一颗闪亮的火星投入熊熊燃烧的火焰，而 不愿在死灰中窒息。我宁愿是华美的流星，让每 一颗粒子都绽放光芒，而不是做沉沉闷闷的，不 停绕行的行星。生活应是人的本分。我不会为延 长生命而活着，我为生活而活。
Translation 热爱生命
The call of the wild 野性的呼唤
Jack · London 杰克.伦敦
About Jack
• A famous American writer •Born on January 12, 1876 in California. •His family was very poor, and Jack had to leave school to make money. He worked hard in many different jobs. Later, Jack returned to school. But didn‟t stay long. In the year 1897, he went to Alaska to find gold. Instead of getting much gold, he found ideas for his books and stories. He went back home and began to write. His writing were warmly welcomed and he became rich and famous when he was under thirty . But Jack London was not a happy man. In poor health. He took his own life in 1916. He was then only forty years old.
By Jack · London
The Call Of The Wild
The Call of the Wild
•Although it is a short story about a dog, Buck, it vividly depicts the life in the primitive North where people rushed for gold and fortune. •Buck, used to belong to a judge, was kidnapped and sold to North. Then he became a member of a dogteam pulling a sled (雪橇). In the days of pulling a snow-sled, he learned to conform to the law of nature and obey the master. Finally, he found a basic instinct hidden inside him, which enabled himself to survive the tough environment. This is the call of the wild.
I would rather be ashes than dust. I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than that it should be stifled by dry-rot . I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow , than a sleepy and permanent planet . The proper function of man is to LIVE. I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them . I shall use my time .
More Details
Buck, the main character, is a Saint Bernard and Scotch Shepherd cross, which gives him the appearance of an exceptionally large dog that looks similar to a wolf. Buck leads a comfortable life as the pet of Judge Miller in the „sun-kissed‟ Santa Clara Valley of Northern California. Judge Miller„s gardener‟s assistant, Manuel, along with a friend, abducts the dog and sells him to a trainer of sled dogs, which were in great demand due to the discovery of “a yellow metal” in the frozen lands of the Yukon, Alaska. Slowly introduced to the brutality of his new life, Buck is forced to survive and adapt to conditions in Alaska and the Yukon. He works pulling sleds with other dogs, learns to steal food, and engages in power struggle with other dogs for the lead position in the sled team. He becomes the leader of the sled team after defeating his enemy Spitz