英美文学论文.doc

河 北 建 筑 工 程 学 院 外 语 系 毕 业 论 文introductionthe sea-wolf is a 1904 psychological adventure novel by jack london about a literary critic, survivor of an ocean collision who comes under the dominance of wolf larsen,-the powerful and amoral sea captain who rescues him. the sea-wolf is a very fascinating masterpiece with tremendous charm. although among londons novels, it is not the best one, we cant deny or ignore its special style. especially，the leading character ，larsen wolf，is unforgettable. ambrose bierce wrote, the great thingand it is among the greatest of thingsis that tremendous creation, wolf larsen.hewing out and setting up of such a figure is enough for a man to do in one lifetime.the love element, with its absurd suppressions, and impossible proprieties, is awful.wolf larsen is a tragic madman created by the author under the theory of social darwinism and superman philosophy .he lives by sacrificing the rights and interests of other people. the others on the boat are ruled by him with strength and are treated violently. he has all the brutal characters of savage. as a result, there are some misunderstandings that jack london supports wolf larsen and superman philosophy. however, the tragic result of wolf larsen shows his opposite standpoint, though he praises the power of wolf larsen and his ability. in the image of wolf larsen, the awful features of nietzsches superman and brutality, immorality and intolerable selfishness are pointed out. according to the author own words, the purpose of writing it is to show his opinion against the superman philosophy. he often complains that most people misunderstood him.whats more meaningful is to find the reason of the personal tragedy of wolf larsen and seek the way to find the way to avoid it. wolf larsen is strong and powerful but has many character flaws. character, in some sense, affects peoples destiny greatly. the character flaws and the cause of them will be analyzed. it not only can help us find the reason of larsens tragedy but also gives us some profound understanding of the authors life problem, for there are some similarity between the author and wolf larsen .further more, it has a general significance to help us to have a reflection to perfect our own character so that we can have a healthier and happier life.as character flaws of wolf larsen are obvious to see, but complicated to analyze involving some philosophical ideas, many methods or theories such as maslows hierarchy of needs will be adopted to get a scientific, objective and comprehensive analysis of his character flaws.the thesis consists of three parts. in the first part, the character flaws of wolf larsen will be analyzed. in the second part, the causes of those flaws are discussed. in the last part, some reflection and suggestions of the perfection of the character and the humanity of human society are given. chapter one character flaws of wolf larsen1.1 a social darwinist and egoisteverybody agrees that wolf larsen believes in social darwinism. the outstanding feature of the character flaws of wolf larsen is that he believes in social darwinism. being a social darwinist and egoist, he is extremely selfish and treats others brutally. he often bullies his sailors and rules them under his fists and even believes that it is proper and reasonable to do so.1.1.1 the theory of social darwinism jack london loves darwins origin of species and herbert spencers principles of sociology very much, and he explains the relation of the ability of human and the challenge of nature by the standard of darwinism-survival of the fittest. in the sea-wolf, darwin and spencers names are mentioned for several times. especially, spencers social darwinism has a great impact on him. as it is known to us all, herbert spencer is a famous philosopher at the end of the nineteenth century and the founder of social darwinism. social darwinism is an ideology of society that seeks to apply biological concepts of darwinism or of evolutionary theory to sociology and politics, often with the assumption that conflict between groups in society leads to social progress as superior groups over inferior ones.some of the ideas of darwins evolutionary theory are adopted in human society. it explains some social problems by the law of the jungle in the animal world. he compares human society to natural world. according to his theory, the competition among human are as cruel as that among animals. natural selection and competition for existence are ubiquitous phenomenon in human society.1.1.2 obvious flaws of social darwinismsocial darwinism is a theory with obvious flaws. social darwinism is an ideology of society that seeks to apply biological concepts of darwinism or of evolutionary theory to sociology and politics, often with the assumption that conflict between groups in society leads to social progress as superior groups over inferior ones. scientific discoveries only help explain what one thing is about, which is an important principle. but some people take advantage of these theories to make moral judgment and political decisions. social darwinism is a good example. once adopted in human society, it would cause a series of serious results. and social darwinism is used to prove the rationality of the sufferings of the poor, the minority and the oppressed. the phenomenon that the strong prey on the weak is not thought to be immoral. appling darwinism to human society and take it as a principle, people would become selfish and egocentric. human society would be as barbarous as animal society. the civilized society would descend into totally brutality and a living hell due to the loss of morality.1.1.3 extreme social darwinism of wolf larsenwolf larsen is an extreme social darwinist.the ghost in the sea-wolf can be seen as an epitome of the natural world. the people on it, from the captain to common sailors, are beasts in the form of human being, who fight each other for survival. they struggle to be the strongest one by destroying others.wolf larsen is a typical one. he uses his force to bully others and fight against any one who goes against him. he doesnt respect others. “you may forget have very good reasons for forgetting your name, and i will like you none the worse for it as long as you toe the mark” (london 254)he thinks it proper and reasonable to taking advantage of others for his own well, and becomes selfish and egocentric. “but what stuck me most forcibly was the lack of sympathy on the part of the men i served” (london 262). he uses violence to dominate his small world and oppress his inferiors. and his words prove his values and beliefs of social darwinism. “its like yeast ,a ferment, a thing that moves and may move for a minute, an hour ,a year, or a hundred years, but that in the end will cease to move .the big eat the little that may continue to live ,the strong eat the weak that may retain their strength. the lucky eat the most and move the longest. that is all.”(london 270) 1.2 a survivalist with low demand levelwolf larsen is a survivalist, adhering to survival instinct. his demand is restricted to a low level, and he refuses to pursue self-actualization.the character flaw which is living for survival not living for self-actualization leads to his tragic life condition. according to maslow demand levels theory, the demand of survival is low-class demand. the meaning of life is not to survive but to realize oneself. although the power of life is encouraging, it is not the ultimate goal of life. it is only the means to acquire the basic materials for higher demands. struggling to become stronger deprives him of meaning of life and a happy life.1.2.1 the theory of maslows hierarchy of needsmaslow is the leading character of humanistic psychology which is praised as the third force in psychology. he brought forward the demand levels theory, which was generally accepted in the field of psychology. his theory explains the matters of peoples demand. he also came up with the theory of self-actualization based on his demand theory.maslows hierarchy of needs is often portrayed in the shape of a pyramid, with the largest and most fundamental levels of needs at the bottom, and the need for self-actualization at the top. while the pyramid has become the de facto way to represent the hierarchy, maslow himself never used a pyramid to describe these levels in any of his writings on the subject.the most fundamental and basic four layers of the pyramid contain what maslow called deficiency needs or d-needs: esteem, friendship and love, security, and physical needs. with the exception of the most fundamental (physiological) needs, if these deficiency needs are not met, the body gives no physical indication but the individual feels anxious and tense. maslows theory suggests that the most basic level of needs must be met before the individual will strongly desire (or focus motivation upon) the secondary or higher level needs. maslow also coined the term metamotivation to describe the motivation of people who go beyond the scope of the basic needs and strive for constant betterment. metamotivated people are driven by b-needs (being needs), instead of deficiency needs (d-needs).the human mind and brain are complex and have parallel processes running at the same time, so many different motivations from different levels of maslows pyramid usually occur at the same time. maslow was clear about speaking of these levels and their satisfaction in terms such as relative and general and primarily, and says that the human organism is dominated by a certain need, rather than saying that the individual is only focused on a certain need at any given time. so maslow acknowledges that many different levels of motivation are likely to be going on in a human all at once. his focus in discussing the hierarchy was to identify the basic types of motivations, and the order that they generally progress as lower needs are reasonably well met. the more advanced and higher demand comes into being when the lower demand is totally or at least partly satisfied. the fifth and highest level is the self-actualization needs.self-actualization means that one try to become what he wants to be. maslow describes this desire as the desire to become more and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming. this is a broad definition of the need for self-actualization, but when applied to individuals the need is specific. for example one individual may have the strong desire to become an ideal parent, in another it may be expressed athletically, and in another it may be expressed in painting, pictures, or inventions. as mentioned before, in order to reach a clear understanding of this level of need one must first not only achieve the previous needs, physiological, safety, love, and esteem, but master these needs.it is a continuous process, along with the occasional emergence of peak experience which is the best state of life and an ultimate experience. in the peak experience, one is doing the things he loves most and loses the sense of time and space. people who come through this experience will get the feeling that they have found the meaning of life. the theory of self-actualization describes a way to the perfect life. this level of need pertains to what a persons full potential is and realizing that potential. to fulfill ones dream and to develop their talents, one tries to become what he wants to be. each person has his own need of self-actualization. by realize their dreams, they find the happiness of life. 1.2.2the survivalism of wolf larsen its not wrong for wolf larsen to be strong. survival against severe nature is the unfading theme and soul of jack londons novel. to fight is the demonstration of the power of life. being a naturalist, jack london himself is a typical example of self-made man, who struggled through severe conditions. he had a tragic childhood. born into a poor family, he had to make a living at an early age. he worked as child laborer, sailor. he had also been a wanderer and went to the north for the gold washing. in spite of the severe condition, he never gives up and spent his spare time studying all kinds of knowledge by himself. through hard work and sheer will power, he, who came from the bottom of the society, made his way up to the summit of the social hierarchy and became a great writer. praise for the power of life is expressed in his masterpieces. he is a symbol of strong will power and the self-educated, whose spirit still encourages numerous young people. similarly, wolf larsen is physically strong .he fights against the nature to survive. most of the time, we need it desperately to get through the difficulties of life. in some sense, its a very useful protection mechanism. without it, the young wolf larsen would have been destroyed by the hard life. wolf larsen tragedy lies in his extreme survivalism. he could choose to get rid of the past just as the philosophy of existentialism advocates, and choose to realize himself after he becomes a captain. however, he continues his life on the sea to struggle against the mighty poseidon. he adheres to survivalism and becomes a survivalist and has no higher pursuits. wolf larsen who has succeeded by using force becomes addicted to it. he only wants to be stronger and stronger, which becomes a superman complex .in this process, he cant find his dream and cant have peak experience. as a result, the sweetness of life is impossible for him to reach. as he continues to struggle, he would find that life is meaningless and all the efforts are wasted. when he becomes tired of struggling, he would abuse his power or commit suicide.1.3 an obstinate man with a closed mindwolf larsen is very obstinate and has a closed mind. he does not accept other peoples idea. at the same time, he tries to persuade other people to accept his philosophy. when he discusses something he tries to win the argument instead of making some reflections about his own ideas. if he fails to do so, he would use his fists to force others to agree with himthere are many examples in the novel showing this. take reading for example, he reads a lot of books, but he doesnt have an open mind to communicate with the great thinkers. on the contrary, he adopts the great mens words to support his own idea. “wolf larsen, evidently, had sifted the great philosophers teachings, rejecting and selecting to his needs and desires.”(london 291)however, the wisdom of reading is to communicate with an open heart, some reflections and adjustments are necessary, so that the reader mind can be refreshed and lifted. because of his obstinacy and closed mind, his mind and humanity lost the great chance of development. as a result, he is restricted to his wrong philosopher and cant get rid of it, which caused his tragedy.1.4heroism complex of wolf larsenheroes are strong men with great abilities, who survive great challenges. wolf larsen has some features of a hero. he has great strength and the ability to survive the hardships of the sea. he fights by his own strength. he is very strong. “i was peeling potatoes. he picked one up from the pan. it was fair-sized, firm, and unpeeled. he closed his hand upon it, squeezed, and the potato squirted out between his fingers in mushy streams.”(london 294)he has the courage to triumph over nature, but lacks the endurance and refuses to accept the destiny to be weakened. he can only accept the strong self and cant accept the weakened self, which is a typical heroism complex.he develops heroism complex and believes that he is a perfect and marvelous creature. however, life is not always a battlefield and man can not always be strong. the purpose of life is to seek happiness instead of fighting against the great enemies like a key actor. when the exciting part of life is over and life returns to its normal peace, the hero will lose his meaning of existence. he has to turn back to be a ordinary person, for hero is only a part-time job and heroism is only the spirit of fighting when there are some difficulties in life. most people doesnt choose to be a hero but are forced to be. besides, being a hero is no good than being an ordinary man, for the heroic lifestyle has deprived him of most of his opportunities to follow his heart and pursue his own happiness. however, with the heroism complex, wolf larsen refuses to return back to be an ordinary man. finding that life is boring and meaningless to him, wolf larsen loses the willingness to continue his life and tries to destroy himself. from this point of view, hero is more pathetic than to be respected.at the same time, he develops individualism and ignores the importance of other people. so he has to fight against the powerful nature, which is impossible to be conquered. as a result, deserted by all of others, larsen died without dignity after suicide attempts.a person who treasures his life wont choose to escape by killing himself, for death can only stop the pain but cant help him find the solution to the problem. jack london succeeded in killing himself but failed to solve his own problem. similarly, wolf larsen tries to avoid the basic question of life by being strong and committing suicide, but stills cant solve the problem. those tragedies cant be avoided if they dont get rid of the heroism complex. chapter two causes of the character flaws of wolf larsenmany studies on psychology indicate that peoples character is the result of internal factors and external factors, and the external factors plays a much more important role in forming ones character. as a result, most of the task to analyze the cause of the character flaws