英语本科毕业论文-自然主义在《野性的呼唤》中的构造.doc

淮北师范大学信息学院 2012届学士学位论文 The Construction of Naturalism in The Call of the Wild学院、专业 外国语、英语 研 究 方 向 美国文学 学 生 姓 名 赖嘉欣 学 号 20081843051 指导教师姓名 杨联迎 指导教师职称 讲师 2012 年 5 月 20日The Construction of Naturalism in The Call of the Wild Abstract: Naturalism is one of the most important literary schools in literature. It is born in France by the France novelist Emile Zola and was introduced to American by Frank Norris first. The term naturalism describes a type of literalism that attempts to apply scientific principles of objectivity and detachment to its study of human beings. It is based on an outgrowth of the biological determinism of Darwins theory “the survival of the fittest” and the economic determinism of Carl Marx. Its birthplace was France with Zola and Flaubert as its early representatives. Later on, it begins to flourish in other parts of the world such as Russia and the United States. Presently it has becomes a universally-accepted term by modern and contemporary critics, readers as well as novelists. Jack London was an outstanding representative of American naturalism writer. He adopted Darwins theory of evolution, Spencers social Darwinism, Nietzsches superman philosophy and Marxism. He wrote many great works. Jack Londons view of naturalism was fully expressed in The Call of the Wild. Through the image of Buck, readers can clearly see the Darwins theory “the survival of the fittest”. This paper focuses on the origin and development of naturalism and introduces the outstanding American naturalism writer -Jack London. His work The Call of the Wild embodies the spirit of naturalism. All the changes of the dog Buck influenced by heredity and environment. And we will further talk about the naturalism in the construction of themes in The Call of the Wild. Key words: naturalism; “the survival of the fittest”; heredity; environment论自然主义在野性的呼唤中的建设摘要：自然主义是文学中最重要的文学流派之一。它出生在法国，由法国作家左拉和弗兰克诺里斯首先介绍到美国。自然主义描述的是运用客观和公正的科学原则来研究人类的一种文学。它是基于达尔文“适者生存”理论的生物决定论和卡尔马克思经济决定论的结果。它诞生于法国，左拉和早期代表是佐拉和福楼拜。后来，它开始在世界其它地区，如俄罗斯和美国蓬勃发展。目前，现当代评论家，读者以及小说家都已普遍接受这一术语。杰克伦敦是美国自然主义作家的杰出代表。他通过了达尔文的进化论，斯宾塞的社会达尔文主义，尼采的超人哲学和马克思主义。他写了许多伟大的作品。杰克伦敦的自然观，充分表达了野性的呼唤。通过巴克的形象，读者可以清楚地看到“适者生存”的达尔文的理论。本文侧重于自然的起源和发展，并介绍了杰出的美国自然主义作家杰克伦敦。野性的呼唤他的作品体现了对自然的精神。所有的巴克的变化，由遗传和环境的影响。我们将进一步谈论的建设在野性的呼唤主题的自然主义。关键词：自然主义；“适者生存”；遗传；环境 ContentsAbstract.IIntroduction12. Jack London-an outstanding representative of American naturalism.22.1 Naturalistic elements in The Call of the Wild.22.2 The origin and development of naturalism.3 2.2.1 The onset of naturalism in France.3 2.2.2 The Promotion of naturalism in America.43. Naturalism Presented through The Call of the Wild.63.1 The common themes of the naturalistic works.6 3.1.1 The power of heredity.7 3.1.2 The Controlling Power of Environment in The Call of the Wild.84. Conclusion .9References .10Acknowledgements.1111The Construction of Naturalism in The Call of the Wild1. IntroductionJack London was one of the most popular writers of his time and he has been regarded as “the guy of writing dog story” by many readers. His animal fictions are different from traditional animal literature on character, theme and artistic style. His dog stories constitute in great measure his claim to fame as an important writer. Literary criticism of Jack London has proliferated since the 1970s. Some critics appraise his works and some appraise his person; some analyze his works as realistic and some as naturalistic; some criticize him as a proletarian writer while the others praise him highly for this. London is a paradoxical figure and this is one of the many reasons why he and his works have been and are still been studied throughout the world including his rich and colorful description, vivid characterization and accurate psychoanalysis of the characters in his works, especially of animals. Jack London has been in the forefront of the move toward naturalistic fiction and realism in America. He has been deeply influenced by Darwins ideas of constant struggle in nature and “the survival of the fittest”. His social fiction gives him credence as a spokesman for the working class because of his strong sympathy for the poor. As a folk hero, London has achieved popularity, which along with Mark Twain, may make him a permanent figure in American mythology. London is also extremely popular abroad, especially in Europe and the former Soviet Union. Londons reputation as a solid craftsman-especially of short stories has now been established firmly, even among literary critics as more and more critics find Londons works a subject worthy of discussion. Londons works are very popular in China and they have been praised and read by many Chinese people up to the present. Besides the vivid characterization and rich and colorful description in his works, his fame in China is also linked with his status as the spokesman of the working class and his sympathies towards the downtrodden in such works as The Iron Heel (1907) and The People of the Abyss (1903). Since the 1970s, more and more studies on London and his works have appeared and this gives us a great chance to read him, understand him and study him. In general, naturalism is the literary movement that provides the best context for Jack London. The theme of naturalistic novels is often the escape from the civil society. A stock naturalistic device involves taking an “over-civilized” man from the normal society into a primitive environment where he must live by muscle and wit. London uses this device in The Sea-Wolf, The Call of the Wild and White Fang, although the hero in the animal novels is a dog or a wolf. In this paper I mainly analyze the influence of environment and heredity and chance as subsidiary proof of the naturalistic elements.2. Jack London-an outstanding representative of American naturalism2.1 Naturalistic elements in The Call of the WildIt is rumored that in a single winter spent in the Canadian North during the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897-1898, London came upon a mythic wolf that was in part his inspiration for Buck, main character in The Call of the Wild. Whether it is true or not, the historical event of the Gold Rush provides a perfect backdrop for any story of resilience and exploration. Much of the story takes place in Alaska, traveling between Dawson and Skagway. Bought by Secretary Seward from Russia for $72,000,000.in 1867. Alaska received the status of American Territory. Its abundance in minerals, timber, agriculture, and fisheries made it a haven for those looking to embrace a more naturalistic existence. The discovery of gold promoted a huge expedition. Captain Moore, a citizen of Canada, who had been prospecting for gold in the Canadian northwest in the year 1886, was far-seeing enough to discover a trail he called the “White Pass”. This would be the most feasible gateway to Dawson in the interior, in case important gold discoveries should be made there, and they were. A well-marked trail that served to transport men, supplies, and correspondence was crucial to the success of the movement.Numerous memoirs and diaries remain from the men and women who toiled over the icy trail in that year. Their accounts of the journey between Skagway and Swanson are the beat source of what life was like in on an expedition. Writing speaks of ruffed canyons, boldly ascending mountains, and projecting cliffs. Native sought to put all those full of hope and prospects of glory to a formidable test of wills and strength. Certainly not all were successful. Travelers would pass a stretch of land known as “Dead Horse Trail”, where animals and their unlucky owners had succumbed to hypothermia, starvation, or Indian attacks. The name of the tail is ironic. While horses were used by some, the dog was by far more ubiquitous. They were mostly brownish-gray, friendly, and easily led, In the Gold Rush Arctic, the dog was of paramount importance. Men could not cover the great distances involved; much less carry their food and equipment, on foot. As yet there were down hopelessly by the snow and could not survive on fish, the most readily available food. Because of physical qualifications, adaptability, and its natural kinship to other creatures that were part of the sphere they occupied, the dog became the solution to the finding and mining of gold. Their integral role in the Gold Rush prompted London to anthropomorphize them in his writing.2.2 The origin and development of naturalism2.2.1The onset of naturalism in FranceNaturalism began in the nineteenth century and lasted until the early 1880s. The fundamental naturalist doctrine is presented in Zolas 1880 essay “Le roman experimental? (The Experimental conditions, in other words, take the known such as a character) and introduce it into the unknown (such as an unfamiliar place). Another major principle of Naturalism that Zola explains in this essay is the idea of determinism, which is the theory that a persons fate is determined solely by heredity and environment.Naturalism applies both to scientific ideas and principles, such as instinct and Darwins theory of evolution and to fiction. Authors in this movement wrote stories in which the characters behave in accordance with the impulses and drives of animals in nature. The tone is generally objective and distant, like that of a botanist or biologist taking notes or preparing treaties. Naturalist writers believe that truth is found in nature, and because nature operates within consistent principles, patterns, and rules, truth is consistent.The emergence of Naturalism does not mark a radical break with Realism; rather the new style is a logical extension of the old. The term was invented by Emile Zola partly because he was seeking for a striking platform from which to convince the reading public that it was getting something new and modern in his fiction. In fact, he inherited a good deal from his predecessors. Like Balzac and Flaubert, he created settings meticulously researched, but tended to integrate them better into his narrative, avoiding the long set-piece descriptions so characteristic of earlier fiction. Again, like Balzac, he created series of novels with linked characters and settings (The Rougo Macquart: Natural and Social History of a Family during the Second Empire) which stretched to twenty novels. He tried to create a portrait of France in the 1880s to parallel the portrait Balzac had made of his own times in the Comedy humanize. Like Flaubert, he focused on ordinary people with often debased motives.Zola further tends to create his principal characters as representative types rather than striking individuals. He also places great emphasis on people acting in groups, and is one of the few great writers of mob scenes. Humanity in the mass is one of his chief subjects, and his individuals are selected to illustrate aspects of society. Zola has had an enormous impact on the American novel. Americans with their preference for action over thought and for gritty realism were strongly drawn to his style of writing. Early 20th-century writers like Theodore Dreiser applied his approaches to American themes successfully, and Frank Norris practically stole large chunks of Zolas novels in some of his own works. The mainstream American novel id preponderantly naturalistic, and gives rise to another genre which still lives on: the hard-boiled detective story.For all these reasons, Zola strikes us as far more “modern” than Balzac, or even Flaubert. It can be argued that the “default” style of modern narrative is Realist, with the various forms of fantastic narratives which dominated the writing of earlier ages relegated to the margins; and even fantasy is often judged as to its plausibility. Without altogether banishing Romanticism, Realism and Naturalism have had considerable success.2.2.2 The Promotion of naturalism in AmericaAlthough naturalism was inspired by the work of the French writer Emile Zola, it reached the peak of its accomplishment in the United States at the end of nineteenth century and extended up to the First World War.“The post-bellum decades witnessed the emergence of modern America. Industrialism and science and the new philosophy of life based upon science were among the important factors which helped to create the economic, social, and cultural transformations of the country.” (Chang Yaoxin, 1990:196)The literature of America was also changing. To some young writers just emerging, Howell Sian realism was now too restrained and genteel in tone to tell the truth of the harsher realities of American life. Both Howells and Mark Twain had written their best work and, especially in the case of the former, had said what he had to say. Apparently they were too old and too set in their ways to re-orient themselves in the new period. In the nineties, French naturalism with its new techniques and new ways of writing, appealed to the imagination of the younger generating like Crane, Norris, and Theodore Dreiser. They tore the mask of gentility to pieces and wrote about the helplessness of man, his insignificance in a cold world, and his lack of dignity in face of the crushing forces of environment and heredity. They reported truthfully and objectively with a passion for scientific accuracy and an overwhelming accumulation of factual detail. They painted life as it was lived in the slums, and were accused of telling just the hideous side of it and making “a god of the dull commonplace.”According to Zhang He Zhen (1984), American naturalists mainly have three traits in writing.(1)American naturalism usually take human beings as victims, fire as the victims of heredity, that is, biological force, and they try to explain human beings and the society by natural laws especially biological laws. For the naturalists, heredity laws refers to humans instinct which is a kindof strong desire and impulse inherited from the ancestors such as hunger, fear and sexuality. These desires and impulses are the animal instincts which drive animals. One theme of the American naturalists is the description of the animal instincts of human beings. In their stories, human beings are only animals that when they meet with danger or pressure they will show their most original crude animal nature. The most appropriate representative of this theme is Frank Norris Teague.(2) American naturalists usually take human beings as the victims of environment. Almost all naturalists believe environment is a powerful force which is immeasurable, mysterious and inevitable. Human beings in this environment are no more than some “cosmic dust”. Or as what Frank Norris describes in Octopus, are just some ephemeras which will be forgotten soon. To them, human life is a meaningless dream. These naturalists believe the mysterious and inevitable force of the environment is the result of society and economy.(3) American naturalists usually take human beings as the victims of fate or chance. Romantics believe nature is beneficent and virtuous. The relationship between nature and human beings is harmonious. Romanticists usually beautify nature and in their works, nature is the fascinating paradise. Naturalists regard nature as neither beneficent nor vicious. It is absolutely indifferent to human beings. Human beings can never make their own choice. They can not control but accept the arrangement of the mysterious fate.The greatest achievement of American naturalism is the exploration and innovation of the subject matter. Naturalists are concerned about the suffering and misery of the low class and they greatly enlarge the scope of the subject matter in American novels.3. Naturalism Presented through The Call of the Wild3.1 The common themes of the naturalistic worksThe Call of the Wild is a book about a dogs life. Buck who is very strong, clever and tamales is the leading actor of the book. Bucks first owner was Judge Miller. He liked his owner very much. But one day, his life changed. Manuel who is a gardener kidnapped Buck. He took to the north. Buck became a sled dog. The bad weather, the terrible Husky dogs, the fights, his dead friend and many things made Buck know he was surrounded by savages. There was no fair play. Only fight and war can help him. Finally, he began to master his new surroundings. His ability to rule and his great intelligence good judgment were wonders to everyone. And he often listened to some special voice of the wild. Then, Buck was sold once more. He had two stupid owners. And then John Thornton rescued Buck, and became Bucks new owner. In fact, we are the same as them. In our life, many people work hard, try to change and master their fate. From Buck and Jack, we can see and know how to face life. Through this objective study of human beings, naturalistic writers believed that the laws behind the forces that govern human lives might be studied and understood. Naturalistic writers like Frank Norris, Theodore Dreiser and Jack London thus used a version of the scientific method to write their novels; they studied human beings governed by their instincts and passion as well as the ways in which the characters lives were governed by forces of heredity and environment. Although they used the techniques of acc