week 19 Jack+London

1、Week 7Jack London and Theodore Dreiser NaturalistTeaching ObjectivesnTo get students understand Naturalism and the writing features of this periodnTo help students get familiar with Jack London and Theodore Dreiser NaturalistTeaching ProceduresnIntroduction of American NaturalismnJack London and the

2、 analysis of his works Part I American Naturalism Thematically, naturalistic writers - write detailed descriptions of the lives of the downtrodden and of the abnormal, - frankly treat human passion and sexuality to show the animalistic nature of man, - are concerned about how men and women are overw

3、helmed by the forces of environment and by the forces of heredityPart II Jack London (1876 1916) Hope for Human civilizationFather of American Proletariat,prltert literatureRealist, spokesman of socialismGreat thinkerNewsboy報童報童 (at 10)Oyster pirate (16)A hard laborer (muscle seller) A tramp流浪者流浪者,

4、beggar (at 18)nA knowledge pursuer nA successful writer n A rancher (大農(nóng)場主大農(nóng)場主)Writing stylenSocial Darwinism, Neitzchean ni:tin superman, socialist doctrines of MarxnNaturalism mingled with Romanticism. Forceful and colorfulnSubjectivity and enthusiasmnStiff Characterization and stereotyped dialogue

5、Part III Works of Jack LondonTheme of Jack Londons Worksnprimitive violence, Anglo-Saxon supremacy, biological evolution, class warfare, and mechanistic determinism.Part III Works of Jack LondonWorks & Three PeriodsnBefore 1900 ：To the Man on Trail 為趕路的人干杯 n The Odyssey of the North 北方的奧德賽1899n1

6、9001910 ：“ North Story” The Son of the Wolf 狼之子狼之子1900 etc. The Iron Heel鐵蹄1908 White Fang 1906白牙 The Sea-wolf海狼海狼1904 The Call of the Wild1903 野性野性的呼喚的呼喚 Martin Eden馬丁馬丁 .伊登伊登1909 Burning Daylight 天大亮1910(turning point)nAfter 1910 : “Pacific short story ” The House of Mapuhi 馬普希的房子1911 “ Social pro

7、blem novel”The Mexican墨西哥人1913Part III Works of Jack LondonMartin Eden 1909 馬丁馬丁 伊登伊登na sailor from a working class love for Ruth Morse from a bourgeois familybuw:.nrejected by the publishers and Ruth finally left him. nHe then made money from his books.nEden only felt the emptiness and the snobbish

8、ness of the upper class. nHe donated his money to his sister and Lizzie who is devoted to but once rejected by him and drowned himself.Part III Works of Jack LondonCharactersnMartin EdennA former sailor from a working class background who falls in love with a young bourgeois woman and decides to edu

9、cate himself at becoming a writer, so he can win her hand in marriagePart III Works of Jack LondonnRuth MorsenThe young bourgeois woman attending university who captivates Eden while tutoring him in English. Though she is initially both attracted and repelled by his working class background, she fin

10、ally decides that she loves him.n They became engaged with the condition that they can not marry until her parents approve of his financial and social status.CharactersnLizzie ConnolynThe cannery罐頭食品廠 worker who is rejected by Eden. In his mind, Lizzies rough hand mark her out as inferior to Ruth. S

11、he loves Eden for who he is not his fame or wealth.CharactersThemesn1.Social class Eden and Ruth.nEden the working class sailor feels uncomfortable but inspired when he first meets the bourgeois Morse family.n Inspired by his love for Ruth, he began his self-education. As his education progresses, E

12、den finds himself increasingly distanced from his working class background and surroundings.n But when his education far surpassed that of the bourgeoisie, he found himself more isolated than ever.Part III Works of Jack Londonn2.Machinery: Machines toughened Lizzie Connollys hands. Machinery eats up

13、 peoples vitality vatlti: and creativity .nTo Eden, the magazine editors operated a machine which sent out seemingly endless rejections slips. nWhen he works in a laundry, he works with machines but feels himself to be a cog in a larger machine. nEdens typewriter gradually becomes an extension of hi

14、s body. Finally his “thinking machine” went wrong so he committed suicide. Themesn3.Individualism Versus SocialismnJack London was a socialist and intended to fight against individualism. But the work turned to be criticized as a praise for individualism. nMartin Eden seeks self-improvement rather t

15、han an improvement of the whole class. London stressed that it was individualism that eventually led to Edens suicide. He died because of his lack of faith in men.ThemesEvaluation of Martin EdennIt plays the pioneer role, afterwards many described the work which “the American dream” was disillusione

16、d are more or less under its influence.Part III Works of Jack LondonThe Call of the Wild, 1903 野性的呼喚CharacternBuck-a dog, the protagonist. Buck is stolen by the gardener and sold to a group traveling north. nA man in a red sweater teaches Buck his first lesson of the Northland: a man with a club was

17、 a law-giver, a master to be obeyed, though not necessarily conciliated (allied). nBuck is more and more drawn to the wild. He discovers the thrill of the blood hunt, and he defeats his rival, Spitz, for the position of lead dog. The masters uses the dogs viciously. And John Thornton(桑頓）saved him fr

18、om being beaten to death. The two built a solid friendship. nBut Thornton paid more attention to gold when it is found. Then he is murdered by some Indians. Buck revenged Thornton on the Indians.nBuck joined the wolf pack, and breaks the relationship with human forever. He returns the death place of

19、 Thornton to howl in memory of his master.Part III Works of Jack LondonMajor ThemesnSurvival of the FittestnBucks environment ( kidnapped and taken from a sun-kissed, easy existence to the wilds of the Klondikeklndaik克朗代克河(在加拿大西北部,育空河的支流) nSurvived :the instincts for survival handed down by his ance

20、stors Part III Works of Jack LondonnThe power of Instinct nnatural instincts passed down through the genetic code. (Human and animals)nBuck listens to his instinct both makes him more and more powerful and draws him more and more deeply towards the wild.nCivilization Major ThemesnLoyalty nCompanions

21、hip nBuck and John Thornton Major ThemesNaturalism in The Call of the Wildn1.Naturalismn the term Naturalism describes a type of literature that attempts to apply scientific principles of objectivity and detachment of its study of human beings. Unlike Realism, which focuses on literary technique, Na

22、turalism implies a philosophical position: for naturalistic writers, since humans are in Emile Zolas Phrase “human beasts,” characters can be studied through their relationships to their surroundings.nIt was a literary movement taking place from 1880s to 1940s that used detailed realism to suggest t

23、hat social conditions, heredity, and environment had inescapable force in shaping human characters. It was depicted as a literary movement that seeks to write a believable everyday reality, as opposed to such movements as Romanticism or Surrealism. It is the outgrowth of literary realism, a prominen

24、t literary movement in mid-19th century France and elsewhere.nNaturalistic writers were influenced by Charles Darwins theory of evolution. They believed that ones heredity and social environment determined ones character.n2.Naturalism in AmericanIn the US the genre is associated principally with wri

25、ters such as Stephen Crane, Jack London, Frank Norris, Theodore Dreiser.nThey sought explanations for human behavior in natural science and were skeptical of organized religion and beliefs in human free will. nIn philosophical and generic terms, American Naturalism must be defined rather loosely, as

26、 a reaction against the realist fiction of the 1870s and 1880s, whose scope was limited to middle-class or “l(fā)ocal color” topics, with taboos on sexuality and violencen3. the analysis of naturalism in the call of the wildnHis unique writing style through Wild has been fully demonstrated. He stressed

27、the importance of survivability, endurance, and the capacity to beat his enemies through the experience of the hero Buck. nHe repeatedly stressed the brutality that fierce competition for survival can not forgive mistakes nor the weak. London believed that either the natural instinct or the nature a

28、nimals are consistent in the environment.nThe intrinsicntrnsk reasons of the development of characters from the angle of genetics.nThe ancestors of dogs are wolves so it is inevitable for Buck to turn from a tame pet dog into a primitive beast. His gene and environmental forces compel him to kill or

29、 be killed.nBuck inherited the strapping魁梧的posture of his father, but not as huge. He has the mouth and head and cunning of a wolf.nThe power of environment on man is another characteristic in the book.nBuck was born in California but then abducted/bdkt誘拐/, from comfortable south into harsh north.nW

30、itnessed the death of many dogs, he realized he was in a life like a primitive battlefield. He has no options but to kill or to be killed.nTo survive, Buck had to adapt to the environment and went back to the primitive instinct. nThe malicious surroundings activated the wild nature of wolf inside hi

31、m. When the former south civilized dog tasted the happiness of killing, a complete beast, the wolf was made. Later, after the death of his beloved master Thornton, he returned to the wilderness and joined the wolves.nEvaluation on him:Jack London, whose life symbolized the power of will, was the most successful writer in America in the early 20th Century. His vigorous stories of men and animals against the environment, and survival against hardships were drawn mainly