杰克伦敦 热爱生命 论文

2024年1月15日发(作者：朱星柞)

Inspiration and Realistic Meaning of Love of Life

【Abstract】: Jack London is the U.S novelist and short story writer of critical realism .He has left

abundant masterpieces．Love of life is the most famous short story of the “Northern tales” ries.

The paper generally analyzes the story ; Compare Love of Life with The Old Man and the Sea

and Robinson Crusoe in order to dig out the theme on a broader stage. Finally, it deepens the

version into the real life, talking about its realistic meaning.

【摘要】：杰克伦敦是美国最富有批判精神的现实主义作家，他的一生著述颇丰。《热爱生命》是他的“北方故事”中最著名的一篇。本论文在简要介绍小说的基础上将该文与《老人与海》、《鲁宾孙漂流记》比较，以在更加广阔的平台上挖掘文章的主题。最后文章从纵向入手，将视角延伸至现实生活，深度剖析小说的现实意义，使读者从中受益。

【Key words】: love of life; fighting, comparison; realistic meaning

【关键字】: 《热爱生命》；斗争；比较；现实意义

Jack London (1876~1916), who 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 inspired so many readers .Love of life, written by the

end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th ,was his best short story and was highly

appreciated by Lenin, Vladimir . This paper focus on analyzing the theme ,inspiration and realistic

meaning.

l analysis of the story

People who have read the novel all knows that though the plot is simple, it is rather exciting:

the story of a man in the wilderness with hunger, wild animals and despair, totally a fighting

against death . At the beginning of the novel, becau of a sprained foot of the hero, he was

abandoned by his companions. Therefore he became lost and lived outdoors . There he could only

survive by chewing a white marshes or the rush root in order to maintain the day to day journey of

suffering. Afterward, there appeared a sick wolf, and therefore staged a even more breathtaking

tragedy . A patient crawling, a sick wolf limping, two creatures dragging their dying in the

wilderness , hunting each other at the risk of each other's lives. When the blood flows out from the

wolf , we knew that he certainly would go out of the wilderness and it really was .

The desire for survival is one distinct feature of love of life. The character never got lost

becau he had a strong desire—go back lively. In his mind there was a clear route: found bullets,

food ,cools and boat. Along with all the difficulties, he had always having hope and imaginary that

Bill was still waiting for him. “But hard as he stove with his body ,he strove with his mind, trying

to think that Bill had not derted him, that Bill would surely wait for him at cache .He was

compelled to think this thought,otherwsie there would not be any u to strive, and he would have

lain down and died .”It was no other than such a kind of belief that encouraged and supported him

to fight for life.

The story itlf is not a moving plot, but reading the text somehow gives a strong shock.

Faced with threat of starvation and the wolf, as well as the even more terrible environment. the

dedication, persistence, tenacity reflected a miracle of life . Beyond the external danger, the

miracle of desire and ability to survive is shocking. But it also conveys the necessity of the love of

life . The book actually tells us a simple truth: As long as the idea is still living in mind, do not

give up easily.

2. Writing technique and writing style

2.1Taking advantage of the scene to express the emotion

When abandoned by his partner Bill, the descriptions of the natural environment appeared

twice, respectively ”Near the horizon the sun was smouldering dimly, almost obscured by formless

mists and vapors ,which gives an impression of mass and density without outline and tangibility.”

This description perfectly echoed with the man’s phychological feelings ,he almost couldn’t

believe that Bill had abandoned him and left him alone wounded. How much he wished that

everything was just his illusion which dim weather bought forth. The cond time is ”It was not a

heartening spectacle. Everywhere was soft sky-line. The hills were all low-lying. There were no

trees, no shrubs ,no grass-naught but a tremendous and terrible desolation that nt fear swiftly

dawning into his eyes.” This bleak and desolated environment echoed with the man’s

situation ,enabled the readers to n the man’s fear and disappointment .

2.2 Using abundant vocabulary to express

limp, reel ,totter all mean” to tremble or rock as if about to fall”

2.3 Using figurative language

Simile: “His joints were like rusty hinges .They worked harshly in their sockets, with much

friction, and each bending or unbending was accomplished only through a sheer exertion of

will” ,vividly explains hardness for the man to walk with his twisted leg

Repetition: The description of the man’s heart beating and how he counted matches and wound

etc. all appeared veral times to emphasis the importance.

Parataxis: “Then followed the wild upward leap and tattoo of flutters, the pressing as of an iron

band about his forehead, the creeping of the dizziness into his brain.” The compound ntences

forcefully showed the fierce physical torture the man suffered.

Personification : “The hunger pangs were sharp .They gnawed and gnawed until he could not

keep his mind steady on the cour he must pursue to gain the land of little sticks .”gnaw”, an

action of human ,ud here to show the violence of hunger .

Onomatopoetic words :u ker-ker-ker to describe the noi of ptarmigan and

“thump ,thump ,thump ” to describe the heart-beating.

Alliteration and End rhyme: the day grew chill and crisp ;a smouldering ,smudgy fire; weariness

and weakness; rved and spread; the eyes were bleared and blood slot ;hopped and bobbed

clumsily, calm and collected…all the make the ntences forceful and in harmonious rhyme.

2.4 Subtle phychological description

Vivid phychological description is another spotlight of the essay .For example,” he began to

shake as with an ague-fit, till the gun fell from his hand with a splash” ,simple ntence as it was,

penetrates the fear of the man.” “And yet he wanted to live .It was unreasonable that he should

die after all he had undergone ” shows the man’s strong mind and tough personality.

2.5 Little but forceful description of conversations

“Bill!” he whispered, once and twice ,”Bill!” Just two words forcefully showed the fear

even disillusion of the man when been abandoned.

3. Comparison between Love of life and The Old Man and the Sea

As is known to all, Jack London and Hemingway are hemorrhagic men. They worship

strength, adventure and struggle. American writer Jack London's "Love of Life" and Earnest

Hemingway's" The Old Man and the Sea" are songs of the peaceful life and survival which let us

reinstate the overturning a and listen to the heart that troubled from the call of the wild. The

two works aims at analyzing the vivid true life by the glorification of life and longing for survival.

Then comes to the conclusion that all limited life will last forever.

As far as we are concerned, both works show us the same theme, that is, to show the

beautiful vitality infinitely beyond the limited life.

In the "Love of life", bad weather, cold polar and a group of hungry wolves compod the

inaccessible environment. Even in such a difficult situation, the gold digger performed

extraordinary courage and never gave up. In the dert, he kept his life by eating little food he

could got, dragged his weaken feet on the wide wasteland : fell, moved up, walked again, and

repeated the actions again and again. During the war against a sicken wolf, his desire for

survival made him wake up. His nerve have dulled while his brain was full filled with weird

illusion and wonderful dreams .Eventually, he defeated that wolf and emitted the light of life. Here,

beyond the survival instinct is the faith in life and survival.

In "The Old Man and the Sea", the old fisherman has not land a fish for 84 days so that he

could not afford himlf any food, then he decided go far away to land big fish. However, the

Marlin was too big for him to land, he struggled with this big Marlin for three days which made

him so tired that he nearly fell in a faint. What's more, on his way back home, a fierce shark

attacked his fruits of labor and he tried his best to fight with it and won finally. Though at last, his

Marlin remained little, his spirit of fighting with the shark and never giving in to the crucial nature

should still highly complimented.

4. Comparison between Love of life and Robinson Crusoe

Needless to say, both the hero in Love of Life and Robinson are so strong-minded to

conquer all the difficulties in the process of pursuing life .Apart from their tough spirit and dogged

vitality ,they have another feature in common that contribute a lot to their survival in Slough of

Despond, that is the survival skills. Actually ,if they do not equipped with such abundant survival

skills, no matter how strong their desire for life are ,they have no chance to survive in such

extreme conditions. Firstly, both of them know how to take their bearings. The protagonist in Love

of Life loss direction for a while, but he realizes and corrects it and finally goes out of the

wasteland and es the boat of life. Robinson Crusoe has a compass with him and he makes the

most of it. Secondly, they make reasonable u of their limited tools and resources. To be specific,

the protagonist in Love of Life takes really good care of the matches: parate them into three parts

and put them in different places so that it’s unlikely that he will lo them all; Robinson Crusoe

duly transfer all the uful tool in the boat to the island before the boat is destroyed by the strong

wind. Thirdly , both of them try their best to grasp time. The protagonist in Love of Life never

forgets to wound the watch . As for Robinson Crusoe ,he don’t has a watch with him ,but he is

creative enough to u his own way to calculate time .The n of time is crucial to tho who are

lost in the wild.

Both of the characters also have something distinctive that contribute to their survival. The

protagonist in Love of Life posss the philosophy of giving up .Unlike his friend Bill who keeps

the gold till he become the bones of dead, he desrts the gold and survives at last. Robin Crusoe

lives quite a long time in the island (four years), there are more challenges for him, but he not only

survives but also lives very well--he is so versatile to create almost everything that he needs for

living .He is good at taking risk and succeeds in extricate the captive from the geek ,and turns him

be his rvant.

As for the writer, Jack London is the supporter of the socialist while Daniel Defoe is the

advocator of the colonialism. So the protagonists in two masterpieces hold different attitudes

toward their partners. The protagonist in Love of Life regards Bill as his real friend even after Bill

has betrayed him, he can’t believe it. However, Robinson treat Friday as his rvant, slavery.

5. The theme as well as its enlightenments

Survival is a human instinct. Through the fights, Jack London fully expresd human beings’

desire for life. Confronted with the nature’s cruel conditions and dangers, the protagonist bravely

surmounted all the difficulties by strong living desire and love of life . He was the real strong

characteristic of his own life. People who believe in Fatalism do not control their own destiny.

Thus victory always goes to the strong. We suffer and struggle, and we enjoy the poetry, the sun,

the nature and the family. Life itlf is a blessing. Each of us is climbing on the rugged mountain

road, for life and also for survival. Life is a miracle, turning point often comes at the last moment

as long as if you are insisting on . Life is cond to nothing! Only if you were alive, can you have

opportunities to do something you are willing to do.

Someone demonstrates the courage to live even in some extreme conditions .The years saw

a lot of terrible natural catastrophes ,during which many people showed to the world their strong

love for life. In 2008, a destructive earthquake attacked Wenchuan ,China .Hous collapd, trees

fell ,Wenchuan turned to be a shambles in a cond .Large quantities of people died in the

earthquake, but many people still survived. What worth mentioning is that some survivals were

covered by the armored concrete for days, wounded riously. They did not lo the hope and

confidence to live though enclod by desperation .

Another typical example is the former famous gymnast Sanglan,who paralyzed after an

accident during competition. Turing from a promising young gymnast a disabled person ,she kept

optimistic and showed the world her sunshine like smile. She could make it becau her belief in

life and future.

Nevertheless, there are still someone do not cherish their lives. For instance, in December

11th ,2009,when faced with great economic pressure and some other problems ,a post graduated

girl named Yangyuanyuan didn’t choo to struggle but put an end to her own life .Her death was

great lo to her family as well as the whole society.

From tho examples both in masterpieces and real life ,we can not help wondering how can

we achieve a better life either in daily life or in extreme conditions. Here are some enlightments :

Firstly, we should be equipped with the skill of living. Having one’s own career and being

economically independent can ensure a comfortable material life ,which is fundamental.

Secondly, we should cultivate some personal hobbies to relea our pressure. When things get

tough ,learn to lay them down ,and have a rest ,then try another way.

Thirdly ,love others ,never be to lfish. Only tho who love others can be mentally strong

and find the real meaning of life, thus enjoying a happy life.

But we are still wondering tho authors who created masterpieces such as ,The Old Man and

the Sea, which advocated struggles for life ,cho to commit suicide themlves . Why don’t they

struggle for their own life when there are difficulties? This is really worth thinking.

Reference

1.《杰克 伦敦作品导读》（武汉大学出版社）

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