The Analysis Of Jack London's The Call Of The Wild From The Perspective Of Ecocriticism

Jack London is one of the famous representatives of Naturalism and Realism at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century in America, and also is the most frequently translated American writer with the most readers in the whole Europe. His writing style to some extent influences the later writers' writing in America. Nature is one of the themes of his works. A passion for nature and a disappointment to modern industrial civilization are often embodied in his works. The Call of the Wild, a masterpiece in literary treasure house, brings Jack London fame and also stands the test of time. Since its publication for more than one hundred years, the novel has encountered a variety of compliments and criticism.The thesis interprets The Call of the Wild from the perspective of ecocriticism. Ecocriticism is a combination of ecological thought and literary study. Rather than a method of literary study, it is more about an attitude and a viewpoint. Ecological holism is its ideological basis. Through exploring how man's thought, life and production mode affect man's bad attitude towards nature, the aim of ecocriticism is to expose the cultural root that causes ecological crisis.The thesis analyzes the novel from the three dimensions, namely, eco-aesthetics, spiritual ecology and returning to the wild, which reveal Jack London's violent attack on ugliness of modern people and anthropocentrism, praise for animals' virtue and inner value, and philosophical exploration of mode of life and relation between man and nature. Only returning to the nature is man's final perpetual home.The thesis is composed of five chapters with an introduction and a conclusion. The introduction part is about Jack London's literary life, studies on The Call of the Wild by scholars at home and abroad, and the dissertation's standpoint.The first chapter introduces ecocriticism abroad and in China.The second chapter analyzes Jack London's viewpoint of eco-aesthetics embodied in the novel. When man equally treats living creatures and nature, he can lead a balanced life with nature. When man mistreats nature madly, man will be punished by nature finally. The law of nature is independent of man's will. The wild also has its own eco-value.The third chapter explores the alienation of social ecology and spiritual ecology in the novel. Anthropocentrism and expanded lust lead to unbalanced relation between man and man, man and nature. In the novel, the human society is dark and filthy, even the dog's world (nature) is affected.The fourth chapter analyzes Jack London's focus on the ideal living-together mode of man and animals. Dogs have inner value as well as value-in-use. Dogs like man are a segment of the eco-system. They are man's partners, and should not be the enslaved object of man. Man's attitude towards dogs decides the relation between man and dogs, and the way dogs repay man.The fifth chapter discusses the literary implication and meaning for the ending. The conclusion part makes a summary and appeals environment protection thought among people in the world.