Aspects Of American Frontier Spirit In The Call Of The Wild

Jack London, an American novelist, is a world-renowned literary master. He bequeaths the world abundant works, among which The Call of the Wild is particularly famous and typically shows the American frontier spirit. The frontier spirit nurtured in American frontier becomes an important part of the American national spirit. This thesis elaborates the notion of the frontier spirit from three main aspects:adventurism, pragmatism and individualism, and aims to systematically analyze the embodiment of them in the novel.This thesis consists of three chapters plus an introduction and conclusion. Chapter One discusses adventurism in the Charleses and John Thornton. Adventurism means that pioneers have the courage and braveness to risk, explore and conquer in unknown fields. The Charleses and John Thornton are gold-prospectors in the harsh Alaskan frontier. The former are ignorant adventurers, and the later is an experienced one. In the end they all lose their lives. There struggles there show adventurism. Chapter Two analyzes pragmatism in Buck. Pragmatism means that pioneers behave flexibly in new environments in order to survive. Buck changes from a civilized domestic dog king in the urbanized California into an Alaskan sled-dog leader through great efforts. Whether in California or in Alaska, Buck is always pragmatic about survival and development. Chapter Three focus on individualism in Buck’s four sets of masters and Spitz. Individualism includes rich meanings, but here London emphasizes more the irrational aspect of it, egoism. Buck’s four sets of masters are all self-centered individualists, who treat sled-dogs and others very badly. Spitz who is the original leader of the sled-dog team pays his life for his extreme individualism.Through the systematic study of the American frontier spirit in The Call of the Wild, this thesis draws the conclusion as follows:through the elaboration of the American frontier spirit in the novel, London aims to recall the frontier spirit and consider problems contradictory to it in an American transitional period. The novel surpasses being a mere animal story to be a piece of serious literary work. The profundity of its ideas makes it a canon in modern American literature.