从生态批评的视角解读_野性的呼唤_

作者： 谭建香
作者机构： 上海大学外国语学院,上海200444
出版物刊名： 南京理工大学学报：社会科学版
页码： 80-84页
主题词： 生态批评 人类中心主义 生态整体主义 欲望
摘要：生态批评是20世纪后期文学从内部研究转向外部研究的文学批评思潮，它将文学与生态相结合，探讨了文学与环境之间的关系，对探究缓解日益恶化的生态危机方法具有重大的意义。

杰克．伦敦在20世纪初创作的动物小说《野性的呼唤》成为美国自然主义最著名的代表作之一。

本文试从生态批评的理论角度探究该作品中主人公巴克在文明社会到蛮荒大自然的环境转变中由文明的宠物狗变为任意杀戮的狼狗，挣开人类的枷锁，响应野性的呼唤，最终回归到大自然的深层原因。

杰克伦敦《野性的呼唤》中的生态伦理及自然主义生态主义学者利奥波德在大地金字塔模型理论中，将生态系统的规律定性为“高组织的结构体系下，每个生物自身生态本位的养分循环和能量流动”。

当生态系统的规律被破坏，生物的生态本位失衡下，必然会出现自然灾害、生态危机等现象。

为避免此类现象，杰克·伦敦在《野性的呼唤》中对环境伦理和生态的必然规律进行描述，通过危机预判及人性批判，激发人们尊重自然、维持生态的人本责任意识。

一、杰克·伦敦生态文学概述（一）杰克·伦敦生态情结起源背景杰克·伦敦生态文学的创作，与作者自身的社会成长经历和作者所处时代的大背景息息相关。

一方面，从作者的思想内因来说，杰克·伦敦童年的苦役生活及青年的淘金经历，铸就了他观察自然和洞察人性的敏锐度。

杰克·伦敦著名荒野小说《野性的呼唤》是以美国艾奥瓦州道森市的淘金旅行为背景创作的。

作者从对抗自然到了解自然的亲身经历，提升其荒野小说内容描述的真实性及具象性。

在生态文学的创作上，杰克·伦敦深受自然主义文学代表作家福楼拜及达尔文《物种起源》的影响，因此，杰克·伦敦对呼吁人与自然和谐共处的自然主义格外推崇。

杰克·伦敦曾说过，“最能理解穷苦人的只有穷苦人”。

杰克·伦敦童年时期的苦役生活、混混生活及流浪者生活，让他深刻体会到下层人民的疾苦。

苦难的生活经历使他面对生态危机、动物受难时多了身份置换的同理心。

也由此，杰克·伦敦的生态情结，往往最终升华到人性回归的层面上。

另一方面，美国生态主义、自然主义、生态文学及自然派文学的发展，完善了杰克·伦敦生态情结及其生态文学创作的基本思想框架。

19世纪初期及中期，美国正在由农业社会向工业社会转型，杰克·伦敦的文学创作期刚好处在美国工业社会转型完成后的工业时代。

工业革命、趋利主义、淘金热的出现，使自然生态环境出现危机、人类精神生态也产生异化。

读书心得——生态伦理视域下的《野性的呼唤》解读引言杰克·伦敦是20世纪美国现实主义作家的杰出代表，被文学界誉为“美国无产阶级文学之父”，在现代美国文学史乃至世界文学史上，都享有崇高的荣誉和地位。

关国评论家弗雷德·帕蒂认为，杰克·伦敦不仅仅代表了个人，而且代表了那个时代，是当时美国现实环境的产物；要理解美国新世纪开始的那段岁月，就必须研究伦敦主义。

在其十多年的文学创作生涯中，他创作了五十多部脍炙人口的文学作品。

其中发表于1903的动物小说《野性的呼唤》是其最为别具一格的小说。

小说的独特性在于，透过它读者可以走进动物的内心世界，并以动物的独特视角去审视人类社会。

《野性的呼唤》以作者所亲身经历的美国阿拉斯加淘金之旅为背景，讲述了在北方及其险恶的环境下，一条名叫“巴克”的狗为了生存，由已经被驯化了的南方狗变成一只适应蛮荒之地艰苦生活的工作犬，最终心中的野性被唤醒而成为一只领头狼的故事。

在此过程中，它意识到，要生存就要不择手段、你死我活。

于是它学会狡猾、欺诈，并将自己的生存智慧发挥到极致。

在艰辛的拉雪橇途中，其他的狗默默忍受痛苦、挨打、挨饿甚至死亡。

但巴克不同，它能迅速适应环境，超越别的狗。

经过激烈而残酷的争斗，巴克最后终于确立了领头犬的地位。

当它最后的一个主人桑顿将它从极端繁重的苦役中解救出来时，它与桑顿结下了深厚的情谊，难舍难分、生死相依；在它热爱的主人和其它伙伴惨遭印第安人射杀后，它便走向荒野，响应它这一路上多次聆听到的、非常向往的那种野性的呼唤。

作品的“目的在于通过动物世界中‘人’性的沦丧和野性的复发以及它们之间的勾心斗角与残酷争夺来揭示当时美国社会的现实本质”。

它凝聚着作者本人惨痛的生活经和他对那个不公正社会难以压抑的愤遗之情。

小说中关于生命，自然与环境的关系值得我们深思。

[1]一、追寻个体的生存权利最初的巴克是一只单纯、活泼而灵敏的普通狗，虽具有野性但习惯了在温暖的山谷里过着自己舒适的生活，乖乖地索取食物，忠诚于它的主人，与之相处融洽，一起旅行，一同打猎、散步、游泳。

杰克·伦敦是19世纪末20世纪初美国著名的现实主义作家。

他的许多作品在国内外都广受欢迎，尤其是在其作品中体现的生态意识，对后世创作者具有深刻的影响。

在其代表作《野性的呼唤》中，小说通过一只狗的视角，揭露了人类对大自然的残害，充分体现了作者对以人类为中心进行生态破坏的批判。

作者体现出人与自然的关系的思考，并对生态意识进行反思与重构，在突出巴克命运的同时，也表现出对自然与社会文明现状的批判，反映出自然和社会文明和谐共处的重要性。

在当时的社会中，占主导地位的是人类中心主义的生态思想，人类对自然生态的破坏也达到了前所未有的严重程度。

作者通过该作品讨论了人与自然的矛盾以及如何达到人与自然的和谐相处。

一、人与自然的关系1.人与自然在传统的小说中，人类通常是小说的主人公，作者总是以人类的角度看待世界。

然而，在《野性的呼唤》中，杰克?伦敦对这种人类中心主义提出全面质疑，他以一条狗为主人公，通过狗的视角旁观人类的行为，批判了人类对自然的破坏甚至毁灭，对人类的罪恶进行深刻和无情的剖析。

作者通过巴克从狗到狼的转变，对人类中心主义进行深度批判。

作者通过对人类对待自然和动物行为的描写，将传统意识中关于人性的美好构想进行瓦解，人类作为自然界的统治者形象及高贵身份逐渐崩塌。

小说的地点在加拿大北部和阿拉斯加靠近北极的冰雪世界，也正是这种恶劣的环境，将人类的恶性方面暴露出来，对金钱和享受的贪恋，对自然的大肆破坏，这个时候的人类不再是高高在上的统治者，而是充满了暴力和贪婪。

作者通过对人类与自然关系的描写，以唤醒人类日益薄弱的生态意识。

2.人与动物杰克?伦敦将人类和动物之间的关系进行剖析，体现出了作者强烈的生态意识。

在人类中心主义观念中，动物没有任何情感，有的只是野蛮和残暴，它们是文明的对立者。

因此，在此观念下，动物只是人类的工具以及虐待的对象，仅此而已。

然而，作者对动物进行了主体化和人性化，将动物作为主人公进行描述，而且动物都有自己的特点和性格，比如小说里巴克的勇敢果决，戴夫的冷漠公正，斯皮茨的残酷无情，以及派克的偷奸耍滑等。

生态批评理论视角下《野性的呼唤》中的人类中心主义研究作者：刘瑶来源：《理论与创新》2017年第32期摘要：《野性的呼唤》被认为是杰克·伦敦的经典代表作，小说通过描述巴克从人类社会回归自然的经历，真实生动地反映了美国的真实生活。

文章通过生态批评理论重新解读《野性的呼唤》，从人与狗、人的贪婪两个方面揭示小说中的人类中心主义，研究在人类中心主义思想的影响下，人们在开发利用自然时对自然造成的破坏。

关键词：巴克；生态批评；人类中心主义思想短短十六年的创作生涯，杰克·伦敦却创造了不一样的神话，堪称“传奇”，他的很多作品不仅在美国而且在国外很多国家也好评连连。

他出版作品无数，其中发表于1903的《野性的呼唤》被视为是其经典代表作，小说通过描述巴克从人类社会回归自然的经历，真实生动地反映了美国“淘金热”时期的真实生活。

最初，国内外对杰克·伦敦动物小说的分析，尤其是对《野性的呼唤》主要是进行了主题和象征意义方面的探讨或者从自然主义角度解读环境和遗传因素对动物的影响。

本论文试通过生态批评理论重新解读《野性的呼唤》，从人与狗、人的贪婪两个方面揭示小说中的人类中心主义，研究在人类中心主义思想的影响下，人们在开发利用自然时对自然造成的破坏。

生态批评理论生态批评理论可追溯至二十世纪七十年代，生态文学这个词首次出现在Joseph.W.Meeker 的《生存的喜剧：生态文学研究》一书中。

1978年的时候，生态批评这个词开始出现在大众视野，是由William Rueckert提出的，他把生态中的一些观点同文学研究中类似的概念结合在一起。

随之而来的更多的类似生态批评相关的研究，如生态诗学、绿色研究等等。

然后大多数的研究还是倾向于生态批评研究，因为它更好地阐释了人与自然环境之间的关系。

对于整个生态系统本身而言，生态问题地出现院子人类文化系统问题。

为了解决这个问题，人文学者有必要通过自己的文学作品帮助人们弄清文化对自然造成的影响。

读书心得——《野性的呼唤》的生态主义文学特征分析《野性的呼唤》是美国著名作家杰克·伦敦的代表作，也是19-20世纪自然主义作品中最为重要的一部。

小说通过一只狗的视角，揭露了人类对大自然的残害，充分体现了作者生态主义的观点，以及对以人类为中心进行生态破坏的批判。

这部小说创作于美国资本主义快速发展时期，此时社会生产力水平达到了历史最高，然而，经济的飞速发展伴随的也是潜在的危机，例如经济大萧条、信仰缺失、享乐主义等等。

杰克·伦敦在发现美国社会正处于病态后，通过具有生态主义思想的文学作品唤醒人们的意识，因此在这部小说中，对以人类为核心的生态观进行了批判，并将即将到来的生态危机向人类社会进行了预警。

在人类社会物质文明快速发展的现在，人类社会与自然环境之间日益突出的矛盾关系，正在威胁着人类社会文明的进步发展，因此在这一背景之下，小说中倡导关爱动物、敬畏自然以及实现人与自然界的和谐相处，具有重要的价值及意义。

一、生态主义文学(一)生态主义文学的内涵生态文学是指将生态体系的发展和利益作为最高价值追求而进行创造的文学作品，其中对以人类为中心、以人类利益为价值判断的文学进行抵制和批判。

首先，生态主义文学在描述人与自然的关系时，是以生态主义整体观念为指导，并且它对人类关于自然环境的所有思想以及行为和态度都有判断标准[1]。

主要标准是对生态系统的发展是否有利，即生态系统中能否和谐稳定且持续的存在发展。

在生态主义文学中，不能将人类当作自然世界的核心，将人类的既得利益作为进行价值判断和价值选择的最终目标。

这种观点的产生是人们在社会经济发展中，对大自然的不断破坏导致严重的生态自然灾害，以及可能面临的生态危机，因此生态文学家们意识到人类想要消除生态危机，就要将生态系统的整体利益和个人安全作为创作根本要求及目标。

(二)生态主义文学的特征生态主义文学也是对自然环境与人类社会进行考察和表现的一种文学形式，生态文学的主要特点就是生态责任。

从生态批评角度窥探杰克·伦敦《野性的呼唤》作者：吴恒来源：《科技经济市场》2014年第11期摘 ;要：本文主要是从生态的角度来探讨美国著名的小说家杰克·伦敦的《野性的呼唤》，研究当今的生态问题。

生态问题一直是人类面临的主要问题之一，人与自然的关系，人与生态的关系，人与环境的关系等都是我们人类面临急需解决的问题，如果没有解决好这些问题，对我们人类和环境也有负面的影响。

生态批评也是一种文学的理论，主要建立在文学理论的基础上。

关键词：生态理论;人类中心主义;生态批评0 ;引言杰克·伦敦是20世界美国著名的小说家，他创立的小说主要是受到达尔文和斯宾塞的影响。

生态问题一直困扰着人类，也是人类面临的主要问题。

在中国许多学者对杰克·伦敦和他的作品都有研究，而且研究很广泛。

但是从生态批评的角度来研究和审视是一个比较独特的角度，对社会具有一定的现实意义和价值。

生态批评是随着人类的发展而产生和发展的，它探索并反思着人类的生活方式和文明的发展途径。

从生态批评理论视角重新阐述小说《野性的呼唤》，既是生态批评理论不断发展的进步也同时也具有很强的现实意义。

1 ;生态批评生态批评出现在20世纪70年代，是一种新的文学文化的批评方式，在20世纪90年代的时候更多的学者开始关注生态批评，也开始逐渐被全世界广泛关注。

学者们用生态批评作为一种研究方法来探讨和询究人与自然的关系，文学和自然的关系，并且通过文学来考察文明与自然的关系。

生态批评研究不仅要解救作为人的生存环境的大自然，而且还要还人性以自然，从而解决人的异化问题。

它的终极关怀是重建新型的人与自然合一的精神家园和物质家园，天人合一。

（1）发展生态批评最早出现在20世纪的70年代，美国作家密克尔在1974年出版了《生存的悲剧：文学的生态学研究》，他提出了"文学的生态学"这一词语，强调应该研究"人类与其他物种之间的关系"。

An Ecocritical Interpretation of The Call of the Wild1.0IntroductionJack London is one of the most important writers in America. He was born on January 12, 1876 in California. He had not become the highest-paid, most widely-read, and best-known writer in America until he was 37 years old. As a young man, London always looked forward to travel to the "raw edges" of the world, and many stories in his writing derive from his own experience. During those years, his family was very poor, and London had to leave school to make money. He worked hard in many different jobs, from a pirate in San Francisco Bay, to a tramp across America. Finally, tired of adventure and determined to improve himself, London returned to Oakland, and later, he graduated from high school in 1895. At that time, London even got permission to the University of California at Berkeley, but he did not stay long. As the Klondike Gold Rush in Canada's Yukon Territory had begun, London left his college to find gold in the snowy North in 1897.The experience in the Klondike served as an important turning point in Jack London's career. Instead of being rich, London did gather sufficient material for a series of stories for his writing. He went back and began to write. During these years in the Klondike and the period of the Alaskan Gold Rush, Jack London finished his probably most significant body of work which set in the Far North. These short stories and novels first were published in magazines, and then collected and published in his first book, The Son of the Wolf (1900). This gave him a great encouragement to pursue his literary career. London's best works also include The Call of the Wild (1903), The Seawolf (1904), White Fang (1906), The Iron Heel(1908), and Martin Eden(1909). His short stories are collected in such books as Children of the Frost (1902), When God Laughs (1911) and South Sea Tales (1911).His novel The Call of the Wild,an experimental novel, published in 1903, is considered as one of London's the most-read books and establishes his status in western literature. Since the protagonist is a dog, sometimes it is regarded as an animal fable, suitable for children. However, the dark tone and the numerous scenes of violence andcruelty in the novel show the essence of human nature, thus someone called it "Darwin type epic". The novel criticized anthropocentrism by describing the relationship between man and animal, human's extended lust to gold and their maltreatment of animals. Since published more than one hundred years ago, The Call of the Wild has received great attention both from domestic and foreign literature researchers. The chief topic of the novel is usually the philosophy of the "survival of the fittest". A close reading of the novel reveals the fact it is full of ecological color. In this work, London expressed his disgust of human's maltreatment of animals for their own sake; he also criticized the foolish behavior by disobeying the nature law; besides, he gave a high praise to the harmonious relationship between dog and animal. Since few critics concerning London's ecological consciousness in this famous novel, it is worth reinterpreting and redefining The Call of the Wild from the perspective of ecocriticism.2.0Jack London and EcocriticismAs an important writer of American literature in the early 20th century, Jack London is regarded as a naturalist. Nature is one of the main themes in his works. And his works are full of ecological consciousness by caring about human-nature relationship, human's anthropocentrism and their action of maltreating animals, etc.2.1 A Brief Overview of EcocriticismAs a new kind of literature criticism, many people may not be very familiar with or even know it,it is of great necessity to give a brief overview of ecocriticism.2.1.1 Definition of EcocriticismIn the twentieth century, with the development of the technological revolution, human world changed a lot. On the one hand, it benefited mankind with unparalleled wealth; on the other hand, it also destroyed the ecological balance tremendously and unfortunately. Many environmental disasters arouse the public awareness, making more and more people rethink their relationship between man and nature. Therefore, during the late 1960s, a new era of global ecology movement has emerged. And it is reflected as ecocriticism in literary study.The prefix, "eco-”, in "ecocriticism" comes from the Greek "oikos", and describes the meaning of living place of human being. Criticism means giving the judgment about the good and bad qualities of something or somebody. And combined by these two words, ecocriticism refers to the judgment of human's living place. Here, “ecocriticism”, as a new way of literature study method, means “the analysis and judgment of the merits and faults of a literary work” (Li Zhenbang, 2005: 401).Ecocriticism appears with various kinds of names, commonly as ecological criticism, ecopoetics, environmental literary criticism, ecological literary criticism, green cultural studied, environmental literature etc. But no matter what title it is, the research object and purpose of ecocriticism are consistent, namely, the interpretation of refection of nature in literature works, and the exploration of relationship between natural environment and human culture. According to Cheryll Glotfelty, “ecocriticism refers to the study of relationship between literature and nature”(Cheryll, 1996: 1). This definition seems simple, but in fact it contains rich contents. Firstly, ecocriticism does not follow the “anthropocentric”tradition in the study of literary theory, but advocates “ecocentrism”, extending the definition of the “world”which limited in “the human‟s society”into referring to “the whole ecological system” in the discussion of “the relationship between writer, text and the world”(Li Shujie, 2004: 90). Secondly, from the perspective of ecocriticism, the problem of human society should not be the only issue that literary writing and comment confront.Glotfelty also criticizes that although modern literary criticism developed greatly, it has obviously ignored the main concern of modern human civilization, namely the global environmental crisis. Reading the newspaper, you can get all kinds of information about environmental pollution. In the field of literary criticism, you see most of the race, class, and gender. It seems like only these are the most important issues of the 20th century, but you cannot imagine how serious test the life system of earth is suffering from. Ecocriticism is an effort made by a group of scholars with strong sense and social responsibility in order to change this kind of situation.2.1.2 The Development of EcocriticismAs a new trend of criticism, ecocriticism, firstly, appeared in America, and was spreadover the world rapidly. This concept can be traced back to 1970s. In 1974, Joseph W. Meeker put forward the term of “literary ecology” in his essay The Comedy of Survival: Studies in Literary Ecology. He claimed that criticism should discuss the relationship between human and other species. He also tried to interpret the ancient drama, Dante, Shakespeare and contemporary literature from the perspective of ecological criticism.In 1978, the term “ecocriticim”was produced by William Rucckert in his work Literature and Ecology: An Experiment in Ecocriticism. Rucckert also advocated the combination of ecology and literature in literary criticism. His opinion did not get attention until 1989, the year in which the meeting of Western Literature Association was held.In Britain, ecocriticism began in 1990s, and its founder is Jonathan Bate, a professor of the University of Liverpool. In 1991, Bate put out his Romantic Ecology, in which he interpreted romantic literature from the perspective of ecology. The term of ecocriticism also appeared in this book, but Bate named it as literary ecocriticism. Some scholars believe that the publication of this work marks the beginning of ecocriticism in Britain.In the new century, ecocriticism is achieving great popularity. Ecocriticism spread through the world rapidly, not only in America and Britain, but also in the other western countries. For example, Denmark eco-critic Svend Erik Larsen, Germany scholar Jan Hollm, Fremch professor Alain Suberchicot and Walter Rojas Perez from Latin America. All of them make great contributions to the development of ecocriticism.Besides western countries, China also witnessed the development of eccriticism. In 1994, Jonathan Bate‟s Romantic Ecology appeared on Foreign Literature Review. 2002 is a crucial year for ecocriticism in China. This year, Development and Origin of Ecocriticism, an introductive essay written by Wang Nuo, was published in Literature and Art Studies. In this book, Wang informed Chinese readers of the development and works of eocriticism in the west. In 2006, Professor Hu Zhihong described the basic theory of ecocriticism and its influence in his A Study of Western Ecocriticism. Besides these important works, there are more and more communication between scholars in this field both of western countries and China.After the brief overview of ecocriticism, we know that the goal of ecocriticism is not only the study of the relationship between human and nature, but also spreads ecologicalthoughts through the world. That is to say, the purpose of ecocriticism is on the one hand to explore the ecological ideas in literature and on the other hand to help people realize the ecological problems in the real world and arouse public‟s attention of ecological protection.2.2 Formation of Jack London’s Ecological IdeasJack London is one of the representative writers in America. As a naturalist, nature is the main theme of his works. His experience is the great source of his stories. Many scholars point out both the historical context and his personal life experience contributes to the formation of London‟s ecological ideas.2.2.1 Historical ContextSince nineteenth century, scientific technology and industrialism have developed rapidly and unprecedentedly. Industrialism produced financial giants, but at the same time created other problems, especially ecological crisis. That is to say, natural resources did not get correct and reasonable use during the process of the Industrial Revolution. In order to pursue the fortune, people violate natural rule and destroy natural beauty and ecological balance, bringing devastating disaster to nature and themselves.Jack London(1876-1916), one of the most famous writer in America, was born in 1876, after the end of Civil War, and died in 1916, before the beginning of the First World War. London‟s whole life witnessed the great changes in American society, for example, the rapid development of capitalist economy, Gold Rush and the economic crisis in 1873. During this period, Americans did not depend on the wilderness closely, but had a new contact with urbanized civilization.The great development of industrialization did not make everybody realize their dreams, and the fact is that most of the wealth was under the control of the few. The process of the society is at the cost of the great environmental pollution. People began to question modern society. Jack London was one of them. He wrote many works with the theme of nature, showing his great anxiety of industrial civilization. The Call of the Wild is one of the most representative works to reflect his concern about the relationship between human beings and nature.2.2.2 Life ExperienceJack London, born in San Francisco, California, came from the bottom of the society. When he was a child, his family was very poor, and London had to leave school to make money. He worked hard in many different jobs, from a pirate in San Francisco Bay, to a tramp across America. Finally, tired of adventure and determined to improve himself, London returned to Oakland, and later, he graduated from high school in 1895. At that time, London even got permission to the University of California at Berkeley, but he did not stay long. As the Klondike Gold Rush in Canada's Yukon Territory had begun, London left his college to find gold in the snowy North in 1897.Although suffering from his early unfortunate life experience, London made his way up to the summit of the social hierarchy through hard work and sheer will power. “H e read Marx, Charles Darwin, and Nietzsche, among others, and was self-educated in natural law and determinism. He wrote in quick succession and sold well” (Chang Yaoxin, 2008: 152).The experience in the Klondike served as an important turning point in Jack London's career. Instead of being rich, London did gather sufficient material for a series of stories for his writing. During these years in the Klondike and the period of the Alaskan Gold Rush, Jack London finished his probably most significant body of works which set in the Far North. In his stories, London exposed people‟s life at that time. They desired for free life and gold. They destroyed the mature for hunting wealth. All of these were written on the basis of his experience, which has great ecological values nowadays, especially his masterpiece The Call of the Wild.In a word, the formation of Jack London‟s ecological consciousness is the result of both historical context and life experience. After the above analysis, we can see the development of civilization should keep pace with the improvement of human‟s attitude to nature. Ecoceiticism emerges at the right time to cater this serious situation, waking up people‟s awareness to find a correct way to balance the development of human society and the nature.3.0 The Analysis of Ecological Ideas in The Call of the WildThe Call of the wild, the most representative work of Jack London, can fully reflect his ecological consciousness. It tells a story that a dog, Buck, from the civilization of human society to wolves, and finally returned to the primitive nature. By analyzing the novel, it is obvious to find out that the ecological ideas is mainly reflected in the criticism of anthropocentrism and the strong love for animals. Referring to the criticism of anthropocentrism, it mainly concerns human‟s maltreatment of animals and their extended lust. The following section is gonging to deal with them step by step.3.1 Criticism of AnthropocentrismAnthropocentrism is the view that human is the center of reality. In the light of anthropocentrism, human beings regard themselves as the only existence, and they dominate other things on earth. Everything on earth, both the living and no-living, are created for the dominator—human beings. In Jack London‟s The Call of the Wild, his criticism of anthropocentrism is revealed in two aspects. The first one is human‟s maltreatment of animals. The second one is human‟s extended lust for gold.3.1.1 Human’s Maltreatment of AnimalsEnvironment ethic is a field made up of two movements, i.e. the animal rights and ecological thoughts. The similarities of these two movements are that both of them fight against anthropocentrism and both of them respect nature and life. Animals, as part of nature, should be equal to other species on earth, including human being. However, the serious fact is that they are always treated unfairly and miserably, which arouses ecocentrists‟great concerns. In the novel The Call of the Wild,Jack London criticizes human‟s maltreatment of the dog Buck and the other sled-dogs.In the first period of the novel, Buck was a privileged pet dog, living in “the whole realm”(London, 2004: 3). After sold by several dog dealers and kidnapping, he is subject to cruelty and neglect. When Manuel sells Buck to a man who twists the rope attached to his collar roughly, Buck‟s misery begins.Buck struggled in a fury, his tongue lolling out of his mouth and his great chest pant in. But his strength ebbed, his eyes glazed, and he knew nothing when thetrain was flagged and the two men threw him into the baggage car. (London, 2004:5)In the morning, four men entered and picked up the crate where Buck stays, Buck “stormed and raged at them through the bars. They only laughed and poked sticks at him, which he promptly assailed with his teeth till he realized that that was what they wanted”(London, 2004: 6).As it was with Buck, so was it with his mates:They were perambulating skeletons. […] In their very great misery they hadbecome insensible to the bite of the lash or the bruise of the club. […] They weresimple so many bags of bones in which sparks of life fluttered faintly. When ahalt was made, they dropped down in the traces like dead dogs, and the sparkdimmed and aled and seemed to go out. (London, 2004: 42)The fourth master of Buck is Hal Charles and Mercedes, who are totally inexperienced and foolish. Under the Hal Charles and Mercedes, dogs have to pull the loads which are far beyond their abilities. Most of the dogs die from overwork, starvation, and beatings.Therefore, from the above citations, we can see what the relentless trio offers to the dogs are hunger, weariness and whippings. Under theses cruel and inconsiderable masters, Buck and his mates live in a disastrous life without love and attention. By describing Buck‟s misery, Jack London exposed the dark side of human-animal relationship, and criticizes human‟s maltreatment of animals.3.1.2 Human’s Extended LustIn the novel The Call of the Wild, the criticism of human‟s extended lust and desire is mainly reflected in the naked rapaciousness of nature and the slaughter among human beings in the pursuit of wealth.Instead of writing about the Gold Rush and human‟s desire to gold, Jack London set it as the novel‟s background. It was described at the beginning of the first chapter, “Becausemen, groping in the Arctic darkness, had found a yellow metal, and because steamship and transportation companies were booming the find, thousands of men were rushing into the Northland”(London, 2004: 1). In order to satisfy their lust to wealth, numerous of gold-diggers came to this deserted place to find their gold dream. Because of the limited natural resources, they had fierce competitions, not only destroying the local ecological balance but also killing each other. Thornton, Buck‟s last master, was killed by Indians. “Thornton‟s desperate struggle was fresh-written on the earth”(London, 2004: 64). However, for the rich they get, their extended lust also hurt themselves. They were not pure and kind any longer. As Buck‟s only female master, Mercedes, firstly, was sympathetic to Buck when she saw Buck was whipped by Carl:But Mercedes interfered, crying, …oh, Hal, you mustn‟t, as she caught hold of the whip and wrenched it from him. To poor dears, now you must promise you won‟t be harsh with them for the rest of the trip, or I won‟t go a step.‟. (London, 2004:36)However, in the course of their trip to the Northland, Mercedes changed her attitude to these dogs. “She no longer considered the dogs, and because she was sore and tired, she persisted in riding on the sled” (London, 2004: 41). That is to say, the greedy desire to gold had already changed her value and the material belief had controlled her.From the above analysis, it is clear that to some extent, the experience of the Klondike Gold Rush is not only about gold or human‟s desire to gold, it is also about man‟s exploitation and expansion of nature. Jack London disposed the process of human‟s changes in the way of digging gold.3.2 Strong Love for AnimalsIn The Call of the Wild, Jack London does not regard the relationship between man and animals as a kind of subordination, but describe it from the point of emotional connection and moral principles. London breaks the traditional and opposite pattern of human and animals. His description of the relationship between man and nature containsthe ecological thought that loving animals means loving human themselves.In the novel, Buck also has emotion, and he also can understand the human‟s emotions. Sometimes he cares about the man much more than themselves. If the relationship between Judge Miller and Buck is “a stately and dignified friendship”, “but love that was feverish and burning, that was adoration, that was madness, it had taken John Thornton to arouse” (London, 2004: 60). Thornton saves Buck, and he looks after it as his child. The most important thing is that he does this is out of his conscience.He never forgot a kindly greeting or a cheering word, and to sit down for a longtalk with them, was as much his delight as theirs. He had a way of taking Buck‟s head roughly between his hands, and testing his own head upon Buck‟s of shaking him back and forth. ( London, 2004: 61)Thornton treats the animals equally and make them have the ability of sensing misery and enjoying happiness. He does not only love animals, but also give them respects and rights. In The Call of the Wild, Jack London exposes this special affection for dogs, aiming to reflect the ecological trend of protecting animals and appreciating life.4.0 Ecological Concerns in The Call of the WildWith the development of society, human beings not only enjoy great achievements and improvement, but also are troubled with all kinds of crisis, including ecological catastrophe. The Call of the Wild discloses the issues of threat on nature by human beings. Confronted with these destructive situations, Jack London expressed his ecological concerns in the novel. He suggests that human should keep a harmonious relationship between man and nature by obeying natural law, protecting wildness. At the same time, London calls human‟s return to nature in order to solve the ecological problems.4.1 Harmonious Relationship Between Man and NatureWhat ecological harmony stressed is the integrity of the whole eco-system. In the novel, nature is represented by dogs. The harmonious relationship between man and natureis mainly reflected in the friendship between Buck and John Thornton.John Thornton, the fifth master, is Buck‟s savior. In Buck‟s view, Thornton is the “ideal master” to whom he is loyal and has great love. He saves Buck from the whip of Hal, and cuts him free from his traces which symbolize the freedom of Buck. Thornton treats the dogs as if they were his own children, sitting down for a long talk with them, calling them love names and giving them respects. Meanwhile, Buck also has his own way to express his love for Thornton.Buck had a trick of love expression that was akin to hurt. He could often seizeThornton‟s hand in his mouth and close so fiercely that the flesh bore the impressof his teeth for some time afterward. And was Buck understood the oaths to belove words, so the man understood this feigned bite foe a caress. (London, 2004:62)Besides the above “love expression”, Buck also shows his love for Thornton in other ways. Buck saves Thornton‟s life twice: once when Thornton gets knocked in a barroom brawl and anther one when Thornton falls into a rapid. Besides, Buck also wins great honor for his master: he wins 1600 dollars on a bet for Thornton by pulling “twenty fifty—pound sacks of flour”(London, 2004: 70). Here, Jack London emphasizes a kind of mutual love between men and animals—perhaps because the love he gets from his master makes Buck wants to do anything for Thornton.Living a happy life with Thornton, Buck still feels that there is a strong call drawing him back to nature—a call “mysteriously thrilling and luring”(London, 2004: 62). But the love for John Thornton draws him back and keeps him here. In the novel, London makes it clear that it is the only love for Thornton that keeps Buck from back to nature, not for the mankind in general. It is described as: “Thornton alone held him. The rest of mankind was as nothing” (London, 2004: 62).All these descriptions fully manifest in ideal pattern of human—nature relationship in Jack London‟s mind: harmonious, friendly and full of love. However, Buck‟s love is destroyed by the cruel fact—Thornton was slaughtered. To revenge for his ideal master,Buck kills the Indians. By narrating this section, London gives the man a warning: human beings is part of nature, they should obey the natural law, otherwise, they will pay for their action by nature.4.2 Return to NatureReturning to nature is the central theme in The Call of the Wild. Describing Buck‟s adventure in Klondike, Jack London criticizes the maltreatment of animals and human‟s extended lust. At the same time, the novel also appeals the harmony between man and nature. In London‟s opinion, returning to nature is not to escape from the reality, but to keep away from the dark-side of industrialism and the commercial spirit; to return to nature means to live a simple and healthy state of life.In the novel, Jack London shows this purpose from the very beginning of the novel:Old longings nomadic leap,Chafing at custom‟s chain;Again from its brumal sleepwakens the ferine strain. (London, 2004: 1)This citation is put in the start of the novel. After the whole reading, we can see Jack London indicates Buck‟s final destiny of returning to nature at the very beginning of the story. As the novel progresses, Buck is always attracted by a strong call of going into wildness. But the true love between him and John Thornton keeps Buck here. However, all these are destroyeded by the terrible fact—Thornton is killed.At that time, Buck has no master. That means Buck, for the first time, is the master of his own fate. Now he could live a free and happy life. He likes to run with other animals in the wildness: “Buck was widely glad. He knew he was at last answering the call, running by the side of his wood brother toward the place from where the call, running by the side of his wood brother towered the place from where the call surely came”(London, 2004: 73).At the end of the story, Buck is running freely, showing a balance between nature andhim. “He may be seen running at the head of the pack through the pale moonlight or glimmering borealis, leaping gigantic above his fellow…which is the song of the pack ”(London, 2004: 82). This is a song of Buck, answering the call of the wild. This is also a song of Jack London, written for the nature. This song makes people recall the peace life with nature in the past.Above the analysis, Jack London leads human into a deep thinking; Buck‟s final destiny has two implements: if we see Buck is a part of the nature, the ending indicates that human should respect nature, otherwise, human will lose nature; if Buck is a part of human‟s world, the ending tells that man is a part of nature, returning to nature is the ideal destination, namely, pursing the harmony between man and nature.5.0 ConclusionJack London is seen as a representative and prolific writer in America. He is one of the American naturalists. Nature is the main theme of his works. His works present sufficient materials about passion for nature and the disappointment to modern society from the perspective of ecology. Seeing human‟s destroying of nature, London not only analyses social phenomenon of industrialism but also explores the outlets of them. In his works, London makes animals her protagonists and narrators in order to convey the real feelings and consciousness which shake the greedy thoughts in human‟s world. In The Call of the Wild, Jack London exposes the anthropocentrism of humans—the maltreatment of animals, the extended lust to gold. With Buck‟s change from dog to wolf, London criticizes the dark-side of human-animal relationship. He points out that it is human‟s wrong ecological consciousness that brings Buck lots of sufferings. At the end of the story, Buck‟s return to nature supplies an ideal approach to solve the pro blem. Buck‟s choice is also Jack London‟s choice. London appeals a harmonious relationship the man and nature and return to a simple and sustainable life. The Call of the Wild is a highly ecological consciousness work.。

淮北煤炭师范学院信息学院2006 级学士学位论文An Interpretation of The Call of the Wildfrom the Ecological Perspective系别:英语系专业:英语学号: 2006180430169姓名: 张晶晶指导教师: 潘学权指导教师职称: 副教授2010年5 月29 日AcknowledgementsI’m deeply indebted, first and foremost, to my supervisor, professor Pan Xuequan, who has provided patient instructions, valuable suggestions and everlasting encouragement at every stage of this thesis.I am also grateful to the professors and other teachers in the Information School. Their thoughtful lectures and insightful guidance helped me a lot in writing this thesis.My heart-felt thanks also go to my classmates and roommates from whom I benefit a lot.An Interpretation of The Call of the Wildfrom the Ecological PerspectiveAbstract: The Call of the Wild makes the American writer Jack London known all around the world. Ecological perspective can be found in this animal novel when it is read against the background of eco-criticism. The major task of eco-criticism is to explore the relationship between human beings and nature, eco-criticism especially focuses on the side-effects of human beings’ development on environment. There are three principles: anti-anthropocentrism, deep ecology and ecological holism. Obviously, London detests the anthropocentric view on animals, which leads to promote people’s consciousness of ecological vision and promote them to think that they could have lived differently if they focused more on the balance of ecosystem. He admires the harmonious relationship between humans and nature and advocates the benefit that people receive from the harmonious relationship. The thesis consists of four parts. Firstly it is about current studies of Jack London’s animal novel. Then it focuses on emergence, features and principles of eco-criticism. The principles include anti-anthropocentrism, deep ecology and ecological holism. Next it analyzes the reflection of the principles in the novel. Finally it summarizes ecological thoughts and hopes that readers can take up their own ecological responsibilities.Key words: eco-criticism; anti-anthropocentrism; deep ecology; ecological holism从生态观角度解读《野性的呼唤》摘要：小说《野性的呼唤》使美国作家杰克·伦敦闻名于世。

浅谈《野性的呼唤》中的生态批评观
《野性的呼唤》具有更深刻的揭示作用。

生存环境的变迁，使巴克从一个文明社会的宠物变成了一个荒野深处的狠群之王，这是巴克的本性使然；同时这也是美国社会现实生活的真实写照。

在小说中他毫不宽恕他笔下亦即巴克眼中的红衣人、哈尔等两条腿的“人们”道穗原则的丢失和“人性”的沦丧。

对资产阶级的虚伪道德进行了无情地揭露和批判。

把狗眼中的世界、人类的本质特别是美国社会的现实本质刻画得淋漓尽致。