野性的呼唤 英文阅读报告

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A Report on 《The call of the wild 》 Introduction At the beginning of this century, many new writers emerged with the introduction of many new ideas. Jack London stories successfully reflect the contradictory views of man’s nature and destiny in and against the wild, and his "fight to survive" notion has gained him and his works timeless popularity, particularly, the Call of the Wild

His most famous novel is the call of the wild . Although it is a story about a dog, Buck, it vividly depicts the life in the primitive North where people rushed for gold and fortune. Buck, used to belong to a judge, was kidnapped and sold to North. Then he became a member of a dog-team pulling a sled (雪橇). In the days of pulling a snow-sled, he learned to conform to the law of nature and obey the master. Finally, he found a basic instinct hidden inside him, which enabled himself to survive the tough environment. This is the call of the wild.

Brief introduction About the author, Jack London (Jan 12, 1876—Nov 22, 1916)

Jack London (1876-1916) is an American worldwide renowned novelist, journalist and social activist. His representative works include the Call of the Wild, Martin Eden, Son of the Wolf, White Fang, etc.

He is said to be a natural child. In 1889, he began working 12 to 18 hours for a day at Hickmott’s Cannery. In 1894, he spent 30 days for vagrancy in the Erie County Penitentiary at Buffalo. After many experiences as a hobo and a sailor, he returned to Oakland and attended Oakland High School. He contributed a number of articles to the high school's magazine. His first published work was an account of his sailing experiences.

His novels successfully reflect the contradictory views of man’s nature and destiny in and against the wild. The Call of the Wild (1903) The Call of the Wild is London’s most-read book, and generally considered his best, the most masterpiece of his so-called “early period”. The story was set in 19th-century Klondike Gold Rush, in which sled dogs were bought at generous prices.

Buck was a domestic dog in Judge Miller’s home and living a comfortable life until he was sold secretly by the poor gardener and became a sled dog. Buck was a Bernard dog weighed one hundred and forty pounds, tall, strong, and heavy muscled. He couldn’t accommodate to the harsh condition at first. And he wanted to fight, to escape, to go back to his cozy home, but in vain.

The man in red taught him the law of stick and club—one must first adjust himself to his surroundings and learn the rules, and only after that he can do what he wants to do. The club of the man in red called back Buck’s nature as a dog.

When he firstly served for François and Perrault, two couriers, he showed his superior ability to adapt to the environment and his smartness to learn everything he wanted to learn. Curly’s death astonished him and taught him to be cautious. And before he had recovered from the shock caused by the tragic passing of Curly, he was harnessed as a sled dog and step by step wanted to be the leader. But the leading dog, Spitz, was already an excellent one, who also considered Buck as enemy and potential competitor. At last, when Spitz once punished him, hurling backward Buck, he knew the time had come. He killed Spitz and took his place.

When they pulled into Dawson, Buck was sold as useless thing to three gold diggers, who weren’t veteran in sledding and even didn’t know how to get to their destination. Food was eaten up half way. So Charles, one of the three, decided to kill Buck when he couldn’t get up. However, when he aimed at Buck, John Thornton sprang upon him, knocked him down and told him that if Charles stroke Buck, Thornton would kill him.

Thus, Thornton took Buck away. He was the only true friend of Buck. But Buck was a thing of the wild, especially when the calling of wolf from the hills. Once when he came back from hills, he found that Thornton was killed by Indians. Buck became a nut and killed those headsmen and stayed with Thornton for two days and nights, never leaving Thornton out of his sight. And then a nearby wolf howl captures his ears, and he follows the sound to an approaching wolf pack, battling several of these creatures to prove his worth.

When you read the story, you will feel that Buck is a man instead of a dog, struggling with his fortune and conforming to the law of nature.Though short, it is really a thrilling story. What you never forget is the tough life in the nature, the brave and crafty dog. Maybe the wild is calling you to go ahead.