Acknowledgments
From now on, my writing of this thesis has successfully come to an end. One of the greatest joys during the writing of this thesis is discussing with people who have given not just their time and attention, but their hearts and souls as well. I would like to thank the following people for their dedication and contribution, without which the path to the finishing line would have been a whole lot more bumpy. 20472
My profound gratitude first goes to Ms. Chen Jie, my supervisor, who has generously shared her inspirational and provocative ideas during many of our face-to-face discussion sessions. I sincerely appreciate that she has spared much of her precious time for me, reading and revising my paper. She offered considerable and constructive advice to me during the writing of this thesis. Without her patient guidance and support, the completion of this thesis on time is impossible.
I also would like to express my gratitude to the teachers who have ever taught me throughout my college years, especially Huai Peixin and Cheng Qinhua, my British and American literature course teachers. It is their profound knowledge of British and American literature that leads me into a world of literature. It is their interesting teaching methods that inspire me to make efforts in literature learning. I am also grateful to all other teachers of the School of Foreign Languages who provided me direct or indirect help during my study in college.
Also, I am grateful to my classmates and roommates for their support, encouragement, comments and advice.
Last but not least, I wish to devote this paper to my parents for their everlasting dedication to me during my growth.
Abstract
In the 19th century, America was a country under great depression. The principle, survival of the fittest, was popular among people at that time. Human beings all struggled for better life, the same as Jack London’s family. The Klondike Gold Rush occurred in north-western Canada made people crazy and let the Klondike stampede happen out of hand. Jack London himself attended this Gold Rush which made his life full of mysteries and adventures. It was this Gold Rush that let London deeply understand the meaning of survival of the fittest.
Two novels, The Call of the Wild and White Fang, written by Jack London, are both a companion. These two novels were created on the basis of Jack London’s own experience after he went through the Klondike Gold Rush. The Call of the Wild described the life experience of a dog, which named Buck; while White Fang described the life experience of a dog, which named White Fang. However, Buck and White Fang had two disparate fates. Buck finally adapted itself to the primitive world, and White Fang entered into the civilized society in the end. Both environment and people played important roles in Buck and White Fang’s different destiny.
This thesis will resort to the theory of Survival of the Fittest to make a comparative analysis of the reasons why Buck and White Fang choose different life styles so as to present the view that Survival of the Fittest not only means the adaption to the cruel competition for survival but also the adaption to the civilized life, in which love plays a crucial role.
Key Words: survival of the fittest, Buck, White Fang
摘要
十九世纪的美国正处在大萧条时期。而那时，适者生存原则却十分受人们吹捧。那时人们都在为自己的生活而努力，杰克伦敦一家也不例外。然而发生在加拿大西北的克朗代克淘金热使得人们疯狂起来，同时也使得克朗代克地区人口暴增到达了无法控制的地步。杰克伦敦自身也参加了这次的淘金热，也正是这次淘金热使他的生活充满神奇和冒险。正是这次克朗代克的淘金热使得杰克伦敦更加深刻理解适者生存的意义。
《野性的呼唤》和《白牙》是杰克伦敦写的两部姐妹篇小说。这两部小说都是杰克伦敦在自身经历过克朗代克淘金热后根据自己的经历所写的。《野性的呼唤》讲述的是一条叫巴克的狗的生活经历；而《白牙》讲述的是一条叫白牙的狗的生活经历。然而，巴克和白牙却有着不同的命运。巴克最终适应了原始荒原世界，白牙最终进入了人类文明社会。其中，环境和人都在巴克和白牙选择不同的命运中扮演了重要角色。 《野性的呼唤》和《白牙》适者生存的对比分析:http://www.youerw.com/yingyu/lunwen_12255.html