Abstract:Jack London is an American novelist who is one of the representatives of naturalistic literature in the 19th century. Love of Life is one of his masterpieces of his short stories. The novel adopts naturalistic method to describe the story of a lonely gold digger. The hero is abandoned by his companion so he walks alone in the wilderness and looks for a way out. When gold digger is confronted with a lot of trouble such as hunger, illness as well as a sick wolf, he always demonstrates the spirit of stubbornness and persistence. Owing to the strong desire to survive, he desperately struggles with the death. In the end, the gold digger wins the victory in the confrontation with a sick wolf and wins the right to survive.

This thesis divides into three parts to explore and comprehend the naturalism in the novel. The first part is the struggle with human and nature. The second part is the meaning of life in the novel. And the third part is the meaning of naturalism. After analyzing the novel, readers not only can understand deeply about the value of life, but also will extol the human’s spirit.

Key words: Jack London; Love of Life; naturalism

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

Introduction-1

I.-The Struggle between Man and Nature-3

A.-The Struggle between Man and Hostile Environment-3

B.-The Struggle between Man and a Sick Wolf-4

II.-The Meaning of Life-7

A.-Law of Survival Competition-7

B.-The Love of Life-8

III.-The Meaning of Naturalism-11

A.-Survival and Conscience-11

B.-Rationality and Humanity-12

C.-Struggle and Instinct-13

Conclusion-17

Bibliography-19

Acknowledgements-21