Abstract

The Call of the Wild is one of Jack London's masterpieces, adopts a dog - Buck as the protagonist, telling a story of Buck’s change from a pet dog to a wild wolf, and his return to the wild forest. Various kinds of people and various kinds of dogs are described in this story. From the characterization of these people and dogs, it is argued that humanity and wildness are not separately embodied in each of them; sometimes human beings also have wildness, wild animals also have humanity. Based on the plots of the novel, this thesis aims to analyze the humanity and wildness embodied in human beings and wild animals, the theme of the survival of the fittest theory and humanitarian, also the reflection of wildness and humanity in the society.

Key words: The Call of the Wild; wildness; humanity; survival of the fittest; humanitarian

Contents

Abstract

摘  要

1. Introduction-1

1.1 A brief introduction of The Call of the Wild-1

1.2 Literature review-1

2. The wildness and humanity in The Call of the Wild-4

2.1 The wildness and the humanity embodied in wild animals-4

2.1.1 Cruelty-4

2.1.2 Originality-5

2.1.3 Kindness-5

2.1.4 Loyalty-6

2.2 The humanity and the wildness embodied in human beings-7

2.2.1 Kindness-7

2.2.2 Greed, selfishness and indifference-8

2.2.3 Cruelty-9

3. Theme and reflections-10

3.1 The theme of the story-10

3.1.1 Survival of the fittest-10

3.1.2 Humanitarianism-10

3.2 Reflection of society-11

4. Conclusion-13

References-14