野性的呼唤
The Call of the Wild
生命总是在不断挣扎求存的过程中获得意义与力量。
The Call of the Wild is a novella by American author Jack London published in 1903. The story takes place in the extreme conditions of the Yukon during the 19th-century Klondike Gold Rush, where strong sled dogs were in high demand. After Buck, a domesticated dog, is snatched from a pastoral ranch in California, he is sold into a brutal life as a sled dog. The novella details Buck's struggle to adjust and survive the cruel treatment he receives from humans, other dogs, and nature. He eventually sheds the veneer of civilization altogether and instead relies on primordial instincts and the lessons he has learned to become a respected and feared leader in the wild.
The Call of the Wild is London's most popular work and is considered the masterpiece of his so-called "early period." The novella is often classified as children's literature because of its animal protagonist, but the maturity of its subject matter makes it valuable for older audiences as well. Major themes include survival of the fittest, civilization versus nature, and fate versus free will.
The Yeehat, a group of Canadian aboriginal people portrayed in Call of the Wild, were a figment of London's imagination.
小说讲述一条狗——“巴克”的故事。从一只养尊处优、身强体壮、自命不凡的农庄领头狗,到挣扎在冰川雪地里的饥肠辘辘、瘦骨嶙峋的雪橇狗,直到最后带领狼群,在旷野中自由奔跑,令伊哈族人闻风丧胆的“魔”狗,巴克经历了被人拐卖、虐待、奴役到被拯救,最后彻底抛弃人类这样的历程。作者借此深刻反映了“弱肉强食”的丛林法则。
Gold was found in Alaska, the rush to obtain it required a strong constitution and many dogs to do the work that horses usually did in the states. Buck (a dog that is half St Bernard and half Shepherd) goes through many trials, and tribulations, finally realizing his potential. On the way, he learns many concepts from surprise, to deceit, and cunning; he also learns loyalty, devotion, and love. As he is growing, he feels the call of the wild.
有一种荒野的耐性——顽强不屈、不知疲倦,像生命本身一样持久稳固——可以使荒野里的生物保持一个动作,长时间纹丝不动。蜘蛛网里的蜘蛛,盘成圈的蛇,处在埋伏状态的豹,他们都具备这种耐性。这种耐性尤其属于正在猎取赖以生存的食物时的生命。这种耐性巴克也有。他紧守着鹿群的一侧走,阻挡公驼鹿的前进,激怒那些幼驼鹿,骚扰那些带着半大驼鹿的母驼鹿,逼得那只受伤的公驼鹿在愤怒而无助中发狂。
There is a patience of the wild—dogged, tireless, persistent as life itself—that holds motionless for endless hours the spider in its web, the snake in its coils, the panther in its ambuscade; this patience belongs peculiarly to life when it hunts its living food;and it belonged to Buck as he clung to the flank of the herd, retarding its march, irritating the young bulls, worrying the cows with their half-grown calves, and driving the wounded bull mad with helpless rage.
杰克·伦敦是世界上动物小说写得最好的作家之一,他从动物的视角观察人类和自然,通过动物的思维观察人类的行为,由此可见杰克·伦敦对自然的向往,还有对于生命的歌颂和热爱。
《野性的呼唤》是最受读者青睐的动物小说之一,被称为“世界上读者最多的美国小说”。
对杰克·伦敦的作品有人评论为,生气勃勃,健康乐观;也有人认为是文明的头脑与原始的强力的结合,是科学进化论的喉舌,代表了朝气和勇敢。他最擅长的是对于原始暴力和个人奋斗的描写,这在他的极地小说和海洋小说里表现得最为突出。《野性的呼唤》是极地小说的代表作。
入选美国兰登书屋《现代丛书》美国文学鉴赏家推荐的“20世纪百部杰出英文小说”!
美东著名文学家和评论家陈楚年先生在《天下华人》杂志中发表的《聆捕杰克·伦敦〈野性的呼唤〉》一文中写道:“《野性的呼唤》蕴涵了一个有力的启示:苦难会给生命带来意外的转折;它不仅会提升人的应对潜能,更会使心灵中长久掩藏的世界,透过某种玄秘的启示于焉复活。反向的衍叙是:离开你一向习以为常的制约下的世界未必就是失落,在漫长磨难尽头等着的,往往正是你应归属的。”
“To this day Jack London is the most widely read American writer in the world,” E. L. Doctorow wrote in The New York Times Book Review. Generally considered to be London's greatest achievement, The Call of the Wild brought him international acclaim when it was published in 1903. His story of the dog Buck, who learns to survive in the bleak Yukon wilderness, is viewed by many as his symbolic autobiography. "No other popular writer of his time did any better writing than you will find in The Call of the Wild,” said H. L. Mencken. "Here, indeed, are all the elements of sound fiction."
- 第一章 走进荒野
- 第二章 棍棒与獠牙的法则
- 第三章 有统治欲的原始野兽
- 第四章 谁取得了统治权
- 第五章 辔轭和雪道上的苦役
- 第六章 为了一个人的爱
- 第七章 呼唤的声音
评论加载中...
更多