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Recognized as one of the latest theories in the history of literary study, ecocriticism marks the beginning of works and studies concerned with environmental issues in the late 1980s in America and in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. “Simply defined, ecocriticism is the study of the relationship between literature and the physical environment” (Cheryll Glotfelty). This literary discipline appears extremely crucial and meaningful in the context of ecodegradation, climate changes and natural disasters spreading around the world, which proves an urgent need of comprehending environmental phenomena. In 1992, with the establishment of ASLE (the Association for Study of Literature and Environment), ecocriticism is gradually gaining a firm foothold in modern life. There exists radical studies on this emergent discipline, namely The Ecocriticism Reader: Landmarks in Literary Ecology (Cheryll Glotfelty, University of Georgia Press, 1996), The Green Studies Reader: From Romanticism to Ecocriticism (Laurence Coupe, Routledge, 2000), Practical Ecocriticism (Glen A.Love, Charlottesville: University of Verginia Press, 2003), Literature and Environtment (Lawrence Buell, Ursula K. Heise and Karen Thornber, Harvard University Press, 2011). In this literary trend, ecocritical interpretations of classics are well worth mentioning. In the new literary subdiscipline, Jack London and Earnest Hemingway, the outstanding authors, contribute invaluable materials; for one of their major themes is naturalism. Most of their works draw the inspiration from their long experience in wilderness. Though they hardly share the similarity in experience as a naturalist, both of them write prominent novels presenting compliments to nature. London spends years in the deep of snowy mountains in the Klondike Gold Rush collecting the materials for his animated story: The Call of the Wild, whilst Hemingway enjoys his adventures with hunting, fishing and camping seeing his soul imbued with the wilderness in The Old Man and the Sea. Ecocriticism brings a distinct approach to these novellas because it is “reading from an ecological rather than a narrowly humancentered perspective” (35, Practical Ecocriticism, Glen A. Love). However, the studies on this are still limited with just some journals, articles and dissertations. Being in a formative phase, ecocritical research on these works is absolutely required. This paper adopts ecocritical approach to The Call of The Wild and The Old Man and the Sea with the aim of examining nature’s profound impact on creatures and their diverse reactions to the harsh environment. It cannot be denied that from antiquity to the present, inhabitants often gather in a group to create unity strength and safety; however, the main characters in two novels are separated and isolated from the community. They are not only thrown deep into the wilderness, but also suffer from insurmountable situations. Their survival in that circumstance denotes precious lessons on adaptation.
Contents ACCEPTANCE PAGE i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii Chapter I: Methodology 7 Chapter II: Literature Review 8 1.Ecocriticism 8 2.Jack London and Earnest Hemingway as naturalists 9 a)Jack London 10 b)Earnest Hemingway 10 Chapter III: The reemergence of primitive instincts 13 1.Buck’s primitive instincts 15 a)Instinctive learning 15 b)Self-defense instinct 18 b)Self-defense instinct 26 3.The unyielding will for survival in nature 28 Chapter IV: The essence of compassion 31 “You can exist without your soul, you know, as long as your brain and heart are still working. But you’ll have no sense of self anymore, no memory, no . . . anything. There’s no chance at all of recovery. You’ll just — exist. As an empty shell. And your soul is gone forever . . . lost.” J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 31 1.Thornton’s compassion awakes Buck’s compassion 33 2.The old man’s compassion with nature 37 Conclusion 43 References 46 Introduction Recognized as one of the latest theories in the history of literary study, ecocriticism marks the beginning of works and studies concerned with environmental issues in the late 1980s in America and in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. “Simply defined, ecocriticism is the study of the relationship between literature and the physical environment” (Cheryll Glotfelty). This literary discipline appears extremely crucial and meaningful in the context of ecodegradation, climate changes and natural disasters spreading around the world, which proves an urgent need of comprehending environmental phenomena. In 1992, with the establishment of ASLE (the Association for Study of Literature and Environment), ecocriticism is gradually gaining a firm foothold in modern life. There exists radical studies on this emergent discipline, namely The Ecocriticism Reader: Landmarks in Literary Ecology (Cheryll Glotfelty, University of Georgia Press, 1996), The Green Studies Reader: From Romanticism to Ecocriticism (Laurence Coupe, Routledge, 2000), Practical Ecocriticism (Glen A.Love, Charlottesville: University of Verginia Press, 2003), Literature and Environtment (Lawrence Buell, Ursula K. Heise and Karen Thornber, Harvard University Press, 2011). In this literary trend, ecocritical interpretations of classics are well worth mentioning. In the new literary subdiscipline, Jack London and Earnest Hemingway, the outstanding authors, contribute invaluable materials; for one of their major themes is naturalism. Most of their works draw the inspiration from their long experience in wilderness. Though they hardly share the similarity in experience as a naturalist, both of them write prominent novels presenting compliments to nature. London spends years in the deep of snowy mountains in the Klondike Gold Rush collecting the materials for his animated story: The Call of the Wild, whilst Hemingway 2 enjoys his adventures with hunting, fishing and camping seeing his soul imbued with the wilderness in The Old Man and the Sea. Ecocriticism brings a distinct approach to these novellas because it is “reading from an ecological rather than a narrowly human-centered perspective” (35, Practical Ecocriticism, Glen A. Love). However, the studies on this are still limited with just some journals, articles and dissertations. Being in a formative phase, ecocritical research on these works is absolutely required. This paper adopts ecocritical approach to The Call of The Wild and The Old Man and the Sea with the aim of examining nature’s profound impact on creatures and their diverse reactions to the harsh environment. It cannot be denied that from antiquity to the present, inhabitants often gather in a group to create unity strength and safety; however, the main characters in two novels are separated and isolated from the community. They are not only thrown deep into the wilderness, but also suffer from insurmountable situations. Their survival in that circumstance denotes precious lessons on adaptation. In the 20th-century literary debate on nature faker controversy, Jack London’s novellas used to be criticized due to “the human allegory in the dog’s life-and-death struggle to adapt himself to a hostile environment” (London). Nonetheless, it is a fact that he is unconscious of that allegory. Therefore, he stated in self-defense that: I have been guilty of writing two animal stories—two books about dogs. The writing of these two stories, on my part, was in truth a protest against the “humanizing” of animals, of which it seemed to me several “animal writers” had been profoundly guilty. Time and again, and many times, in my narratives, I wrote, speaking of my dog heroes: “He did not think these things; he merely did them,” etc. And I did this repeatedly to 3 the clogging of my narrative and in violation of my artistic canons; and I did it in order to hammer into the average human understanding that these dog-heroes of mine were not directed by abstract reasoning. Also, I endeavored to make my stories in line with the facts of evolution; I hewed them to the mark set by scientific research, and awoke, one day, to find myself bundled neck and crop into the camp of the nature-faker. His apology was widely accepted at that time; until now he is regarded as one of the greatest American naturalistic writers. In The call of the wild and White Fang, London is remarkably successful at depicting wolves’ lives. The harsh and hostile environment in the Gold Rush has deep influence on his writing style. Besides, he is also affected by Darwin’s evolution theory as his artistic purpose stated “I endeavored to make my stories in line with the facts of evolution; I hewed them to the mark set by scientific research”. Not only reflecting the society in his time, but London also points out that life in the wilderness revolves the canon “Survival of the fittest” (Principles of Biology, Herbert Spencer, 1864). If White Fang changes from a wild and savage dog into a domesticated one in the end of the novel, Buck’s modification reverses, which appears far more difficult and challenging. Nature is enigmatic and different from the civilized world, where Buck comes from. Without adaptation, he would suffer tragic consequences, “It marked [Buck’s] adaptability, his capacity to adjust himself to changing conditions, the lack of which would have meant swift and terrible death” (19, London). Like London’s character, the old man in Hemingway’ novella is also portrayed as the fittest to nature. Hunting is one of human’s instincts from the ancient period, which Hemingway vividly depicts from his own experience. The “primitive Cuban fisherman Santiago is analogous to Darwin’s scientist-as-savage, or Wilson’s field biologist as cloud forest 4 Papuan tribesman. With knowledge derived from Hemingway’s year of fishing the Gulf Stream and collecting specimens of marlin and tuna for the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia” (A Historical Guide to Ernest Hemingway, edited by Linda Wagner-Martin, Oxford University Press). The old man and the sea has a special resonance on readers partly because of its ecocritical readings. The environment in The old man and the sea is less hostile than that in The call of the wild; nevertheless, it also includes the gravities of extreme danger, for instance, the fight between the old man and the Mako shark “could easily result[s] in the destruction of Santiago’s skiff and his death from injury or drowning” (A guide to the Marine Life in Earnest Hemingway’s The old man and the sea, Susan Beegel), and the old man finally has to use “his pain” to know that “he [is] not dead” (Hemingway). Hemingway’s natural sentiment is attributed to early experiences in the woods and lakes of Northern Michigan hunting, fishing, camping with his father. These habits remain throughout his life, which contributes to his nature epiphany. It makes The old man and the sea “the best [he] can write ever for all of [his] life” (Hemingway). In the wilderness, both the old man and Buck are well adaptive. Under the influence of the environment, it can be seen that their primitive instinct restores. As Carl Jung, a Swiss prominent psychiatrist, said, “anyone who overlooks the instincts will be ambuscaded by them”, the rehabilitation of natural instincts appears a key factor to maintain the wild life, which will be thoroughly examined in this thesis. More importantly, through ecocritical reading to the novellas, this paper also aims at revealing the essence of compassion in nature. Even Hemingway, who is fond of fishing and hunting from the childhood, “takes greater pleasure in merely watching the wildlife” than in killing (XIV, Under Kilimanjaro, editors Robert W. Lewis and Robert E. Fleming). His affectionate passion for nature leads to 5 the old man’s sympathy with the marine animals, which he calls “friends”, “brother” and feels hard to kill them “He [begins] to feel pity the great fish he [has] hooked” (Hemingway 17). This feeling denotes layers of meaning, especially when the old man “look[s] across the sea and [knows] how alone he [is]” (22, Hemingway). In The call of the wild, rarely is the compassion revealed. “Into the primitive” (5, London), there is nothing but “savagery, and cunning” (29, London). The warm affection is nearly exhausted in the harshness of both nature and human beings: “a hostile environment where only the strong survive[s]” (88, London). Nonetheless, the author expresses more than that to put the audience in deep contemplation of the compassion value. The appearance of John Thornton, Buck finally finds the light at the end of the tunnel. With the sympathy, Thornton decides to rescue Buck from the jaws of death, which leads to only chapter VI of love and reinforces the works’ humanitarian. Both novellas place particular emphasis on the significance of the affection for nature, which is about to examine in this paper as an ecocritical approach. Ecocriticism absolutely captures international attention due to the fact that the matters it solve can suggest solutions to the one of the burning and aching issue of environmental collapse. Falling in line with this tendency, The Call of the Wild by London and The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway deserve further ecocritical studies to raise people awareness on nature protection. 6 Chapter I: Methodology This paper applies secondary research as the main methodology to The Call of the Wild by Jack London and The Old Man and the Sea by Earnest Hemingway with an aim of discussing the theme Adaptation for Survival in Nature. The secondary sources, such as researchers’ books, articles and journals will be put into consideration. Internet connection is about to be the main access to these sources. It is necessary to search for reliable sources, which are university websites, and international well- known organizations’ websites, such as The University of Michigan Library online, JSTOR.org or muse.jhu.edu. In addition, bookstores can also be a useful supply of research materials. Reading through and analyzing these sources provide a solid background to do the literary thesis. The essential quotations or meaningful ideas related to the theme of the thesis are stored in a file on the computer, which is put following the outline’s order. Because I choose two novels to analyze, I will put the quotes in an order to make some comparisons. Unlike other studies, literary research employs works as the major source, which are The Call of the Wild by Jack London and The Old Man and the Sea by Earnest Hemingway in this paper. The methodology for this research appears simpler, but the effort given is equal to other papers. Time management would be a problem as collecting and examining the materials require a large amount of time; thus, sticking to the schedule and meeting the progress reports are of strategic necessity. I hope that with this methodology, my paper meet will live up to the readers’ expectation. 7 Chapter II: Literature Review 1. Ecocriticism. Research on nature is driven by an overriding need for addressing environmental issues, such as pollution, natural disaster or green house effect. In literature, there exists a new theory concentrating on nature – centered perspective, which is known as ecocriticism, or naturalism. The first person to use the term ecocriticism may have been William Rueckert . In 1978, he published an essay titled Literature and Ecology: An Experiment in Ecocriticism. His intent was to focus on “the application of ecology and ecological concepts to the study of literature”. However, at that time, there was no organization or movement to study the environmental side of literature, which leads to the crucial works in this discipline were scattered or categorized under other theories. Until the late 1990s, with the establishment of ASLE (the Association for Study of Literature and Environment), scholars started to work to contribute to ecocriticism as a new literary genre. Cheryll Glotfelty, the founder of this organization, defines this literary discipline as the research into “relationship between literature and the physical environment”. In other words, the ecocriticism concerns nature and its effects in works. Needless to say, this literary movement has been increasingly spreading to all corners of the world along with the appearance of ASLE new branches in the UK, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand (ASLEC-ANZ), India (OSLE-India), Taiwan, Canada and Europe. Researchers find naturalism a new land to explore as the interaction between creatures and the environment are often ignored leaving the space for human – centered perspective issues. When the earth becomes endangered because of environmental corruption and natural deterioration, ecocriticism may provide solutions to overcome adversity. An approach to 8 classics under this theory will be a long way to go. Besides, at the time the ecocriticism is brought to the world, it emerges as one of the latest theories concerning natural issues. That is the reason why there still lacks of research and works unearthing the depth of this literary discipline. All the studies, from raising the definition to bridging the theory with other related ones, are just the initial steps taken in order to deal with the most fundamental facets, namely The Ecocriticism Reader: Landmarks in Literary Ecology (Cheryll Glotfelty, University of Georgia Press, 1996), The Green Studies Reader: From Romanticism to Ecocriticism (Laurence Coupe, Psychology Press, 2000), Practical Ecocriticism (Glen A.Love, Charlottesville: University of Verginia Press, 2003), Literature and Environtment (Lawrence Buell, Ursula K. Heise and Karen Thornber, Harvard University Press, 2011). The ecocritical interpretation of classics is also in times of scarcity, for the environmental issues tend to be sunk under more familiar and historic topics like society problems, human limitations or the reflection of the authors and his era in the works. Ecocritical reading provides an ecology approach to literature, which requires the researchers to reread major classics “from an ecocentric perspective” and “emphasize ecocentric values of meticulous observation” (Barry, Beginning Theory). Unlike the other literary disciplines, naturalism does not give the priority to human, but paying attention to studies in nature-centered perspective. This remarkably bursts the novels with tremendous vitality. 2. Jack London and Earnest Hemingway as naturalists. Known for possessing the affinity with the nature, both Jack London and Earnest Hemingway employ nature as the major material to portray characters and deliver messages. The harsh and colossal wilderness in the Klondike and Bimini inspires these prominent authors to build up the 9 influential novellas, The Call of the Wild and The Old Man and the Sea. Readers of these works are impressed not only by the plot and characters, but also the vivid nature and its radical effects. a) Jack London. Jack London was born in January 12, 1876. He is a prominent American writer and also an influential social activist, whose heart is full of compassion. This author pays attention to the nature as much as to human beings, for his most famous novellas concern the wilderness: The Call of the Wild, White Fang and The Sea – Wolf. It can be said that London uses nature as a tool to depict human’s world; however, the overwhelming wilderness ultimately implies nature – centered messages. The American Gold Rush in 1980s marks the appearance of a prolific author, Jack London, who pays meticulous attention to the environment changes under the humans’ impacts. Humanizing animals become an effective way for London to depict the animals’ inner world and explore the wilderness. Thus, ecocritical reading considers this masterpiece a relevant and invaluable to do studies on. Nevertheless, the number of writing employing this approach is pretty low with some journals, namely Psychoanalyzing the Narrative Logics of Naturalism by Donald E. Pease, 2002 or Humanizing Animal as a Reflection of Naturalism in Ack London’s Novel The Call of the Wild by Satrio Suryo Negoro, 2013. These papers mainly concentrate on the art of the works, from which take an approach to the content of nature, but they have not mentioned the creatures’ adaptation for survival. It is a fact that this metamorphosis plays an essential part in Buck’s life as the author clearly perceives the hostile and savage environment in the Gold Rush. b) Earnest Hemingway. 10 [...]... primitive instincts has great significance for 21 existence, which researchers have been examined for ages to unearth the nexus between the environment and the creatures’ living 2 The old man’s primal hunting instincts The old man employs the hunting instincts not only for the adaptation at sea, but also for his greatest kill in his life Recognized as one of the most basic instincts of primeval inhabitants,... self-defense instinct urges Buck’s contending for power There exists a saying that “the striving for power serves in the first place as a protection against helplessness, which … is one of the basic elements of anxiety” (Karen Horney, 1937, p141) The dog in London’s novella is not in that mood, but as Sol-leks attacks any dogs approaching his blind side, Buck strives for the feeling of safety In the fight against... follow my instincts, and be myself for good or ill” Thus, instinctive modification remains a matter of survival It cannot be denied that primal instincts may pull the creatures’ nature in different directions In some cases, evil soul may be a substitute for the existence in the natural harshness However, this replacement ultimately witnesses the death in another part of the body Therefore, in another... strive for more than primordial instincts to percept the real meaning of survival, which will be discussed in the next chapter 30 Chapter IV: The essence of compassion Owing to primal instincts, the creatures can properly maintain the physical existence However, survival conveys far more radical meaning than just breathing and walking in the atmosphere of the Earth With the evolution of the brain and... it is an indispensable ingredient for the life in nature In this thesis, The Call of the Wild by London and The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway are taken as striking instances due to their reflection of Stephen Hawking sayings “intelligence is the ability to adapt to change” The restoration of primal instincts in these novellas plays an important role in tackling insuperable situations Not until the... the harsh environment In the final analysis, derived from the atavism, Buck’s instincts possess an overwhelming power, which is reinforced with acceleration in the hostile environment and finally makes him the fittest in nature He grasps all the physical and mental changes to adapt to the new life Like a noted saying “the process of learning itself is often controlled by instinct” (Gould, James L and... sign of pure nature It urges Buck to response to the sounding deep in the forest The call of the nature produces an echo in Buck in an effort to drive him back to the wild life As a result, he embraces the wild instincts until they are restored the status quo Thereupon, his ambition to return to the nature burst into an inner flame, “irresistible impulses [seize] him” (80) The primordial instincts ultimately... the minimum as he can feel even the minor moves of the nature there The wild permeates every part in his body and the knowledge he learns drives him to perfectly fit to the surroundings Nevertheless, it will be catastrophic if this dog relies on this instinct only as learning process often takes time whilst an instant of negligence in the wilderness forthwith results in the rival’s “teeth [sinking] into... know the world they are entering but, more importantly, they must feel, sense and respond to it” (Sensing Nature: Encountering the World in Hunting, Garry Marvin) In The Old Man and the Sea, the skilled fisherman takes full use of his affinity to pursue the quarry In the very first moment of catching the marlin, through a very thin line can he feel the fish, “he [feels] something hard and unbelievably... protect his marlin, manages to survive 29 returning home after “[going] out too far” (45) and experience the ocean’s callousness Although both of the old man and Buck are finally beaten in their cases in nature, their invincible wills are vital to emanate the adjustment for survival In a nutshell, creatures come to the world endowing with certain instincts, some of which emerge as a part of existence . species. Obviously, a good set of instincts is a decisive factor for the survival in nature. 14 1. Buck’s primitive instincts. a) Instinctive learning. Never before has this dog experienced the. instinct only as learning process often takes time whilst an instant of negligence in the wilderness forthwith results in the rival’s “teeth [sinking] into [Buck’s] own throat” (25). Therefore,. revealing the essence of compassion in nature. Even Hemingway, who is fond of fishing and hunting from the childhood, “takes greater pleasure in merely watching the wildlife” than in killing