Naturalism Presented in The Call of the Wild

Naturalism was first proposed and formulated by French novelist Emile Zola, and it was introduced to America by American novelist Frank Norris.It is a theory in literature emphasizing scientific observation of life without idealism or avoidance of the ugly.Naturalistic writers were influenced by the evolution theory of Charles Darwin.They believed that one's heredity and social environment determine one's character and influence the actions of its subjects.Jack London (1876-1916) was one of the most popular American writers of his time and regarded as one of the greatest naturalist novelists of America.He was deeply influenced by Darwin's ideas of constant struggle in nature and "the survival of the fittest.He showed his philosophy of naturalism completely in The Call of the Wild.The paper tries to explore the features of Naturalism in The Call of the Wild in an attempt to seek a deep understanding of naturalist literature.