《英语短篇小说教程》练习参考答案unit10

《英语短篇小说教程》练习参考答案

Unit 10

Jack London: The Law of Life

1)Opinions of Understanding:

(1) Old Koskoosh’s son, the tribe chief, came to say good-bye, and briefly explained the situation the tribe was facing. He mentioned some factors that forced him to abandon the sickly old man. Which factor was NOT mentioned?

A. The tribesmen had to travel long and fast.

B. The tribesmen had to start hunting for meat immediately.

C. Some tribesmen showed unwillingness to take the old man.

D. The loads on the dog sleds were already heavy.

(2) In his recollections of the past, old Koskoosh recalled the episode of a moose being hunted by wolves. What do you think is the reason that this episode was recalled?

A. Because it was the most exciting experience in his youth.

B. Because it was a reflection of his present situation.

C. Because it was symbolically a vital step into adulthood.

D. Because it was an example of collective strength.

(3) Which of the following about old Koskoosh is true?

A. He never showed any panic.

B. He hoped his son would come back to get him.

C. Though old, he was sharp in all senses of life.

D. He questioned the fairness of the law of nature.

(4) Finally, old Koskoosh said to himself, “Was it not the law of life?” What do these words reveal to us?

A. He believed that life had a cycle.

B. He finally realized what death meant.

C. He failed to understand his son’s decision.

D. He was prepared to accept the fate.

(5) We may classify this short story as belonging to the school of literary Naturalism. All the following arguments support the classification except one. Which is it?

A. Because the writer portrays human beings as victims of some larger forces.

B. Because the writer makes no moral judgment on the behaviors of the characters.

C. Because the writer places the story in a remote land and tells an exotic tale.

D. Because the writer emphasizes the domination of the environment.

2) Questions for Discussion:

(Suggested answers for reference)

(1) What do you think of the Indian tradition of abandoning their sickly elders? Was it the writer’s intention to reveal and condemn the inhumane and inhuman practice?

(From our perspective, such practice is of course cruel and inhuman, but the writer’s central concern is to provide an illustration and to explain one idea: that human beings are “determined”by “the law of nature”– the larger forces of the universe as well as their own biological nature. The idea expressed in the short story is typical in naturalistic literature.)

(2) What has the setting to do with the theme of the short story?

(Naturalist writers have special preference to certain settings that can provide “laboratory conditions,” so that the stories can convey their understanding of the relationship of man and the natural or social forces. The arctic region within which the story of “The Law of Life”occurs, intensifies the human struggle with the Nature, and thus is ideal in bringing out the basic conception of Naturalism in literature.)

(3) What is “the law of life”? Can you underline some of the words in the story that explain what the “law” is?

The ideas about “the law of life” is mostly expressed in the reflection of Old Koskoosh:

1. He did not complain. It was the way of life, and it was just. He had been born close to the earth, close to the earth had he lived, and the law thereof was not new to him. It was the law of all flesh. Nature was not kindly to the flesh. She had no concern for that concrete thing called the individual. Her interest lay in the species, the race. (lines 68-72)

2. The rise of the sap, the bursting greenness of the willow bud, the fall of the yellow leaf—in this alone was told the whole history. But one task did nature set the individual. Did he not perform it, he died. Did he perform it, it was all the same, he died. Nature did not care… . (lines 73-78)

3. Therefore it was true that the tribe lived, that it stood for the obedience of all its members, way down into the forgotten past, whose very resting places were unremembered. They did not count; they were episodes. They had passed away like clouds from a summer sky. He also was an episode, and would pass away. (lines 80-83)

4. Nature did not care. To life she set one task, gave one law. To perpetuate was the task of life, its law was death. (lines 83-85)

5. (Determined to give up his cling to life) Koskoosh dropped his head wearily upon his knees. What did it matter after all? Was it not the law of life? (202-203)

(4) On what basis can we categorize this short story as a piece of Naturalistic writing?

1. The setting highlights the conflict between man and Nature.

2. The natural force seems to be overwhelming while the human efforts are rather futile. Man can only adapt to Nature rather than change it.

3. The story reveals the pessimistic attitude on the part of the writer.

4. There is a prevailing sense of determinism and amoralism.

3) Explanation and interpretation:

(Explain the implied meaning of the following sentences, and point out their significance in the context of the story.)

(1) He listened, who would listen no more.

(Old Koskoosh knew what was going to happen. While he was still alive and listening, he would soon die and “listen no more.”)

(2) Then his hand crept out in haste to the wood. It alone stood betwixt him and the eternity which yawned upon him.

(The word “eternity”here means death. The old man’s life defended on this small pile of wood that could supply warmth and keep the wolves away. When the wood burnt out, Death, with its mouth open, would quickly swallow him.)

(3) Nature was not kindly to the flesh. She had no concern for that concrete thing called the individual. Her interest lay in the species, the race.

(According to Darwin’s theory of survival of the fittest, the living beings have adapted to the environment in the long history of evolution. In that long process, according to the natural law, only the survival of the group, of the species, has significance. Nature does not care for individual survival. Only the group that fits the environment has a change to continue.)

(4) For a while he listened to the silence. Perhaps th e heart of his son might soften…

(The old man’s reflection reveals that he, alike any individual, wished to be given a chance to live. Even though he understood the law of nature and had a brave heart in facing death, he still had a natural and humanly yearning for life.)