On The Changing Status Of Jack London In Both America And China

A very important task in the field of comparative literature study is to study culture comparatively. There lies a great meaning for the development of this subject in our country and in the world. On the one hand this study ought not to deviate from the base of literary study. On the other hand it must focus on the cultural background of the literature. In this thesis, the author wants to discuss objectively the change of Jack London's literary status in different cultural background between China and America. The purpose is to represent the mentation of the whole society in which London's readers live. In other words, the paper will explain the change by dissertating the change of the "reader's status". Because most of the data in this thesis are from various kinds of books on the history of American literature, the thesis is therefore within the area of those books. According to the contents of those books, London's literary status should be composed of such aspects as the lives of the novelist, the thinking of him, his writings and his influence. By those four clews, the thesis will go on for its purpose to make clear the change and the background of the change.When they were read by the readers from different cultural backgrounds, a writer and his writings would be criticized and accepted differently. This literary phenomenon can be explained by the Reception Aesthetics and the Reader Response Approach. But it is much more than a solitary literary phenomenon. As Chinese poet Han Shan was read and accepted by American readers, the enthusiasm for Jack London in China is on the base of the culture, the society and the history. So theliterary study has been contacted with the background of the society, the culture and the history. The study will become more comprehensive and reveal more social meaning.The thesis includes three parts: the first chapter deals with Jack London's status in America; the second dose it in China and the third is a comparative study of his literary status between America and China.