The Wild Animal Story (Animals, Culture, & Society)

328 Pages·2001·29.28 MB·English

by  Ralph H. Lutts

THE
TALES INCLUDE
Stickeen
byJohnMuir
JourneytotheSea
byRachelL.Carson
TheSoundingoftheColi
byJackLondon
TheSpringfieldFox
byErnestThompsonSeton
Edited by
RALPH H. LUTTS
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The Wild Animal Story
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In the series Animals, Culture, and Society,
edited by Clinton R. Sanders and Arnold Arluke
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TEMPLE UNIVERSITY PRESS PHILADELPHIA
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TempleUniversityPress,Philadelphia [9[22
Collectioncopyright© [998byRalphH.Lutts.
Allrightsreserved
Published [998
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
I§Thepaperusedinthisbookmeetstherequirementsofthe
AmericanNationalStandardforInformationSciences
PermanenceofPaperforPrintedLibraryMaterials,
ANS[Z39.48-[984
TextdesignbyErinKirkNew
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
ThewildanimalstoryI editedbyRalphH.Lutts.
p. cm.- (Animals,culture,andsociety)
Includesbibliographicalreferences.
ISBN [-56639-593-3(alk. paper)
1 Naturestories,American-Historyandcriticism. 2. American
fiction-20thcentury-Historyandcriticism. 3. Canadian
fiction-20thcentury-Historyandcriticism. 4. Nature
stories,Canadian-Historyandcriticism. 5. Wildernessareas
inlilerature. 6. Naturestories-Authorship. 7. Animalsin
literature. I. Lutts, RalphH. II. Series.
pS374·N3w55 1998
813'·52080362-DC21 97-23906
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To Merry andJack Hudson and Dan Lutts
for their love, friendship, and support, which made
the completion ofthis book possible
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Contents
Preface ix
The Wild Animal Story: Animalsand Ideas RalphH. Lutts 1
I. TALES 23
2 On His Animal Stories Charles G. D. Roberts 25
3 Do Seek TheirMeatfrom God Charles G. D. Roberts 31
4 TheRivals ofRingwaak Charles G. D. Roberts 36
5 On His Animal Stories Ernest Thompson Seton 45
6 Lobo: The King ofthe Currumpaw Ernest Thompson Seton 48
7 The Springfield Fox Ernest Thompson Seton 59
8 OnHis Animal Stories WilliamJ. Long 71
9 ASchool for Little Fishermen WilliamJ. Long 76
10 TrailsThat Cross in the Snow WilliamJ. Long 81
II AWoodcock Genius WilliamJ. Long 89
12 The Soundingofthe Call Jack London 91
13 Stickeen John Muir 103
14 Journey to the Sea RachelL. Carson Il7
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viii • Contents
II. CONTROVERSY 127
IsReal and Sham NaturalHistory John Burroughs 129
16 TheModern School ofNature-Studyand Its Critics
WilliamJ. Long 144
17 TheFateofLittleMucky Ernest Thompson Seton 153
18 The WritingsofWilIiamJ. Long W F. Ganong 155
19 Truth Plain and Coloured W H. Hudson 158
20 Nature as aField for Fiction Mabel Osgood Wright 161
21 Roosevelt on the Nature Fakirs EdwardB. Clark 164
22 "I Proposeto SmokeRooseveltOut"-Dr. Long 172
23 Charles G. D. Roberts DefendsHis Nature Stories 182
24 Real Naturalistson Nature Faking EdwardB. Clark 184
25 "Nature Fakers" Theodore Roosevelt 192
26 TheOtherAnimals Jack London 199
27 ChipmunkThoughts John Burroughs 211
III. INTERPRETATIONS 213
28 Animal Victims MargaretAtwood 215
29 TheRevolt AgainstInstinct: The Animal StoriesofSeton
and Roberts RobertH. MacDonald 225
30 TheRealistic Animal Story: ErnestThompson Seton,
Charles Roberts, and Darwinism Thomas R. Dunlap 237
3I Stickeen and the Moral EducationofJohn Muir
RonaldH. Limbaugh 248
32 Will the Real Wild Animal Please Stand Up!
The Nature Fakers RalphH. Lutts 268
About the Writers 291
Index 295
Illustrationsfollow page 157
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Preface
In 1986, Reading Is Fundamental surveyed a number of prominent Ameri
cans, asking them to list their favorite children's books. More than two hun
dred books were mentioned in the responses, but only three of them were
nature books-and all of these were wild animal stories. Folk singer Pete
Seegersingled outErnestThompson Seton's Rolfofthe Woods as his favorite.
Jack London's Call ofthe Wild was listed byJohn T. Walker, the Bishop of
Washington, the prominent surgeon Michael DeBakey, and writer Jim Tre
lease. And William J. Long's Northern Trails helped to establish President
Ronald Reagan's "lifelong love ofthe woods."
When they first appeared at the end ofthe nineteenth century, wild animal
stories presented a new view ofwildlife-they revealed nature as experienced
by animals who lived for their own ends. The animals' worth was not mea
sured by how they satisfied or thwarted human expectations. The stories'
combination offiction and natural history made them a powerful vehicle for
promoting a love and appreciation ofthe natural world. Animals are ideas, as
well as living creatures, and this new literary genre promoted a new way of
thinking about wild animals. They lived lives independent ofhumans; shared
many ofour desires and fears, thoughts and emotions; and they had aright to
live simply for their own sake. As the century progressed and environmental
problems became a major social issue, wild animal stories and their vision of
animals also changed-their animal heroes became ecological actors in books
by such authors as Rachel Carson, Sally Carrighar, and Farley Mowat.
These are interestingtimes in which to be an animal. Ifyou are adeer, you
may beconsidered abeautiful creature worthyofprotection, avandal nibbling
on suburban shrubbery, acrop managed for harvest by hunters, and an animal
person worthy ofrights. Ifyou are an endangered species, you can be a pre
cious ecological treasure that must be preserved as well as anuisance standing
in the way ofprogress. Conflicts abound between traditional utilitarian views
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