Jack London’s “Love of Life”

The man arrived at a track in the afternoon. It was the other man’s, who dragged himself on his hands and knees instead of walking. The man considered the possibility that it was Bill, but he gave it little thought. There was no curiosity in him. He was devoid of emotion and feeling. He lost the ability to feel pain. However, the life within him propelled him forward. Even though he was exhausted, it wouldn’t go away. He continued to drink his hot water, eat muskeg berries and little fish, and watch the sick wolf closely since it would not die.

He trailed along behind the other man who was dragging himself along. He reached the end of it quickly. Where numerous wolves’ footprints had left their marks in the grass, there were a few recently cleaned bones. He noticed a moose-skin purse, just like his own. Sharp teeth had torn it apart. Even though its weight was nearly too great for his frail fingertips, he managed to take it up. Bill had finished carrying it. He would get the final laugh now. He would survive and transport it to the vessel in the brilliant ocean. He let forth a howl, sounding inhumane, and the ill wolf joined in. The man stopped abruptly. If that Bill, how could he laugh at him; If those immaculate, pinky-white bones belonged to Bill?

He moved on. He felt abandoned by Bill. However, he refused to accept the gold and to consume Bill’s remains. If only things had been different for them, though, Bill would have complied. He arrived near a watery pool. He threw back his head as though he’d been hit, bending over it in search of fish. His face had been visible to him in the water. It was so terrible that it stunned him for a prolonged period of time. The pool was too big to empty, but it contained three fish. He stopped trying to catch them in his tin container after a few tries. Due to his extreme frailty, he was worried that he might trip and fall into the river. This was also the reason he didn’t trust himself to forge a log on one of the numerous that could be found along the river’s banks and ride down it.