Transcript Unit 6 Keesh——Based on a story by Jack London

Keesh
—Based on a story
by Jack London
introduction
Part 1
The author
Jack London
(1876-1916)
John Griffith London was an American
author who was born in San Francisco of an
unmarried mother of wealthy background,
Flora Wellman. His father may have been
William Chaney, a journalist, lawyer, and
major figure in the development of American
astrology. Because Flora was ill, Jack was
raised through infancy by an ex-slave,
Virginia Prentiss, who would remain a major
maternal figure while the boy grew up. Late in
1876, Flora married John London, a partially
disabled Civil War veteran. The family moved
around the Bay area before settling in
Oakland, where Jack completed grade school.
Though the family was working class, it
was not so impoverished as London's later
accounts claimed. As an adolescent, the boy
adopted the name of Jack. He worked at
various hard labor jobs, pirated for oysters
on San Francisco Bay, served on a fish
patrol to capture poachers,
sailed the Pacific on a sealing ship, joined
Kelly's Army of unemployed working men,
hoboed around the country, and returned to
attend high school at age 19. In the process, he
became acquainted with socialism and was
known as the Boy Socialist of Oakland for his
street corner oratory.
He would run unsuccessfully several
times on the socialist ticket as mayor.
Always a prolific reader, he consciously
chose to become a writer to escape from
the horrific prospects of life as a
factory worker.
London's first marriage (1900) was to Bess
Maddern, with whom he had two daughters,
Joan and Bess. In choosing her, he followed
the precept in a book he co-wrote with Anna
Strunsky, The Kempton-Wace Letters, that
mates should be selected for good breeding,
not love. Following an affair with "New
Woman" Charmian Kittredge,
five years his senior, he divorced Bess. In
1905 he married his "Mate Woman," who
became the persona for many of his female
characters and who avidly joined him on his
many travel ventures. He encouraged her
own writing career, and she wrote three
books concerning their life.
Often troubled by physical ailments, during
his thirties London developed kidney disease
of unknown origin. He died of renal failure on
November 22, 1916 on the ranch. Because his
writings were translated in several dozen
languages, he remains more
widely read in some countries outside of the
United States than in his home country. Study of
his life and writings provides a case through
which to examine the contradictions in the
American character, along with key movements
and ideas prominent during the Progressive era.
As a prolific American novelist, and short
story writer, he works deal romantically with
the overwhelming power of nature and the
struggle for survival. His most popular novel,
“the Call of the Wild”, describes the people
who came to the frozen North and the bonds
they established with their sled dogs.
Part 2
The
Characters
Keesh
Keesh was a thirteen-year-old boy who lived
at the North Pole a long time ago. His father
died of sruggling with a bear in order to keep
the people in the village from starving. After
that, Keesh lived alone with his mother.
One council Keesh complained about unfair
treatment, but other people laughed at him.
Therefore, he decided to hunt by himself. Later
on, Keesh used his brain to kill many bears and
divided them fairly. In the end, Keesh rose to
power and became the leader of his people.
Klosh-Kwan
Klosh-Kwan was the chief of the village
who lived in a large igloo. In the
beginning, he could not believe Keesh, but
he admired him later.
Ikeega
Ikeega was Keesh’s mother who
lived only with his sole son. She loved
his son very much.
Bim and Bawn
Bim and Bawn were two clever young
hunters who were appointed to spy on Keesh.
They told how Keesh killed bears when they
came back.
comprehension
A
Answer these questions.
1. How did the Keesh’s father die?
During a famine in the village, his father
tried to save the lives of the people by
fighting a giant polar and was crushed to
death.
2. What did Bok do with the meat he
brought back?
Bok, Keesh’s father, shared the meat
he brought back with everyone in the
village.
3. How many bears did Keesh kill the
first time he went hunting?
Keesh killed three bears — a bear
and her two cubs the first time he
went hunting.
4. What did the council order Bim and
Bawn to do?
The council ordered Bim and Bawn to
follow Keesh when he went out to hunt.
5. Did Keesh use magic or his brain to kill
the bears?
Keesh used his brain to kill the bears.
A
Put events in order.
⑤ a. Two clever hunters followed Keesh and saw
everything he did.
⑧ b. Eventually, Keesh became the chief of his
village.
① c. The boy,Keesh, complained to the council
about the way he and his mother were being
treated.
③ d. On his first hunting trip, Keesh killed a
mother bear with her cubs.
② e. The men shouted at Keesh and ordered
him to leave.
④ f. Keesh’s success continued, and he killed
many bears.
⑦ g. Keesh revealed his method for killing
bears.
⑥ h. The hunters reported what they had
seen.
Language study
Part 1
Words
starve
动词，使挨饿，使饿死
Thousands of people starved during the
war.
战争中，成千上万的人都饿死了。
erect
动词，直立的，竖立的
He sat silently and kept his body
erect.
他默默地坐着，身体直立着。
incredible
形容词，难以置信的，不可信的
The facts have been distorted to an
incredible degree.
事实已被严重歪曲了。
company
名词，陪同者，陪伴者
She was the only company when I was in the
middle school.
我上中学的时候，她是我的唯一同伴。
frail
形容词，脆弱的，易受伤害的
The old man was too frail to move.
这个老人太虚弱了，不能动了。
spacious
形容词，宽敞的，广阔的
The room is so spacious that lots of people
can stand in it.
这个房间这么宽敞，很多人可以在里
边。
Part 2
idioms
rise to one’s feet
站起来
He rose to his feet and left.
他站起来离开了。
die down
渐渐消失，平息
Finally the breeze has begun to die
down.
微风最终渐渐停了。
cheer up
使高兴，使振奋
Cheer up, Mike, you look really
down in the dump.
高兴点，麦克，你看起来垂头
丧气的。
summary
Part 1
The plot
Keesh lived at the edge of the polar sea. He
was thirteen years old. The father of Keesh had
been a brave man. But he had died hunting for
food. Keesh was his only son. Keesh lived along
with his mother, Ikeega. One night, the village
council met in the big igloo of Klosh-kwan, the
chief. Keesh was there with the others.
He listened, then waited for silence. He said, “It
is true that you give us some meat. But it is
often old and tough meat, and has many bones.”
The hunters were surprised. This was a child
speaking against them. A child talking like a
grown man! Again, there was a great noise in
the igloo. The council ordered Keesh to bed. It
even talked of giving him no food.
The next day, Keesh started out for the shore,
where the land meets the ice. Those who
watched saw that he carried his bow and many
arrows. Across his shoulder was his father’s big
hunting spear. Again there was laughter.
One day passed, then a second. On the third
day, a great wind blew. There was no sign of
Keesh. His mother, Ikeega, put burned seal oil on
her face to show her sorrow. The women shouted
at their men for letting the little boy go. The men
made no answer, but got ready to search for the
body of Keesh.
Early next morning, Keesh walked into the
village. Across his shoulders was fresh meat. He
told men to follow him with dogs and sleds and
fetch a bear and her two cubs. His mother was
very happy. Keesh, trying to be a man, said to her
mother that he would sleep because he was tired.
There was much talk after Keesh went to his
igloo. The killing of a bear was dangerous. But
it was three times more dangerous to kill a
mother bear with cubs. The men did not
believe Keesh had done so. But the women
pointed to the fresh meat. At last, the men
agreed to go for the meat that was left. But
they were not very happy.
So began the mystery of Keesh.
On his next trip, he killed a young bear…and
on the following trip, a large male bear and its
mate.
Then there was talk of magic and witchcraft in
the village. So began the mystery of Keesh.
Keesh continued to bring meat to the village.
Some people thought he was a great hunter.
There was talk of making him chief, after old
Klosh-kwan. They waited, hoping he would
come to council meetings. But he never came.
The council sat up late talking about Keesh and
the meat. They decided to spy on him.
On Keesh’s next trip, two young hunters, Bim
and Bawn, followed him. After five days, they
returned. The council met to hear their story,
then the two hunters reported what they had
seen.
Klosh-kwan led the council to the igloo of
Keesh. Keesh told the people in the village how
he had killed the bears: he bent some thin
pieces of whalebone. The ends were pointed
and sharp as a knife. Keesh bent the thin,
sharp bones as knives into circles,
then put some seal meat inside them, then put
them in the snow to freeze. The bear had eaten
the ball of meat with the circle of bone inside.
When the meat got inside the bear, the meat got
warm, and the bone went snap! The sharp points
made the bear sick. It is easy to kill then.
Keesh used head-craft, instead of witchcraft,
he rose from the poorest igloo to be the chief
in the village. And for all the years that
followed, his people were happy. No one
cried at night with pains of hunger.
Part 2
Keesh
In the story, Keesh was very capable to change
from a young boy to a great leader. He rose to
power not only because he was brave and
intelligent, but also because he was kind and
benign. For example, he took good care of the old
and the weak, and did not take revenge on those
that had treated him unfairly.
writing
Suppose that you were Keesh. Would
you have revealed how you killed the
bears, or would you have tried to hide
your secret? Why? Write an article that
answers the question above.