School №1
“The role of the wildlife in the novel “White Fang” by J. London and some problems of its translation”
Pupil: Shmitko Kirill ,
Class 10,
Teacher:Medvedeva E. N
Rossosh 2018
Contents
Introduction ……………………………………………………………….p.3
Main body
Chapter 1. The process of the literary translation …………………………p.5
Chapter 2. Translation and its difficulties …………………………………...p.8
Chapter 3. The Northern Wildlife in Jack London’s work ‘White Fang’….p.16
Chapter 4. The two professional translations ……………………………...p. 19
Chapter 5. My own translation …………………………………………….p. 22
Conclusion …………………………………………………………………p. 29
List of literature ……………………………………………………………p. 30
Introduction
“Don’t tell the reader. Not in any case. Not in sake for anything…The doesn’t need your researches, your watching, your knowledge, your thoughts or your ideas, he certainly doesn’t. Put everything you’ve got inside your heroes’ stories and leave them alone”
This is a position of a great American writer Jack London, his attitude to the effort of his life. Unfortunately, he is almost forgotten by the native readers. This is the reason why I would like to explain that his serious literature is close to the heart of the Russian reader, whose soul is quite mysterious and deep, in my work. In my opinion, the best result can be reached if I translate a part of the text on my own. I have chosen “White Fang”, which is one of the most wonderful Jack London’s works of the “Northern period”. The aim of my work is to translate the text myself in order to notice all things hidden from the first sight which such difficult work like translation involves. Moreover, making a translation of original text cad help to realize what the author wanted to tell us, what kind of feelings he was trying to transfer to the reader. Last but not least, making a translation will give me my own independent opinion of the author’s personality and a chance to admire his work completely.
In order to reach the aim I had to accomplish the following objectives.
to read through the text and choose the part of the text which I’m going to translate
to study the part of the text in the original
to get to know about different types of translations and the criteria of their accessing
to choose two of the existing translations of the text to study
to study the extract in these two translations and to analyse them accourding to the criteria.
to make my own translation.
My general aim is to show true “colour” of the things that Jack London wanted to tell us. Let it be a translation of just a one chapter, but it must be a high quality translation, where each thought is clearly considered with a great effort and attention. At the same time it is not a good idea to rely on an interlinear while creating a literal translation.
While doing the research, I used a lot of books concerning literature and Jack London`s style, the issue of translation and everything connected with it.
Chapter 1 The process of the literary translation
So, my aim is to make my own literary translation. What should I do first? What steps do I have to follow?
First of all, of course, it`s necessary to choose the extract which is going be translated and read it just to get the general idea and impression.
The following stage of my work should be considering each word separately and then the phrases on the whole. This will be a degree in which the word-for-word translation is appropriate for a certain context. By doing this I will make my translation more clear and filtered. After that it is necessary to realise not only the definition of phrase but also a feeling and inspiration and mood which the author introduces us to.
I am expecting that in process of my research I will face to such mixed and tangle difficulty as making the translation more objective and precise. An original text cannot be translated without some inaccuracy or losses. In any case, the translated text would lose something in comparison with the original, but would get something too. It is simply because of the difference in the way different peoples see the world and reflect it in their language. Reading a first word for word translation I notice the difference among culture and also what the phrase mean in a certain language. For instance, idioms can be mentioned the most typical situation of that. ‘A drop in the ocean’ will sound in Russian like ‘A drop in the sea’ (Капля в море).As we can see these two phrases are equivalent to each other in their meaning. As an example, it is possible to quote a fragment from M.Gorkij's story “The Owner":“На подоконнике у нее стоял бальзамин в цвету. Однажды она хвастливо спросила:
- Хорош светок?
- Ничего. Только надо говорить "цветок".
Она отрицательно качнула головою.
- Нет, это не подходит: цветок - на ситце, а светок, светик - это от Бога, от солнышка. Одно - цвет, другое - свет. Я знаю, как говорить.”
The dialogue like that is extremely difficult to transfer because in the translational language there hardly is the same lexical pair – words with similar pronunciation "цвет" (from which the word "цветок" is formed) and "свет" ("светок"). In that case, the translator finds a similar pair of words in the translational language and changes the whole episode along with the subject of the narration, or simply omits it. Both decisions could hardly be named the decision for the benefit of equivalence.
Concerning the translation I realised that it is indispensable for a translator who is the reader of his work. For a person who knows English well and understands English culture and all its peculiarities of word for word translation my work may seem something like an incarnation of that how English phrases sound in Russian. However, that man can read this literature in the original. A translation is created for those who don’t know foreign language. Only for the sake of this fact it is important to save all the characters of heroes transforming the text in such way that the reader could realize author’s thoughts as well as cultural specialties of original language but not the improvising of translator. At the same time translation mustn’t lose its sense for the person who don’t know English and must be appropriate for reading.
English and Russian really differ from each other and one phrase may have a different definition in each language. Another, but not less important aim of such work is to increase the level of English and to enrich the lexicon. There are a lot of uncommon words in “White Fang”. Some of them are obsolete, others are used only in speaking situations and other are the words of a certain dialect or slang. At that moment I also understood that the first thing I should do is to acquaint with the text and then to throw the light on difficult grammatical structures which are difficult to translate spontaneously. This will help to make a total decision about the way the original text is translated. First of all I read the text with translating all important new words in order to get the general idea of the text. Then I must do a word for word translation for the most difficult structures. This would be a key for managing with a big amount of work.
Chapter 2. Translation and its difficulties
Translation is one of the forms of human social activity which complies with the constantly growing requirements of socialising among people who don’t have a lingua franca. It is believed that such people have a special linguistic and ethnic barrier. However, this is not a proof of the truth that translation is of high social importance. One way of communication is an interaction which is monolingual and another one is language meditation where the translator helps crossing the above mentioned barrier. Although translation is the most perfect type of meditation among languages there might be a case when it isn’t really effective. For instance, when the author of translation uses phrases that are not equivalent and are not appropriate to be understood it is quite difficult to know what the true writer of original thought is. The reason for this might be found in foreign cultural elements which can seem distant and strange for reader.
A.K.Tolstoy shows his principles in translation in the following way: “I am trying to correspond to the original text, but only in those positions where correctness and faithfulness don’t get at artistic impression but always avoid my attention from word for word translation if it get another meaning in Russian than in German. I don’t believe that it is necessary to translate words and even the sense but the translation must contain the impression. It is important that the reader is able to transfer to the same environment where the reader of original text is located and the translation would get on the same nerves”.
General requirements for the translation would be acceptable if they are not the postulate of its theoretical conception but the positions which are concluded from the language peculiarities and general language and speech science. This would help to make a step from experiential method of translation to theoretically substantiated aspects of translation. There are three main levels of translation: veritable translation, word for word translation and “authorized translation”, which is somehow similar to retelling.
In order to feel the difference between them it is important to explain the division. Veritable translation is a form of transliteration which consists of word for word translation and elements of retelling. Word for word translation is the most objective kind of this activity. However, in this way the communicative opportunities may be ignored and this is a negative point of word for word translation. Free translation can be a bit biased because in this case it is impossible to guarantee that such translation is the true interpretation of the original text. It is also inappropriate to use free translation for important political agreements or different religious texts or historical documents. In contrast of these two “sub translations”, veritable translation tends to be closer to the original and doesn’t usually lead to inaccuracy in language standards. To sum up all the information mentioned above, veritable translation is supposed to be a clear and direct way to cross the linguistic barrier and equalize communicative abilities of reader between the peculiarities of original language and language of translation. Each ordinary reader believes that translation is the same thing as the original text but on the native language. So, collective consciousness of the society considers bilingual communication with translation to be equal to usual monolingual communication. In this type of communication there are two different principles: reproduction with the help of translation abilities and adaptation the creating translation for linguistic peculiarities of perception of new addressee. All that lead to a manner in which translator should actualize his\her attitude: necessity of reproducing semantical and structural peculiarities of the original text and adaptation of creating text for new cultural and linguistic perception. The principle of motivation translational transformation helps to find an optimum variant of translation in each specific case.
In order to realize psychological reasons of free translation we should consider the problems of translation. The first one is which I have already mentioned in my own thoughts before and is the searching for appropriate middle between original and translated text. This is the way which is chosen for development of the translation and is supported by bringing two different cultures and languages together. The second problem is existence of two fundamentally different opinions about the ability for the text to be translated. On the one hand, there are people who are pessimistic about the translation and think that it is impossible to create an absolutely equivalent translation as they suppose that all elements of the original text can’t be translated. In such situations internal forms of lexical structures and dialectic peculiarities are not considered. On the other hand, supporters of optimistic view claim that criteria of veritability are the practice of translator. Practice acknowledges that international conferences are organized everywhere daily and the speakers of different languages reach mutual understanding. So, in common the translation proves its social importance. Speaking about the ability of the original text to be translated it is important to mention that all works of different writers can be divided into several categories. This division depends on the degree of their relation to a certain group of readers. For instance, the texts which make the reader think about international and professional and eternal problems would be more popular among the translators. At the same time texts which consider interests of small groups of people or marginal would be less widely translated.
Having considered the ability of original text to be translated, I can appeal to the problem of equivalent translation. There are two approaches to translation which are called dynamic equivalence and formal equivalence. Dynamic equivalence (also known as functional equivalence) attempts to convey the thought expressed in the original text (if necessary, at the expense of literalness, original word order, the original text's grammatical structures, etc.), while formal equivalence attempts to render the text word-for-word (if necessary, at the expense of natural expression in the target language). The two approaches represent emphasis, respectively, on readability and on literal fidelity to the original text. There is, however, no sharp boundary between dynamic and formal equivalence in reality. Broadly, the two represent a spectrum of translation approaches. The terms "dynamic equivalence" and "formal equivalence" are associated with the translator Eugene Nida, and were originally coined to describe ways of translating the Bible, but the two approaches are applicable to any translation.
Because dynamic equivalence eschews strict adherence to the grammatical structure of the original text in favor of a more natural rendering in the target language, it is sometimes used when the readability of the translation is more important than the preservation of the original grammatical structure. Thus a novel might be translated with greater use of dynamic equivalence so that it may read well, while in diplomacy or in some business settings people may insist on formal equivalence because they believe that fidelity to the grammatical structure of the language means greater accuracy.
Formal equivalence is often more a goal than a reachable reality, simply because one language may contain a word for a concept which has no direct equivalent in another language. In such cases a more dynamic translation may be used or a neologism may be created in the target language to represent the concept (sometimes by borrowing a word from the original language).
The more the source language differs from the target language, the more difficult it may be to understand a literal translation. On the other hand, formal equivalence can sometimes allow readers familiar with the source language to see how the meaning was expressed in the original text, preserving untranslated idioms, rhetorical devices (such as chiastic structures in the Hebrew Bible) and diction.
To sum up, it is necessary to decide what the conditions are when the translations are really identical to each other, the original text is acknowledged as equivalent to the text on the other language and what are the ways to solve problem of being not equivalent. Considering about this leads to three general requirements:
Initial and translated texts have to be equal in communicational and functional characteristics (to have such expressions that are familiar to target spheres of initial language and translational language)
Initial and translated texts should be analogous as much as possible in semantic and structural way
With the presence of compensating deviations between initial and translated texts it is impossible for semantic and structural divergence which are inadmissible in the translation
Following these rules would get a perfect translation which is appropriate for reading and is stylistically correct. Moreover, avoiding grammatical and linguistic errors would also be the result of carrying these points out.
There are many difficult situations for the translator to meet and solve.
The writer and the translator P.A.Vjazemsky, who reflected on the problems of translation a lot, wrote that "breaking the author’s expressions, the symmetry of his words" seemed to him "unnatural change of his (the author's) idea ".
Much later, V.V. Nabokov, who had been brought up in the bilingual atmosphere and therefore new and felt Russian and English languages equally well, wrote the biographical novel "Другие берега". Having translated it into English, he realized that he wrote quite another work, and called it "Speak, Memory". But totally surprising was the fact, that when he retranslated "Speak, Memory" back into Russian, it turned out to be the third novel, quite different from both previous.
In this part of the research, I am going to find out the conditions of equivalence of translation, basing on L.K.Latyshev's and A.L.Semenov's opinion, that is to make the bibliographic analysis of their book “Translation: the theory, practice and the technique of teaching “.
As a result of comparison of various translations and their analysis it is possible to find out two extreme measures: super translation and scanty translation (ideal translation by virtue of reasons named before remains, unfortunately, inaccessible top which it is necessary to try to attain). There are also the texts representing in one moment the first extreme measure, and in another - the second.
So, let`s consider super translation and scanty translation. Super translation is a kind of translation with additional processing, adaptation to the features of the addressee. Scanty translation could be named a "draft" translation, a word-per-word translation. There is no stylistic conformity to the original in it and (or) its contents is transferred incompletely. It is obvious, that the translator renounces principles of the equivalence running into these extreme measures,. To formulate them, we will consider super translation and scanty translation again. In super translation the translator resorts to the method of retelling; he changes events, names, and even facts if he cannot translate them; adapts the text for the reader by changing its style. The translation text does not reproduce all more or less essential characteristics of the original any more; it is not its semantic -structural analogue. Therefore, the first condition of equivalence in translation is semantic-structural similarity of the translation and the original. In this occasion, J.I.Retsker's opinion is widely known: «The translation should transfer not only what is expressed by the original, but also the way it is expressed ».
But what to do if careful observation of the first condition of the equivalence makes the text difficult to understand or causes inadequate reaction to it?
Alongside with the questions «What is the text about? », «What is told in the text?» and «How is it told?» the translator should ask him/herself the question: «What for, for the sake of what is something told in the text?». In other words, what feelings should the reader experience, what should the text encourage him to do (not in the translator’s opinion, certainly, but in the author’s)? «The main thing is to transfer the impression», - said A.K.Tolstoj, in other words it is necessary to try to attain communicative - functional equivalence of translation and the original (that is to ensure their identical influence on the addressees). A communicative - functional equivalence is the second condition of the equivalence of translation.
However, one would think, the first and the second conditions contradict each other. The first demands an exact, almost a literal translation, the second – an adapted transposition, a retelling. What should the translator do? The matter is that all difficult situations of translation are unique. And the translators are unique too. Because of this, the translator makes a choice for the benefit of the first or the second, depending on what seems to him more important in each case. A choice of the version most corresponding to both principles is the main task of the translator. Thus, the third principle of equivalence in translation is transforming the text moderately, choosing the version corresponding to both principles.
It is necessary to notice, that only observation of all the three conditions lets the translational text be called an equivalent translation. However, in some cases the communicative - functional equivalence is unessential (for example, in the technical literature) texts it is impossible for semantic and structural divergence which are inadmissible in the translation.
From the very beginning of that wonderful literal work of Jack London, I was occupied with the feeling of owe as I had perceived how strong and penetrating English words can be. When I had read a description of northern nature, the Wild, I realised that there is not any Russian writer who describes it like that. On the one hand, Jack London describes a beauty of frozen waterway and the trees which were stripped by a recent wind to us. On the other hand, he compares merciless of the Wild and eternity of the nature to the life of two men, their effort of life. Describing landscape, Jack London connects lifeless and insensibility of the nature with the heart of human. He makes us think about the moral of life not by the actions which a certain hero does but by the feelings and sufferings that the nature causes. Although the main goal of “White Fang” is to study the environmental situation from the point of view of a wolfish dog whose name is White Fang, Jack London’s work staggers with its artificial features and makes us think about the nature a Although the main goal of “White Fang” is to study the environmental situation from the point of view of a wolvish dog whose name is White Fang, Jack London’s work staggers with its artificial features and makes us think about the nature as about violent, blind and evil force from the very beginning. s about violent, blind and evil force from the very beginning. The first lines of White Fang can remind us the first lines of the Bible, describing creation of the world. This idea can also be retraced in the comparison of the Wild to evil forces, the underworld, where the human suffers and feels unhappy. In the conception of Wild as lifeless savage and frozen-hearted Northland several features play an important role, such as silence and freeze, a pack of wolves as a misfortune in this World which is drawing nearer and nearer while you are sleeping. Sleeping morally and mentally you are in danger of losing your personal qualities like there in the ‘White Fang’. Silence is such a thing in the work of London that gives an image of desolation and loneliness and a death of heart when you haven’ died physically. This leads to an understanding of the truth that it is impossible to live without a comrade or a friend nearby or (if there are neither of them) the God in your heart. Frozen Wild symbolizes the frozen life and as in case of silence senseless and empty effort of live for the human who hasn’t his own responsibility. It`s also important to add that the first heroes of White Fang, Henry and Bill, are not such kind of people who don’t want to live. Those are the thoughts which come to my mind while analyzing thoroughly only the first chapter of Jack London’s work White Fang. My aims are to characterize transferring the idea of original text to the translation and to make a comparison between two translations. This would help me to find total emphasis of the original text and its difficult structures.
Chapter 3. The Northern Wildlife in J. London’s work ‘White Fang’
I always supposed that English language is not very rich and somehow quite dry. After I had opened the book called “White Fang”, my false conception of the English disappeared. From the very beginning of that wonderful literal work of Jack London, I was occupied with the feeling of owe as I had perceived how strong and penetrating English words can be. From the slight sight they may seem to be simple words but what a sense is hidden there. English is not a dry language, we just don’t know it in a degree that would enable to realise the beauty of the language and have a relationship with it. One fact is that the context is playing an important role in understanding the text on the whole.
When I had read a description of northern nature, the Wild, I realised that there is not any Russian writer who describes it like that. Although we have a lot of Russian writers like Turgenev and Paustovskiy, who were keen on describing nature, Jack London was the first author who opened another outlook of the Nature and the Wild to me. His philosophy of describing is not the same as the philosophy of Russian authors. He tells us about the northern nature as about something cruel and lifeless. On the one hand, Jack London describes a beauty of frozen waterway and the trees which were stripped by a recent wind to us. On the other hand he compares merciless of the Wild and eternity of the nature to the life of two men, their effort of life. I have already met Turgenev’s creative work and his view on the life and nature as insensitive and indifferent woman. However, he didn’t write much about the nature or describe it in his big works like “The Parents and the Choldren” because it wasn’t his main goal. Jack London did.
Reading just a small part of ‘White Fang’ led to the same thoughts which come to mind after reading Dostoevsky’s work ‘The Crime and the Punishment’. Describing landscape, Jack London connects lifeless and insensibility of the nature with the heart of human. He makes us think about the moral of life not by the actions which a certain hero does but by the feelings and sufferings that the nature causes. Although the main goal of “White Fang” is to study the environmental situation from the point of view of a wolfish dog whose name is White Fang, Jack London’s work staggers with its artificial features and makes us think about the nature as about violent, blind and evil force from the very beginning. This nature is considered the dictum of lifeless and element which instills terror into everybody, conquering and beating down until the death of human soul and lack of ability to struggle. I suppose that White Fang was began with the trip of two indomitable alive men who transport the “load of mourn” from that Wild which doesn’t allow just to bury the human.
The first lines of White Fang can remind us the first lines of the Bible, describing creation of the world. Although the writer was a socialist, he shows this to us in order we could compare lifelessness of the Wild to the ‘period’ which was before the Creation (I’d better say the situation when nothing existed). This idea can also be retraced in the comparison of the Wild to evil forces, the underworld, where the human suffers and feels unhappy. The men have also the image of ‘undertakers in a spectral world at the funeral of some ghost’ and concerned as ‘puny adventurers bent on colossal adventure’. In the conception of Wild as lifeless savage and frozen-hearted Northland several features play an important role, such as silence and freeze, a pack of wolves as a misfortune in this World which is drawing nearer and nearer while you are sleeping. Sleeping morally and mentally you are in danger of loosing your personal qualities like there in the ‘White Fang’. Those wolves, which come and takes the dogs, are the image of devil, who comes and takes and deprives all our soul and heart while our consistence is sleeping.
Silence is such a thing in the work of London, that gives an image of desolation and loneliness and a death of heart when you haven’ died physically. This leads to an understanding of the truth that it is impossible to live without a comrade or a friend nearby or (if there are neither of them) the God in your heart. For instance, let us consider about influence of the silence on the heart of human. Living in a busy and bustling city, you go to the countryside and relax from it and its deathly silence and you like that but those who live there for a long time are tired of it and become involved in dejection and get low spirits and so they become tired of life.
Everything is ‘frozen-hearted’ in the Wild and this fact has its own meaning and importance. Frozen Wild symbolizes the frozen life and as in case of silence senseless and empty effort of live for the human who hasn’t his own responsibility and ability to live. Those people don’t live because they can only exist. It`s also important to add that the first heroes of White Fang, Henry and Bill, are not the sort of people who don’t want to live. It is obvious when they are talking about what would happen when they die. I believe this fact shows not their nonchalance to life but their effort of life and realizing that they can do something better in their lives.
Those are the thoughts which come to my mind while analyzing thoroughly only the first chapter of Jack London’s work White Fang. My aims are to characterize transferring the idea of original text to the translation and to make a comparison between two translations. This would help me to find total emphasis of the original text and its difficult structures. Although I have to compare these translations, my own translation should be done before as the interpretation of translators can influence to my own work and this fact is not required because the work must be independent.
Chapter 4. The two translations.
So, after having read the text to get the general idea, I had to choose the two professional translations which I`m going to analyse. One translation is created by N. Voljina and another one, which is probably the most modern, is made by B.Akimov. The reason for such choice involves analyzing which text is the most appropriate to be veritable and which can be considered a free translation. In spite of the fact that I concern these two translations as hard and scrupulous work of translator (both of the authors were trying to do their best in their own way), I have to analyze their translations more seriously according to the criteria. The main criteria for judging about translations are: the fidelity of the translation, compliance with the style of original text and conformity with standards of Russian literal language. In common, it is really important to pay attention to the equivalence of the text.
Voljina’s translation saves stylistic features of London’s original text as she doesn’t omit any of the situations that are difficult for translation and uses faithful, accurate and careful methods. Moreover, while I was reading her translation, I was carried away to the impression which Jack London gave in his original text. To contrast this kind of translation with the work of Akimov it necessary to mention that his translation is as exact as Voljina’s one and the advantage of his work is that he tried to make his translation more accurate with the help of syntactical norms of English. However, despite the fact that his translation is more precise grammatically, the perception of the translated text becomes more difficult. The argument in this case can be a citation of each text. For example, the phrase from Jack London’s text: “An’ I wished this cold snap’d break», he went on. «It’s ben fifty below for two weeks now. An’ I wisht I’d never started on this trip, Henry. I don’t like the looks of it. I don’t feel right, somehow. And while I’m wishin’, I wisht the trip was over an’ done with, an’ you an’ me a-sittin’ by the fire in Fort McGurry just about now an’ playing cribbage – that’s what I wisht» ” N.Voljina translates in a such way: «Когда только эти морозы кончатся! - продолжал Билл. - Вот уже вторую неделю все пятьдесят да пятьдесят градусов. И зачем только я пустился в это путешествие, Генри! Не нравится оно мне. Не по себе мне как-то. Приехать бы уж поскорее, и дело с концом! Сидеть бы нам с тобой сейчас у камина в форте Мак-Гэрри, играть в криббедж... Много бы я дал за это!» but B. Akimov in another one: «Хоть бы холода прошли! – продолжал он. – Две недели пятьдесят градусов ниже нуля. Нет, не следовало мне пускаться в это путешествие, Генри! Не по себе мне что-то…Не по вкусу мне оно! Если бы поскорее окончить его! И сидеть бы нам с тобою у камина в форте Мак-Горри да играть в криббедж, славное было бы дело! »
To sum up, it would be a really good idea to include the phrase of my own translation where I was trying to find the best Russian equivalent. As I haven't got such practice like N.Voljina or B.Akimov has and this research is the first for me, my translation could be not perfect and may contain some disadvantages. But my top goal is to become a translator whose experience is rich and practice is big. This is my translation: «И когда уже эти холода прекратятся», - продолжал он, - «две недели уже мороз пятьдесят градусов. Знал бы – никогда не пустился бы в эту поездку, Генри. Не нравится мне все это: не по себе как-то. И всего, что мне хотелось бы это того, чтобы она закончилась поскорее, и мы забыли бы про нее как про страшный сон. Сидели бы сейчас с тобой около очага в форте Мак-Гэрри и играли бы в криббедж - вот что я хочу».
As we can see my translation is familiar to Voljina’s one despite the fact that I had translated it before reading her work. Although the features of my work are not under my judgement, I could definitely say that I was trying to translate a part of ‘White Fang’ in such way that it could transfer the reader all feelings and peculiarities of the original text. During the work I have known a lot of new words and large amount of words has been moved into the active lexicon. Even though the most important result of my work is that fact that I have done it and get some practice in translation. And as I have already known practice is irreproachable condition of getting quality equivalent translation. Therefore, I have done my own independent translation of the first chapter of ‘White Fang’ having felt deeply what does that mean to be veritable translator.
Chapter 5 .My own translation
Темный еловый лес нахмурился по берегам замерзшей реки. Деревья, освобожденные от своего белого покрывала недавним ветром, были темны и зловещи, они как будто чему-то противостояли, прислонившись друг к другу в сумерках. Повсюду царствовало безмолвие. Это место было в запустении, с парализованной жизнью; таким холодным и диким, что его дух не был даже чем-то похожим на печаль. Тут скрывалась насмешка, которая была страшнее, чем уныние и одиночество; она напоминала безрадостную улыбку сфинкса и замораживала своим непоколебимым бездушием, как стужа. Эта извечная мудрость, властная и непередаваемая, смеялась над тщетой жизни и борьбы. Этот Северный Мир был миром дикой природы с оледеневшим сердцем.
Но в нем все же была какая-то непокоримая жизнь, которая была похожа на чужеземца. Вниз по течению реки пробиралась упряжка ездовых собак. Их жесткая шерсть насквозь была пронизана инеем; дыхание, вырывающееся из пасти клубами пара, сразу замерзало на воздухе и, оседая на шерсть, превращалось в кристаллы инея. На собаках была кожаная упряжка, кожаными поводьями они были связаны с санями, которые волочились где-то далеко позади. У саней не было полозьев: они были сделаны из бересты и опирались на снег всем своим основанием. Передок саней был загнут кверху, как свиток, чтобы приминать поток мягкого снега, встающего волной впереди. К ним была надежно привязана длинная узкая прямоугольная коробка. На санях были и другие вещи: одеяла, топор, кофейник и сковородка, но важной и занимающей больше всего места была длинная узкая прямоугольная коробка.
Перед собаками шел, выбиваясь из последних сил, человек на широких лыжах. Другой шел позади саней. В санях лежал третий, чьи мучения уже закончились,- человек, порабощенный и униженный этим Миром настолько, что он никогда уже поднимется и не станет бороться вновь. Движение - не принцип этого Мира. Жизнь для него – преступление; движение - это жизнь, а этот Дикий Мир все время стремится уничтожить движение. Он замораживает воду, чтобы не дать ей утечь в море, выжимает сок из деревьев до тех пор, пока они не замерзнут до самого сердца; но что наиболее ужасно и рьяно делает Мир Дикой Природы с человеком, так это не дает покоя и повергает его в рабство - человека, самое мятежное существо в мире, всегда восстающее против того, что всякое движение должно в конечном итоге прекратиться.
И все-таки спереди и сзади продвигались два непризнанных, дерзновенных и еще пока живых человека. Их тело было облачено в мех и дубленую кожу. Щеки, ресницы и губы настолько заиндевели от дыхания, что трудно было различить их лица. Это придавало им вид призрачных масок, образ могильщиков на похоронах какого-то призрака в потустороннем мире. Но под всем этим они не теряли облик человека, пробиваясь сквозь мир опустошенности, надменности и безмолвия; жалкие златоискатели, помешанные на экстремальных путешествиях, они испытывали себя на прочность в этом мире, чужом, далеком. Они передвигались молча, сохраняя дыхание для ходьбы. Со всех сторон они были окружены духом безмолвия, который давил на их разум, как толща воды давит на тело водолаза на большой глубине. Он угнетал их весом бесконечной глубины и непреложностью своего закона. От него абсолютно невозможно было скрыть ничего: как сок из грейпфрута, он выжимал из человеческой души всякую страсть, сиюминутную радость, и так свойственное ей тщеславие до тех пор, пока не почувствуется неизбежность смерти и ничтожность, подобие пылинкам и мошкам, которые бездумно двигаются, пытаясь обхитрить и не заметить слепых сил природы, играющих друг с другом.
Прошел час, прошел другой. Бледный свет короткого пасмурного дня уже постепенно угасал, когда вдруг почти неслышный далекий рев нарушил окружающую тишину. Усиливаясь, он вознесся ввысь, задержался на высокой ноте, напряженно дрожа, и потом постепенно затих. Можно было бы принять его за стон погибающей души, если бы не какая-то угрюмая ярость и лютый голод. Человек, шедший впереди, обернулся, поймал взгляд идущего позади, и через узкую прямоугольную коробку они кивнули друг другу.
Вой, безжалостно пронизавший тишину как острая иголка, раздался во второй раз. Оба путника уловили направление этого звука, доносившегося откуда-то сзади, из той снежной долины, которую они только что прошли. Ответный вопль раздался в третий раз где-то позади, но немного левее прежнего.
- Они гонятся за нами, Билл - сказал впереди идущий человек с явным усилием необычным сиплым голосом.
- Добычи у них нет - ответил его товарищ.
- Уже несколько дней не видно и заячьего следа.
После этого они больше не разговаривали, но уши навострили на предмет этого голодного рева, который то и дело раздавался позади.
Сразу после наступления темноты они отвели собак к еловым зарослям на берег реки и остановились на привал. Гроб, поставленный напротив костра, служил и столом, и сиденьем. Собаки собирались в кучу, оскаливаясь и рыча, грызлись между собой, но не выражали ни малейшего желания вырваться во тьму.
- Странно, Генри, но они как-то уж слишком жмутся к огню - заметил Билл.
Генри привстал и, поставив кофейник с куском льда на огонь, молча кивнул на собак. Он не произнес ни слова, пока не сел обратно на гроб.
- Знают, где шкуру свою уберечь, где их скорее накормят, нежели заставят самих искать себе пропитание, в обиде не останутся собаки эти - сказал он.
Билл покачал головой: «Хм…Не знаю…».
Соратник внимательно посмотрел на него: «Впервые слышу от тебя, чтоб ты сомневался в их уме».
- Генри - сказал он – неужели ты не заметил, какая грызня была у собак во время кормежки.
- Да, возились они больше, чем обычно - признал Генри.
- Сколько у нас собак, Генри?
- Шесть
- Генри… - Билл помолчал немного чтобы его слова казались более значимыми: - Я и говорю, Генри, у нас их шесть. Я взял шесть рыбин из мешка, дал каждой собаке по штуке и представляешь, Генри, одной рыбы не хватило.
- Да ты посчитал не так.
- У нас шесть собак, - хотел было здраво рассудить Билл, - Я вытащил шесть рыб. Одноухому рыбы не досталось. Потом я вернулся к мешку и взял рыбину для него.
- Но у нас только шесть собак, - настаивал на своем Генри.
- Генри, - продолжал Билл, - Я же не говорю, что все они были собаками, но все семеро получили рыбу.
Генри прекратил есть и, взглянув через костер нас собак пересчитал их.
- Сейчас только шесть, - сказал он
- Одна убежала – я видел, - произнес Билл, спокойно настаивая на своем – - Их было семь.
Генри посмотрел на него с сочувствием и сказал: - Скорей бы уж закончилась эта поездка.
- Что ты имеешь ввиду?
- А то, что эта поклажа начинает действовать тебе на нервы: все что-то тебе мерещится.
- Я уже думал об этом, - ответил Билл серьезно – Но когда я увидел, что она убегает, то посмотрел на снег и увидел следы. После этого я сосчитал собак, и их было шесть. Вон следы на снегу – хочешь посмотреть? Я тебе покажу их.
Генри ничего не ответил и стал доедать свое блюдо в тишине, завершив трапезу чашкой кофе. Наконец, вытерев рот рукой, он сказал:
- То есть ты думаешь, что…
Протяжный вой, свирепо доносившийся откуда-то из темноты, прервал его. Оправившись от внезапности, Генри продолжил, показывая рукой туда, откуда донесся рев - это кто-то из них.
Билл кивнул.
- И думать бы не стал, если бы это было не так. Ты же сам знаешь, какую грызню устроили собаки.
Вой, повторяющийся вновь и вновь, превращал тишину в сущий ад. Он доносился отовсюду; собаки выдали свой страх, собираясь в кучу и так близко к огню, что даже шерсть их опалилась. Билл подложил хвороста в костер и закурил трубку.
- Я вижу ты совсем захандрил, - сказал Генри.
- Генри, - посасывая трубку в раздумье, Билл через некоторое время продолжил, - Генри, я похоже теперь понимаю, как повезло ему в отличие от нас с тобой.
Он указал на третьего человека, постучав по ящику, на котором они сидели.
- А мы с тобой, Генри, когда умрем, нам крупно повезет, если нас засыплют камнями хотя бы так, чтобы собаки не сожрали.
- Нет у нас ни слуг, ни денег, ни всего прочего, как у него, - отрезал Генри, - похороны за тридевять земель это то, что ни я, ни ты не можем себе позволить.
- Что меня удивляет, Генри, это то, что такой человек, как вот этот, который был не то лордом, то ли еще кем-то в своей стране, которому не надо было беспокоиться ни о пище, ни о жилье – что он забыл в этом забытом Богом уголке Земли? Вот чего я никак понять не могу.
- Да, мог бы дожить до глубокой старости, если б не совался никуда из дому, - согласился Генри.
Билл хотел что-то сказать, но промолчал, вместо этого он указал на надвигающуюся со всех сторон полнейшую темноту, в которой, на первый взгляд не было ничего настораживающего, и не было бы повода для беспокойства, если бы не два глаза, сверкавшие, как тлеющие угольки. Кивком Генри указал на вторую и третью пару. Окружив стоянку, эти горящие глаза постоянно мелькали, то пропадая, то появляясь вновь. Беспокойство собак нарастало, и они жались к огню в припадке внезапного страха, кидаясь и прижимаясь к ногам своих хозяев. В животном страхе одна из собак упала на костер и взвыла от боли, в воздухе почувствовался запах опаленной шерсти. Шум и суета привели кольцо глаз в беспокойное движение, и даже заставили его несколько отступить, но как только собаки утихли, все стало вновь по-прежнему.
- Проклятье, Генри, - патроны заканчиваются.
Билл потушил трубку и стал помогать своему товарищу расстилать меховую постель и одеяло на еловых ветках, которые он сложил на снегу еще перед ужином. Генри буркнул что-то себе под нос и принялся развязывать свои мокасины.
- Так сколько ты говоришь у тебя патронов?, - спросил Билл.
- Три, - послышалось в ответ.
- Надо бы три сотни. Я тогда показал бы им, проклятым, где раки зимуют.
Он со злобой погрозил кулаком на светящиеся глаза и стал осторожно двигать свои мокасины к огню.
- И когда уже эти холода прекратятся, - продолжал он, - две недели уже мороз пятьдесят градусов. Знал бы – никогда не пустился бы в эту поездку, Генри. Не нравится мне все это: не по себе как-то. И все, что мне хотелось бы, так это чтобы она закончилась поскорее, и мы забыли бы про нее как про страшный сон. Сидели бы сейчас с тобой около очага в форте Мак-Гэрри и играли бы в криббедж- вот что я хочу.
Генри, снова что-то проворчав, еле дополз до постели.
- Слушай, Генри помнишь приходил, кому я еще рыбину лишнюю дал, почему же собаки так спокойно к нему отнеслись. Вот что меня беспокоит.
- Слишком много беспокоишься, - последовал сонный ответ, - никогда ты таким не был. Давай сейчас прекрати болтать и ложись спать – утром будешь как огурчик. Изжога твоя – вот что тебя беспокоит.
Они спали, тяжело дыша, рядом друг с другом, под одним одеялом. Огонь угасал и кольцо горящих глаз сужалось, становясь все ближе к стоянке. В страхе собаки сбивались в кучу, грозно рычали на пару приближающихся глаз. Их шум стал настолько громким, что Билл вдруг проснулся. Он осторожно встал с постели, чтобы не потревожить своего спящего товарища, и подкинул веток в костер. Как только он разгорелся, кольцо глаз снова рассеялось. Билл мимоходом взглянул на жмущихся друг к другу собак. Он протер глаза и посмотрел на них повнимательнее, а потом залез обратно под одеяло.
- Генри, - сказал он - Эх, Генри.
Генри тяжело вздохнул и сквозь сон спросил: - Ну что там?
- Да ничего, - послышался ответ – только их опять семеро. Я просто посчитал.
Генри проворчал сквозь храп, будто все понял, и снова погрузился в сон.
Утром Генри проснулся первым и растормошил своего товарища. До рассвета оставалось еще три часа, хотя уже было шесть утра. Генри позаботился о том, чтобы приготовить завтрак, пока Билл сворачивал одеяла и снаряжал сани в путь.
- Как думаешь, Генри, - спросил он внезапно – сколько собак у нас, по-твоему?
- Шесть
- Неа, - возгласил Билл, торжествуя.
- Снова семь? - усомнился Генри.
- Нет, пять – одна убежала
- Проклятье - вскричал Генри в гневе и бросил стряпню, чтобы сосчитать собак.
- Да…ты прав, Билл, - Толстяк убежал
- Ушмыгнул, и след простыл
- И думать нечего, - заключил Генри – они загрызли его заживо. Да не раз, наверное он взвизгнул в пасти у этих…дьяволов!
- Фэтти всегда был глуповат, - сказал Билл.
- Да, но даже самая дурная собака не убежит вот так!
Он умозрительно посмотрел на главаря своры, оценивая характер каждой собаки.
- Думаю, эти не сбегут.
- Их от костра и палкой не отгонишь, - согласился Билл – Я всегда считал, что с Фэтти что-то не так.
Таким было надгробное слово собаке, умершей на Северном Пути – и он было не скупее эпитафии любой другой собаке или многим людям.
Conclusion
I have researched only one chapter of the tremendous Jack London’s creation and I want to claim that it was not senseless work. I have met absolutely the new type of literature especially with giving such image of nature. I don’t regret all that time that I had spent sitting in front of the book and translating it. This time is a big step into the increasing my level of English and into the culture which sometimes is underestimated by us, Russian people. Sometimes we proclaim English culture and language as very poor and not really interesting.
In process of my research I concluded that degree of our negative interpretation of English is connected with the lack of knowledge of this language. Sometimes we simply don’t want to learn it. The truth is evident – let’s study not only English but also learn to respect other cultures and languages.
If to talk about the ways of continuing this work, they are obvious: it is possible either to study bigger part of the text (2 or 3 chapters or even the whole text) or to use more different translations of the first chapter.
List of literature
Monolingual dictionary “LONGMAN Dictionary of Contemporary English” – Longman, London, 2010
Golikova J. A.English-Russian Translation. – М.: The New Knowledge, 2007
London Jack White Fang. – M.: Iris-Press, 2004
Latushev L. K.,Semenov A. L. Translation: Theory, practice and methodology of teaching. – М.: ACADEMiA, 2007
London Jack White Fang (action novel classics) translated by B. Akimov – М.: The world of book. Literature, 2007
London Jack White Fang. – London Jack White Fang. – (world classics). – М.: АSТ. Astrel`, 2007
http://sociosphera.ucoz.ru/
http://concepcia.ru/
http://www.wikipedia.org/
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