杰克·倫敦的《熱愛生命》講述的是這樣一個故事：一個美國西部的淘金者在返回的途中被朋友拋棄了， 獨自跋涉在廣袤的荒原上。冬天逼近了，寒風夾著雪花向他襲來……

That day he decreased the distance between him and the ship by three miles; the next day by two-for he was crawling now as Bill had crawled; and the end of the day found the ship still seven mailes away and him unable to make even a mile a day. Still the indian summer held on, and he continued to crawl and faint ,turn and turn about; and ever the sick wolf coughed and wheezed at his heels. His knees had become raw meat like his feet, and though he paddled them with the shirt from his back it was a red track he left behind him on the moss and stones. Once , glancing back, he saw the wolf licking hungrily his bleeding trail, and he saw sharply what his own end might be-unless-unless he could get the wolf. Then began as grim a tragedy of existence as was ever played-a sick man that crawled, a sick wolf that limped, two creatures dragging their dying carcasses across the desolation and hunting each other’s lives.

這一天，他和那條船之間的距離又縮短了三英里，到了第二天，他又繼續縮短了兩英里-因為他現在就和比爾先生先前一樣在地上匍匐前進，到了第五天晚上的時候，他發現那條船依然離他還有七英里的距離，而他每天的進程還不到一英里。幸好深秋的天氣依然晴朗，他繼續爬，一次又一次地暈死過去，可是醒來他又繼續地往前爬，不停地回頭張望著;而那頭病狼也在不停地咳嗽著，發出艱難的喘息聲，可依然緊緊尾隨其后。他的膝蓋-就和他的雙腳一樣-早給磨得血肉模糊，其實他一早就脫下了身上的襯衣裹住了膝蓋，可都沒有用，他一路爬下來，他身后的苔蘚和巖石上也就留下了一道觸目驚心的血漬。有一次他回頭的時候，他看見那頭餓狼正貪婪地舔著他的血漬，一時間他清楚地意識到自己的結局-除非-除非他把那頭狼解決掉。就這樣，一幕從來沒有上演的求生悲劇開始了-病人在前面爬，瘸腿的病狼尾隨其后，兩個生靈就這樣在荒漠里拖著垂死的軀殼，隨時準備獵取對方的生命。

Had it been a well wolf, it would not have mattered so much to the man; but the thought of going to feed the maw of that loathsome and all but dead thing was repugnant to him. He was finicky. His mind had begun to wander again, and to be perplexed by hallucinations, while his lucid intervals grew rarer and shorter.

如果這是頭健康的狼，他也覺得沒什么;可是一想到自己要葬身狼腹，尤其是眼前這頭令人作惡、病怏怏的餓狼，他就覺得非常厭惡。要知道他可是一個非常講究的人。他又開始胡思亂想起來，人也因幻覺影響而變得迷糊。他神智清醒的時間越來越少，越來越短。

He was awaken once from a faint by a wheeze close in his ear.The wolf leaped lamely back, losing its footing and falling in its weakness. It was ludicrous, but he was not amused. Nor was he even afraid. He was too far gone for that. But his mind was for the moment clear, and he lay and considered.

有一次他從昏迷中被耳邊傳來的喘息聲驚醒;那只狼很快一跛一跛地跳開，由于身體虛弱，那頭狼還失足摔了一跤，那樣子可笑極了，可是他卻笑不出來。倒不是因為他害怕，事情到了這田地他早就不害怕了。不過，在這瞬間他的腦子很清醒，他躺在地上仔細地思考起來。

The ship was more than four miles away. He could see it quite distinctly when he rubbed the mists out of his eyes. But he could never crawl those four miles. He knew that, and was very calm in the knowledge. He knew that he could not crawl half a mile. And yet he wanted to live. It was unreasonable that he should die after all he had undergone. Fate asked too much of him. And , dying, he declined to die. It was stark madness, perhaps, but in the very grip of Death he defied Death and refused to die.

那艘船就在離他還不到四英里的地方。他使勁揉了揉眼睛，那艘船清晰的出現在他眼前。可是，他再也爬不完這四英里的路程了，這點他很清楚，因為就算是半英里的路程他也爬不了。可同時他也非常鎮靜，因為他想活下去。他已經經歷了千辛萬苦，他不想就這樣死掉。命運對他實在太苛刻了，可他就是不愿俯身受死。這是一種近乎瘋狂的想法，可就算他無法逃脫死神的魔掌，他仍然要抗爭下去，要讓自己活下去。

He closed his eyes and composed himself with infinite precaution. He steeled himself to keep above the suffocating languor that lapped like a rising tide through all the wells of his being. It was very like a sea, this deadly languor, that rose and rose and drowned his consciousness bit by bit. Sometimes he was all but submerged, swimming through oblivion with a faltering stroke;and again, by some strange alchemy of soul, he would find another shred of will and strike out more strongly.

他閉上眼睛，設法使自己平靜下來，不敢有絲毫的松懈。令人窒息的疲倦像漲潮一樣，從他的身體各處涌來，他還是頑強地打醒精神，不讓自己被疲倦淹沒。這種要命的疲倦，就像大海一樣，一浪又一浪地漲過來，一點一點地吞噬著他的意識。有時候，他被完全淹沒其中，就這樣默默地漂游;而有時候，憑借一種奇異的心靈作用，他又找回了些許精神力量，更加堅毅地前進。