Introduction The message Jack London conveys in “The Call of the Wild” is the supremacy of the wild over the artifice of human-made conventions. This is seen through the evolution of the book’s central character, Buck, as he is stolen away from the human-made convention of a man-pet relationship and into the deep wild of the Yukon wilderness on both a figurative and geographic sense. Along this journey, as he is passed from one human owner to another, Buck encounters the invaluable laws of the wild: primitivism, efforts toward survival, and the value of being the fittest of his species. He learns loyalty can be a prized commodity in surviving the unknown, and he learns the ultimate lesson of the supremacy of the wild, as seen at the end …show more content…
London, himself, had lived it in his own life as he was a young man growing up in Northern California. Records of his biography indicate London had lived as a vagrant, travelling throughout the region and dropping out of high school at the age of 14. The tumultuousness of a civilized life continued on even after he returned to high school to finish his education, then onto his college years at U.C. Berkeley. After desperately taking the necessary steps to enter college, London abruptly quit after being affected and disenchanted by the restlessness of not knowing who his father was. London’s mother, Flora Wellman, had Jack out of wedlock, and it was believed his father was an astrologer by the name of William Chaney. While London was in utero, Chaney had reportedly asked Wellman to undergo an abortion and, even after London was born, disclaimed any paternity over him. Years later, when London sought to find his true father, Chaney still refused to acknowledge paternity, telling him he was impotent at the time of his conception and London’s mother had sexual relations with several other men at the time. Distraught by this response, London dropped out from his attendance at U.C. Berkeley, then joined the stampede up north during the Klondike Gold
From all of the wonders of the world not one doesn’t have a message. The Call of The Wild has a message under the darkness of the book. Is book is about a dog, named Buck, this poor dog is part of the Alaskan frontier . Which is a historical event when the U.S. purchased Alaska.
The novel Call of The Wild by Jack London is about the dog Buck who is half St. Bernard and half sheepdog. Buck enjoys a relaxed lifestyle at his home in California until he is stolen and shipped to the Klondike region in Canada. Here he is put to work as a sled dog where he must battle the bad conditions, other dogs, and the cruelty of the wild to stay alive. One theme that can be seen over the course of the book is the difference between civilization and the wilderness. For example in civilization there are set rules that people must abide and these set rules makes everyone equal. However, Buck quickly learns that in the law of club and fang govern the wild. These means that the strongest people/dogs controls the weaker ones. In order for Buck to survive he must adapt to the ways of the wild in order to survive.
In Call of the Wild Buck is forced to mature and persevere through great loss. When Buck is initially sold he gets his first look at the primitive world around him. At the same time he loses Judge Miller, his caretaker. This is how Buck loses family. Buck also loses his best friend after he's taken from his family. Bucks dog friend, Curly gets killed in the early phases of the book. this really gives Buck a look at how savage the real world is. Bucks losses don't end there,Buck also
With bright eyes and a fascination for adventure, Chris McCandless was truly one in a million. Chris McCandless, the star of “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer, stirs up powerful emotions in readers, leaving them divided into two camps. His rash behavior and defiance of society's norms can be seen as reckless and troublesome or as inspiration. Chris lived in a middle class household with parents who set him up to have a ‘successful’ future and live out his days as most people would. After high school he went to college, where he discovered his true adventurous soul. Chris was not the type of person to just become a lawyer and live in a nice house. He saw more to life than the conventional and average lifestyle of an American. Although it meant leaving behind his prior life, Chris found happiness in, “endlessly changing horizon(s)” (Krakauer, 57). Chris McCandless died twenty years ago, but he still is an inspiration today because he lived for his happiness.
Throughout the novel The Call of the Wild Buck is thrown into a vast amount of obstacles. Buck is a half Saint Bernard and Half Sheepdog who is stolen from a home in California. He was then sold as a sled dog in the arctic where he would begin his adventure. Buck undergoes many challenges that can be related to human beings. The two experiences that everyone goes through are love and death. According to Jack London in The Call of the Wild, love and death are portrayed as bitter, sweet, and deadly.
In The Call of the Wild London uses Buck, a half-wolf-half-dog hybrid, as an example of how if we become comfortable with certain aspects of our more natural, primitive mindset, we will truly be able to be free. We will be without a doubt, independent from the restrictions and barriers established by society. This can be shown when Buck has owners who are so encased in modern society and comfort they have no idea how to survive in the wilderness without all of their luxurious belongings. (London 2) Buck was not truly free until he was released from the bonds of human civilization and social norms, ideals, and restrictions. Once his last ties to the human world were severed with his master, John Thorton’s, death, Buck could fully begin to revert back to his true nature.( London 82-84) This is the way he is supposed to be from the beginning. He is not meant to be controlled, manipulate...
This story takes place in California and up through Canada towards Alaska, during the Alaskan (Klondike) Gold Rush in the late 1890’s. Naturalism is presented in The Call of the Wild in many ways such as when Buck had the urge to leave to live in the wild. The only thing that was preventing him to go to the wild was his his love for John Thornton, at times Buck did attack him, but he still knew where he stood with him. This shows naturalism because it is dog against nature as well as man against dog. “ But behind him were the shades of all manner of dogs, half-wolves and wild wolves, urgent and prompting, tasting the savor of the meat he ate, thirsting for the water he drank, scenting the wind with him, listening with him and telling him the
In the novel, The Call Of The Wild, by Jack London, Buck is a domesticated dog adapting and trying to survive in the wild. The topic in this novel is perseverance since the author constantly provides many hints throughout the novel that proves that the topic in this novel is perseverance. It can be seen when Buck perseveres in trying to adapt to his situation and understanding his surroundings. Also when he preservers through all the pain and suffering that is constantly leaking around him and Buck is sometimes rewarded for persevering through the hardships that follow day by day. Thus the theme in the book is in order to be rewarded, one must persevere. This message is found throughout the book since the protagonist, Buck is always facing
(28) First, Buck begins by hunting wild game. (29) For example, Buck kills a black bear and a bull moose and eats from their corpses. (30) Since Buck can kill his own meat and consume it, he is nearly wild. (31) Second, Yeehat Indians attack John Thornton’s camp unleashing Buck's wildness. (32) For instance, Buck, who no longer recognizes Man’s laws, slaughters the Yeehats despite their weapons, “…they heard a fearful roar and saw rushing upon them an animal the like of which they had never seen before. (33) Buck, a hurricane of fury, hurled himself on them in a frenzy to destroy.” (35) Since Buck can attack and kill Man, he is now wild. (36) Last, Buck joins a wolf pack. (37) For example, Buck is confronted by a wolf pack and must battle his way into the pack. (38) Since Buck will eventually lead and pack and pass on his superior natural traits to his offspring, Buck, a descendant of the wild, has answered the call of the wild. (39) In conclusion, Buck has found his true identity as a wild animal.
John Krakauer’s nonfiction novel Into the Wild recounts the harrowing journey of a lone drifter and his adventurous trek into the Alaskan wilderness. Chris McCandless, a recent college graduate, sells his possessions and cuts ties with his affluent and controlling parents to live a nomadic existence in the remote outback. As Krakauer’s biographic narrative develops, the author reveals a theme of ignorance and arrogance illustrated by McCandless’ series of uninformed and prideful choices that eventually lead to his demise.
Animals that are domestic can become primitive due to their environment. Sometimes humans' treatment toward the domesticated animals can assist that primitive instinct to come out. In The Call of the Wild by Jack London, the main character, Buck, interacts with several owners throughout the text. Each owner treats him harshly, causing Buck to become more primitive and less domestic. However, when a man by the name of John Thornton defends him from the vile treatment of his previous owner, Buck develops a strong love for Thornton. This later results as an internal conflict for Buck later on in the story. Despite everything that happened throughout the text, Buck goes into the wild at the end. The reader witnesses Buck undergo a change from a domestic to primitive dog emotionally and physically. Buck's owners assist his primitive instinct to come out due to their treatment. In The Call of the Wild,
Jack London wrote the novel The Call of the Wild; it was also his first success (Feast). The Call of the Wild is an exciting beast fable which dramatizes the unforgiving harshness of existence but shows that suffering can lead to heroic self-awareness (Buckner). London was big on the philosophical idea of Naturalism. As well as having links with literary naturalism, "The Call of the Wild is also a mythical book informed throughout with such traditional myths as the Myth of the Hero." Although Buck is always a dog throughout the story, his predicament is highly relevant to the human condition in a novel beginning with concise patterns of description and moving toward an increasingly lyrical style (Williams). The protagonist of The Call of the Wild is a dog named Buck. He's part German Sheppard and half Saint Bernard, he's labeled the "hero" of the story. The story takes place primarily in the Klondike region of Alaska except for in the first chapter it takes place in the Santa Clara Valley of California. The story is centrally focused around Buck; if it wasn't for him not having any speaking parts the reader would think he was a human because of the personality traits he possesses. In this paper we will discuss traits such as Buck's ability to adapt, Buck's bravery, his mental and physical strength, his loyalty and love and his instinct of the wild.
stay alive. Throughout this novel the main character Buck goes through hard times, whether it's staying alive in the extreme Yukon territory climate or trying to please his owner under a lot of pressure, he always seems to be able to persevere and succeed every time. Every time he does this he grows and gets better at being a sled dog or getting mentally and physically tougher. This makes him an outstanding leader and sled dog. Due to these developments he gets closer and closer to his ancestral stage to the point where he answers the call of the wild. In the book Call Of the Wild it says “ Then came the underfeeding. Hal awoke one day to the fact that his dog-food was half gone and the distance only quarter covered; further, that for love or money no additional dog-food was to be obtained. So he cut down
Chris McCandless and Buck serve as examples of the archetype of the wild through their experiences of leaving where they feel most comfortable and answering the call of the wild. They show that each experience is inimitable because the wild is unique to every individual. For Buck, the wild is a place outside of civilization and his dependence on man, where the external threats of nature exist and he must prove himself as a true animal with instincts for survival. In McCandless' case, the place outside of civilization is actually an escape from his fears because the wild for him is in relationships, where the threat of intimacy exists and he must learn to trust others for happiness. This is because for each of us, the wild is what we fear, a place outside of our comfort zone and, as McCandless' experience shows, not necessarily a physical place. To render to the call of the wild we must leave everything that makes us feel protected, and we must make ourselves completely vulnerable to the wild. McCandless and Buck show that in order to successfully respond to the call of the wild we must relinquish control and drop our guards, until ultimately the fear subsides and we find peace with ourselves as well as with our environments.
Twas the night before Christmas and all through the trailer Not a creature was stirrin’ ‘cept a redneck named Taylor. His first name was Bubba, Joe was his middle, And a-runnin’ down his chin was a trickle of spittle. His socks, they were hung by the chimney with care, And therefore there was a foul stench in the air.