Examples Of Decivilization In The Call Of The Wild

In Jack London’s, The Call of the Wild, London shows that decivilization is a necessary and key part of surviving in the harsh Northland environment, during the Klondike Gold rush. London starts his story by introducing the main character, Buck, a well mannered dog who lives a comfortable and carefree life in the sunny Santa Clara Valley with his family and other dogs. The story takes a turn, when Buck is stolen, and taken to the Northland where he will be a sled dog. In the new harsh environment, Buck must decivilize in order to survive. London shows one of the first cases of how decivilization is key for survival early on in the story. After Buck is taken to the Northland, he begins his work as a sled dog under the leadership of two men,

Francois and Perrault. He is given rations of food, but these are not enough for him to survive. Buck, being ravenously hungry, looks for a way to get more food. He then sees a fellow sled dog, Pike, steal a slice of bacon from Perrault. Buck then decides to learn from it: “When he saw Pike, one of the new dogs, a clever malingerer and thief, slyly steal a slice of bacon when Perrault’s back was turned, he duplicated the performance the following day, getting away with a whole chunk” (22). At first, before he was kidnapped, Buck would not have contemplated stealing food to survive because he was well fed and never went hungry. However, under the harsh Northland circumstances, Buck has no choice but to steal food in order to survive, thus moving towards more primitive and decivilized ways.
Time passes, with Buck thriving by stealing food, and working hard when he is pulling the sled.

However, some unfriendly relationships emerge. Buck and Spitz, the alpha dog of the sled team, form a rivalry, and have multiple small fights. When the sled team arrives at the mouth of Takheena, a place where sled teams camp, a major fight occurs later that day. When Dub, another fellow sled dog, misses the catch for a rabbit, and it begins to run, the entire team, and other dogs, begin to chase it. Buck in the front, continues following in the rabbit’s heels, while Spitz takes a shortcut and makes it to the rabbit first, killing it. Buck gets mad and smashes into Spitz, and then a fight to the death begins, with Spitz trying to take Buck down. All the other dogs stand in a circle around them, waiting to devour the loser: “Buck did not cry out. He did not check himself, but drove in upon Spitz, shoulder to shoulder, so hard that he missed the throat...slashing Buck down the shoulder and leaping clear. Twice his teeth clipped together, like the steel jaws of a trap...” (38). Buck continues to be battered and almost loses, but regains himself and begins his fight to victory, overthrowing Spitz, and letting the rest of the dogs finish him: “He maneuvered for the final rush...Buck sprang in and out, but while he was in, shoulder had at last met shoulder. The dark circle became a dot on the moon flooded snow as Spitz disappeared from view. Buck stood and looked on, the successful

champion, the dominant primordial beast who had made his kill...” (40). Before Buck was brought to the Northland, he lived with other dogs in harmony, and would never fight with them. However, Buck now fought with Spitz, for survival, and ended up not being the one who dies. This shows that Buck needed to go back to the primitive and wild ways of life in order to survive. In conclusion, London uses Buck’s experiences in The Call of the Wild, to show that decivilization becomes essential for adaptation and survival in the harsh, unforgiving Northland. Failing to do so, can lead to inevitable death.