Examples Of Naturalism In The Call Of The Wild

Throughout the novel The Call of the Wild there were numerous forms of naturalism shown. With naturalism, the reader is able to understand that bad things happen in life. In the novel The Call of the Wild Jack London said Buck endured many hardships, including fighting with other dogs on the team, being beaten by the man in the red sweater, and killing other dogs but refused to give up.

To kill or be killed, was the mentality amongst the dogs on the team and the wild dogs, including the time Buck and Spitz got into a fight for being the lead dog. London describes, "The dominant primordial beast was strong in Buck, and under the fierce condition of trail life it grew and grew. Yet it was a secret growth. His newborn cunning gave him poise and control, and in the bitter hatred between him and Spitz he betrayed no impatience, shunned all offensive acts" (London 32). Buck seemed to have a rare survival instinct that had come alive inside of him like a primordial beast, which resulted in Spitz's death. In conclusion, Buck endured many

hardships throughout the novel because of the deaths of many people and dogs.
Throughout the novel for Buck to survive, he had to learn the law of club and fang.

His experiences include, the man in the red sweater who beat him with a club to teach Buck to obey man on the outside, but he never surrendered on the inside. London explains, "He was beaten (he knew that); but he was not broken. He saw, once for all, that he stood no chance against a man with a club. He had learned the lesson, and in all his after life he never forgot it. That club was a revelation. It was his introduction to the reign of primitive law. The facts of life took on a fiercer aspect; and while he faced that aspect uncowed, he faced it with all the latent cunning of his nature aroused" (London 13). Therefore, Buck knew that he had to obey his master whomever it may be, but he would never be domesticated. As shown above Buck had to learn the law of club and fang because it was the only way he was ever going to survive in the

wilderness.
One last way to see that naturalism is present throughout the story is by the way many characters exit because of their deaths, such as the death of Curly. She was attacked by a pack of wolves and was almost saved, but nobody was able to get there in time. London said, "There was no warning, only a leap like a flash, a metallic clip of teeth, a leap out equally swift, and Curly's face was ripped open from eye to jaw" (London 15). Therefore, this shows that the deaths of the characters in this story always affect the dogs in some way, which proves that naturalism is present. In conclusion, the number of dogs caused problems when they were too high and too low so they fought and got attacked by other dogs for a reason: to get rid of the weak ones which is how life is in the wild.
Restating my former point, throughout the novel Buck had to experience the many hardships of life which taught him how in the wild it is a every dog for themselves type of world. Occurring naturally, the problems he faced only made him stronger and added to his sense of the law of club and fang. Given these points, there was naturalism present throughout the novel because it taught readers a lesson about how life has a darkness to walk through but sometimes the darkness walks through you.