The Call of the Wild is a book that follows a dog named Buck throughout his journey from the soft and civilized world to the harsh Alaskan tundra. There are several events throughout the story which that illustrate Buck’s gradual decline from a civilized state of mind to a savage and primal mode of thinking (though Jack London seems to believe that the civilized state of mind is a decline from the primal state of mind ). Jack London makes the implication that Buck is a wild dog, but I would argue against that claim. I would argue that each step Buck takes towards a more wild state of existence, as described by London, is a product of men and that the wild creature known as Buck is but an artificial creation—a construction of men. You see, Buck was forged by the actions of men, be they cruel or kind. The fiery sting of the whip and the thunderous plow of the “club” coupled with the heavy chains of bondage are the true crafters of Buck’s personality traits (London Ch. 1 ). Nearly every aspect of Buck’s life is shaped by humans in one way or another. Eventually, Buck would learn to be as cruel as the humans that torment him, as cunning a thief as that the scoundrel Manuel, and as great a breaker of dogs as was the man with the red sweater who first introduced Buck to the “law of club and fang” (London Ch. 2). I would further argue that Buck is so lethal a creature—a destroyer of those that challenge him—and so capable of surviving in the Alaskan wasteland not because he has mastered the ways of the wild, but because he has mastered the ways of men.
In the beginning, London describes a looming danger to Buck, a reality that would eventually break down the noble Buck and reshape him into a more volatile, cunning, and respected creat...
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...itical Essays, and bibliography. Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1980. Print.
Wilcox, Earl J. “Jack London’s Naturalism: The Example of The Call of the Wild.” The Call of the Wild by Jack London: A Casebook with Text, Background Sources, Reviews, Critical Essays, and bibliography. Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1980. 178-192. Print.
Earl J. Wilcox seems to be defending Jack London's reputation as a naturalist writer from the "nature-faker" accusations of Theodore Roosevelt and others who accused London of being a non-naturalist writer. On page 190, Wilcox states "The naturalism that characterizes this novel is not consistently developed. But neither is the naturalism always of rigid pattern in, for example, Norris's romantic ending of McTeague.” By comparing London to other respected nature writers, Wilcox is implying that London is on equal standing with Norris, a notable naturalist.
Do you ever hear of nature fakers? Well, if not, a nature faker is an author that gives animals, from the wild, human characteristics and personifies them. In Jack London’s novel, The Call of the Wild, he writes about an extremely tough and confident dog, named Buck, who thrives in nature. For his writing in The Call of the Wild, many people accuse Jack London of being a nature faker. Nonetheless, Jack London is a magnificent, talented writer who carries a significant amount of knowledge about the wild and therefore isn’t a nature faker.
John Burroughs accused Jack London for being a ‘’Nature Faker’’. Some Critics even said London animal hero’s are men in fur. There is an article about writers like him that was asked can any writer create a believable and compelling nonhuman character without being a nature faker? Why might Jack London have chosen to attempt this difficult technical feat and what is he trying to communicate to readers through his portrayal of Buck? Richard E. Miller called Jon Krakauer’s critique of London vehemence. Krakauer’s fury was for authors whose life and words don’t line up. Since Mc...
Is Jack London a nature faker? Jack London, a phenomenal writer, wrote The Call of the Wild in 1903. After writing the novel, many people are believed to call London what is a “Nature Faker.” A nature faker is a person back then that misrepresents facts about nature, and especially false information about animals. Jack London was a nature faker in The Call of the Wild because he used a lot of anthropomorphism and gave unrealistic traits about dogs in the book. There is only one answer to this question:Jack London IS a nature faker.
During the March 1986 edition of the Journal of Modern Literature, Lee Clark Mitchell of Princeton University opens his article “‘Keeping His Head’: Repetition and Responsibility in London’s ‘To Build a Fire’” by critiquing naturalism’s style of storytelling. Mitchell claims naturalism as a slow, dull, and plain way of capturing an audience; and Jack London is the epitome of this description. Mitchell states, “[London’s] very methods of composition prompt a certain skepticism; the speed with which he wrote, his suspiciously childish plots…have all convinced readers to ignore the technical aspects of h...
Walcutt, C.C. American Literary Naturalism, A Divided Stream. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1952, p.66-82 Rpt in Crane, Stephen. The Red Badge of Courage. Sculley Bradley, Richard Beatty, and E. Hudson Long Eds. New York: W.W. Norton, 1962.
Perkins, George B., and Barbara Perkins. "The Beast in the Jungle." The American Tradition in Literature (concise). 12th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2009. 1148-1177. Print.
The novel, The Call of the Wild, follows a four-year-old mixed Saint Bernard and Scottish shepherd, named Buck. In the beginning of the story, Buck lives in the home of Judge Miller, located at Santa Clara Valley, California. In Santa Clara, Buck lives a luxurious life. At the time of the story, gold is discovered in the North. With this discovery, the value of large dogs like Buck escalated dramatically. The dog’s value was due most to their ability to haul heavy sleds through the abundant snow. Unfortunately, Judge Miller’s servant, Manuel steals Buck to sell him to a band of dog-nappers to pay for his accumulating gambling debts. The ring of thieves that bought Buck is gaining a secure banking by trading the dog to northern executives. Buck, who has had an easy life so far, does not adapt well to the terrain as the other canines do. Buck does not easily tolerate the confinement and mistreatment of his new authority. Buck’s gains the misconception, which then is an aide that any man with a club is a dominator and must be obeyed.
The main theme of Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee is taking a
Finch, Robert, and John Elder. The Norton Book of Nature Writing. New York: W.W. Norton, 1990. Print.
Feast, James. "The Call Of The Wild." Magill’S Survey Of American Literature, Revised Edition (2006): 1-2. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
In The Call of the Wild, Buck finds comfort in his relationships with man. When he is initially removed from Judge Miller's house in Santa Clara Valley, he is given his first exposure to the wild where, "every moment life and limb were in peril" (London 31). But soon he finds himself not entirely ready to leave civilization and answer the call of the wild, because he must first experience love. Buck establishes a relationship with John Thornton, and "love, genuine passionate love, was his for the fir...
Lee, never fooled anyone. He may have seemed strong in the beginning but he no substance under the shell. Such a false front can be compared to water behind an earthen dam. It may hold some water for a time but once the water finds a weak point, the whole structure comes crashing down along with the fury of all the water behind it. Within brady, the water represents the gooey inner core of his personality. Once he loses his composure in front of his once adoring audience the entire fluid of his persona comes crashing out. The only strength of Matthew Harrison Brady is his power in deliveringh his ideas. As in the earthen dam example, the townspeople represent the city protected from the water by the dam. Once the dam breaks, all the townspeople below get wet and are shaken to their foundations. Matthew Harrison Brady, without a doubt, deserves no sympathy. One example of Brady’s overly self-confidence would be "No…I believe we should welcome Henry Drummond." (Pg. 25). Ha! What a shock he is in for. His own "high and mighty" thinking is going to lead to his downfall. Even Brady is taken a tad aback by the news that Drummond will be joining the trial "Brady: (pale) Drummond?" (Pg. 25) While he basks in his loving audience of townspeople, he will yet be pulled down from his high throne to be questioned and scorned. While the town feels much stri...
William Henry Drummond is a renowned, successful, and acclaimed lawyer. A reaction to his name could be extremely varied, depending on whom you’d ask in the 1925 world. To the majority of the people in Hillsboro, for example, Drummond is perceived as a “vicious, godless man,” who will undoubtedly lose the trial to the beloved Matthew Harrison Brady. The results however, showed otherwise. Countless impressions of him are changed by the end of the trial. Drummond has many positive character traits which influenced his comportment in the “Monkey Trial”. He is a respectful, resourceful, and dignified man, and these traits prove to be accurate through the length of the trial.
Abrams, MH, et al. Eds. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. New York. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1993.
Jack London brings man versus nature discussion into his story. The environment, however doesn't play against him for say, but does warn him from the very beginning. The audience can conclude that just like “the man” everyone is alone in the world - fighting for ourselves and the things we wish to acquire. The character created by London is isolated from the universe and fooli...