The Wild Themes

In the novel, The Call of the Wild we see a swathe of themes that permeate through it's writing and atmosphere. There is the mantra of survival of the fittest, the acquisition of skill, and the difference between the wilderness and civilization. However, the strongest point we see that shines and peaks through all the others is the regression to our instincts. This refers to how due to our surroundings how we will inevitably turn back into uncivilized animals. This is apparent in the main character, Buck.

One of the factors that contributes to this theme is how Buck is taken from his lush and luxurious life and savagely shown the new order of things in his life. He choked or beaten for any transgressions, he would be denied food, he would

be tempered by the frost and cold around him. These were all things that withered at his civilized mind until he was what his ancestors were: animals. We can draw many parallels to how Buck regresses to his atavism to how humans would as well. In our hierarchy of needs fulfillment would fall behind in the list of priorities and food and survival would take the top. If Buck did not work then he would not eat. If he did not fight his fellow workers, he would have no place to sleep. His instincts took control of his mind. He became the unrivaled carnivore his parents were and fought for his survival.

Another piece of the new circumstances that contributed to his revival in primal instinct is the standards of work he was put to for so long.

To eat, he had to work. He had to run all day and all night if he were to survive and not be savagely beaten. It was up to him bringing his body to the brink of exhaustion that allowed him to continue forward. His mind was shattered on a an alter where his own ancestral memory laid. There was no room for thoughts about nap time, or when he'd get a walk with his owner. His thoughts laid bare with plans of how he would secure his food form the other dogs, how he would fight to keep his spot to sleep, and how he would temper his mind to withstand the unforgiving cold and the viciously long trips through the snow and dirt day in and day out.

The commonality of these circumstances that leads his mind to regress is the harsh realities he is forced to face. When all we are subject to worry about is where we will eat, sleep, and how to avoid being mauled or killed then our minds will only consider this. There would be no time to think about friendship, courtship, or recreation. Our mind would be subject to the will of our bodies.

The most integral theme to consider in The Call of the Wild is the affect the wilderness has on our deep laden primal urges and instincts. It causes to triumph in survival, to become tested by our environment, and ultimately show us what we all will always be:

animals.