The Call of the Wild “The Call of the Wild” by Jack London is a story about a sheltered dog, named Buck that went through a chain of transformations in his life. From the safe haven owned by Judge Miller and his family to the terrain of the untamed, natural jungle-Buck’s. His life changed when an employee at his first home stole him and sold him. While each owner of buck has an effect on him, there where three that played a major role in Buck's transformation. The three owners or groups, are Francois and Perrault and Hal, Charles and his wife Mercedes. Perrault and Francois were two French Canadian men who purchased Buck. They took him to the Northern regions where he experienced the harsh cold for the first time. Buck understood the dynamics of their ownership as he learned to obey directions. He learned to stop at “ho” and to move at “mush”. (Pg 16). Not just that, Buck’s purpose was to pull a heavy sled and he had to adjust being strapped up to it as well. The owners’ dwelled in a land that was foreign to Buck and he had a difficult time sleeping on the bare snow initially. He had witnessed his friend Curly killed in a fight amongst the dogs and that had been a defining moment for him. Buck’s natural and primitive instincts began to awaken here. The ethics and values that he had lived by at Judge Miller’s home began to deter ate. Gone was the timid, nurtured and civilized dog that had existed at Judge Miller’s house. Buck settled under a rock and went to get his food. When he returned, he discovered that his space was occupied by Spitz, a dog who constantly tried to provoke him. Buck lunged at Spitz with a strength and fury that astonished him. It ended in a later fight with Buck killing Spitz and emerging as the new leader. The next morning, he refused to stand in any other position on the sled except for the leading position. Francois and Perrault understood that he would not accept anything less. These are the beginnings of his attributes of leadership and confidence that led the team to top the average number of miles covered each day. Hal was a young, nineteen year old who carried a knife and a gun and was inexperienced in the art of sled riding. Charles and his wife Mercedes travelled with Hal with overloaded sleds that could not be pulled by the team of dogs as it was too heavy. They were inexperienced in the Northland and were out of place. They had no compassion for the dogs as they were whipped constantly. Mercedes initially displayed some warmth and compassion by asking her brother and husband to not whip them and then asking the dogs to pull harder to avoid the beating. (Pg 49-50). At one point, the over burdened sled fell with the entire luggage falling out.. (Pg 50) The lack of knowhow of how to function in the North cost Buck his strength and his vigor. They took a lot of effort to simply set up camp and underestimated the amount of dog food that would be required. First, the dogs were
Breana Thomas Mrs. Kasprak English 8G 4 January 2015 The Call of the Wild Essay In Jack London’s novel, The Call of the Wild , Buck is distinguished by his ability to learn and adapt. He goes from being “the new kid on the block” to the head of the sled team, ousting another alpha dog on the way. He discovers that having to adapt to an unfamiliar, strange environment requires both physical and mental strength. Buck is the beloved St. Bernard mix…
Every author has a different life story of how they became interested in becoming a writer and what made their writings become a success. Jack London is one author with an amazing story of how he became a successful writer. There are specific things that helped him become a writer and he himself influenced other people through his writings also. Jack London is a male author who started his life off in a rough situation. By 8th grade he had to drop out of school so that he could support his family…
The novel, “The Call of the Wild”, by Jack London, is a story about a dog-named Buck who is brutally kidnapped and taken away. When he gets to Seattle in Washington, he is put with many other dogs that were also kidnapped. He is beaten and taken to the Klondike and was then made part of a sled dog team during the Gold Rush. He survives through the toughest life throws at him and is in maltreatment. As he goes through this, he becomes strong by using instincts. When a guy named John Thorton finally…
The Call of The Wild, by Jack London, is about the transformation of a pampered, gentle, house dog into a wolf. He starts off loved, cared for, and he had a good life. Then the protagonist becomes a hardened killer. Buck is no longer a gentle loving dog. Now he is a wild animal. "During the four years since his puppyhood he had lived the life of a sated aristocrat" (London 5). Buck was the king. He was bigger, stronger, smarter, and even better loved than any other dog on his home in California…
master. He attacks the Indians, killing several and scaring the rest away. Buck then runs into the wild where he finds the leader of a pack of wolves. He becomes an idol dog, inspiring fear in the indians. But every year he returns to where his leader was killed. He is free to run in the wild, as long as he is a leader, but he still morns over the death of his leader. The Call of the Wild is a great work of literature. It is written in a style that at one point, is strong and meaningful…
In “Call of the Wild”, Jack London captures the story of Buck in a unique way. That is by letting readers go into the mind of the dog without seeming hokey. As well it gives a real adventure and look into the history of the Yukon. Although, The movie of this poignant, powerful, yet still remorse book is told completely different from the original story. Throughout the film, it is noticeable all the differences and similarities between the book and the movie. For instance, the perspective of both…
Jayne Baumgarten Ms. Duby English February 25, 2013 Essay London uses each character to move Buck alone in his journey from civilized to wild. Judge Miller sets Buck’s standards of his surroundings, making him think of people in a good, innocent way. He raised Buck “at a big house in the sun-kissed Santa Clara Valley” (5). He taught Buck how to be civilized which means following the rules and living in an orderly way. Buck never did anything bad because he was happy and didn’t want…
Qualities of a Hero Buck faces many challenges from the beginning of the story till the end. The novel The Call of the Wild by Jack London is and adventure book. This story takes place in the Yukon territory, When a dog named Buck gets kidnapped from his blissful life and sent into a full of hardship and misery. Throughout the whole story buck demonstrated his actions of trying to be the hero in the story. Buck showed that he was passionate many times throughout the story. For example, as burton…
London was an American author, journalist and a social activist. he was born on January 12,1876 in san Francisco, California and died in 1916. attended university of California at Berkeley. by the age of 30 he was internationally famous for his "call of the wild" in 1903 and also "the sea wolf" in 1904 . he wrote more than 50 books , some of them were published after his death. his stories were about his personal adventures at sea in Alaska or in the fields and factories in California. Chris McCandles…
Eng60B Mr. Crosby 9-5-14 Chris McCandless, the subject of Jon Krakauer in Into the Wild, was not ignorant or unprepared, but he was going out into the wilderness to find the true meaning of life and to see what it was like to live out in the wild on his own. Chris was a great role model for kids all across the country; because he was trying to live out his dream and do what he thought was right in the wild and would not listen to what anyone told him to do. Chris McCandless was a loving and caring…