Gold in the Yukon and Naturalism: Jack London’s Novella "The Call of the Wild"

After coming into some money, John takes Buck into the woods to camp with him. While in the forest, Buck begins to hear a call of sorts, beckoning him into the wild. Many times Buck wants to respond to this call and plunge head first into the life of the wild dog, but his love and adoration for John Thornton keeps him from doing so. This internal struggle is different from any other struggle Buck faces in this novel. Buck’s primitive instincts call him to the forest, but his learned lifestyle, his domestic nature, keep him bound to John Thornton with a bond he cannot explain. Ultimately, Buck’s struggle to choose between savagery and civilization is decided for him when John is killed. Buck sees this death as cutting the ties to his former life of shelter, and he proceeds to join and rule a pack of wolves. Buck clearly evolves from the civilized house pet he once was into a savage alpha male of a wolf

On Buck's journey to discovering what he truly wanted he learned many things. However, the most important thing was ‘One must live in hWho would expect an animal who loves both humans and his ancestor’s way of living to choose between? The first chapter in Jack London's novel The Call of the Wild presents a dog's omniscient point of view of living with humans. Buck, the protagonist, is facing a dilemma, being pulled between civilization and the wild. Throughout the first few chapters in Jack London's novel, In the novel, The Call of the Wild, the grim struggle between civilization and the instinctive call is shown throughout the perilous journey of Buck.

As Charles Darwin once said. “It is not the strongest of species that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change”. Darwin’s quote strongly relates to “The Call of the Wild” in many circumstances where the stronger species was not able to thrive, but the one that was most able to adapt to change. In Jack London’s novel, “The Call of the Wild” it is conveyed that in order to survive in any environment one must be able to become accustomed to their surroundings. To survive by adaption one must drop old habits, be able to thrive in poor treatment environments, and love when given the chance. The main character in “The Call of the Wild” Buck, proves this idea on a multitude of occasions throughout his journey in the hostile Canadian Yukon Territory. The first adaptation that is made in “The Call of the Wild” is conveyed when one must drop their old habits to survive.

The Call of the Wild, written by Jack London, depicts a dog named Buck being forced into the wild and adapting in order to survive. At first, Buck was more domestic than primitive, but as time passed, Buck was beginning to become one with his primitive side. The Call of the Wild shows that nature will ultimately rule over civilization because Buck had to adapt in order to survive, the call was too strong, and so Buck’s natural, primitive side was overpowering his civilized side, and it was Buck’s fate to join the wild.

In the novel The Call of the Wild, Buck, the main character has an internal conflict. Buck struggles between the natures of how he was raised, which was civilization and an instinctive savagery from his ancestors. Buck lived in a civilized manner in the beginning of chapter one, but he had to adapt to his surroundings when he was kidnapped and taken, to the Yukon Territory. Buck’s new environment caused him to revert back to his primordial instincts and unlearn his previously civilized nature.

In his novel, The Call of the Wild, Jack London wants us to see the step beyond the survival of the fittest to the complete adaptation to and domination of a once unfamiliar and unforgiving environment. Using a third-person, limited omniscient narrator, the cold, icy Yukon wilderness, and a journey from lazy farm life to the deadly work of a sled dog, we see Buck, a Saint Bernard/Scotch Shepherd mix slowly return to his ancestral roots. As Jacqueline Tavernier-Courbin states in her book The Call of the Wild: A Naturalistic Romance, “The book deals less with the concept of evolution than with that of devolution” (Courbin pg 57). London asks us to believe that happily domesticated farm dog, Buck, can not only survive life as a sled dog in the Yukon, but can become completely in tune with his primitive inner self, and ultimately thrive as a leader of a wolf pack.

Perhaps the most important aspect of the novel was the progressive shift back to instinctive qualities of Buck. When the story begins, Buck is living as a pampered housedog at a large estate,

London’s novella Call of the Wild tells the story of Buck’s transformation from a domesticated pet on a vast Santa Clara Valley estate to the primal beast he becomes in the bitter regions of the Klondike wilderness. London delivers Buck’s journey in several key plot events and uses various settings and narration styles to tell the story in a way that allows a reader to easily become invested in Buck’s character and well-being from the viewpoint of a loyal and lovable pet, as well as, that of a creature returning to its primal roots and ancestry. Settings in Call of the Wild consist of generally harsh and vicious locations, situations previously unknown to Buck, and various hostile persons and dogs. As well as a variety of settings, London

In the beginning of the book, Buck must adapt to the cold and cruelness of his new life in order to survive with very little food and recognition. First, Buck has to adapt to being transported to the North and learn to be a sled dog. For example, when he lived with the judge he slept wherever and whenever he wanted, but now that he is in the North he can only sleep under the snow and for few hours. Since, Buck learns that to live and carry on through his journey he has to make some changes from his old lifestyle. Second, Buck finds food for himself in order to survive and pull the sled longer. For instance, Buck steals food off of the man‘s plate because he is starving. Since, Buck can put his instincts into action, adapt and can be a good sled dog and stay alive. Last, Buck gets little recognition and learns to use his instincts and care for himself. For example, Buck gains confidence in himself to

First, through the character Buck, Jack London wants to show us some of the advantages of being wild and free. After Buck is taken to the North, he has some difficulties surviving and taking care of himself. He is not used to being a wild dog, since he used to live with his family in California. As time passes by, he realizes that it isn’t that bad and starts enjoying his new opportunites. London writes, "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

Struggle for Mastery, first Buck learned to steal food and got use to the snow, then eventually Buck met a good owner John Thornton and he save Bucks life from falling thru the thin ice from the other owners because they overpacked the sled and had a person riding on it and at the end of the story Buck ran off into the woods with the Call of the Wild, and never returned and other people say that they see a ghost dog running in the front of the

(Intro with ties to a brief explanation of Jack London's book Call of the Wild.) Jack London's highly debated naturalistic novel The Call of The Wild shows the hardships of the klondike gold rush through imagery and personification.

When Buck gets to the Yukon he does not know how to act. All of the other dogs know how to fight and hold their own. Buck however always lived like a king and was never around other dogs. He had to learn how to fight. He learned vicariously and watched other dogs. “He had never seen dogs fight as these wolfish creatures fought, and his first experience taught him an unforgettable lesson” (London 16). This shows that Buck learned he needed to be smart in a fight. This shows his primitive characteristics coming out because of the way he fights. He knew that he would encounter a fight sooner or later

One of Jack London 's short stories, "To Build a Fire" is about a man and a dog traveling in terribly cold weather along the Yukon. Both the man and the dog

The author of The Call of the Wild, Jack London, heavily influenced the literary world with his inspirational works, specifically surrounding the theme of Naturalism. London followed the same theme, among others, in many of his works, focusing on how the environment affects its inhabitants and the details of the environment itself. The descriptions of nature London took the time to include in his books and the way they affect the story is what makes his works truly remarkable. He strongly committed himself to his works and put a great deal of effort into researching them to ensure accuracy. In The Call of the Wild, there are three main themes that are made evident: naturalism, coming of age, and loss of innocence. Naturalism is what London is most known for, and is shown through his attention to the surroundings of his characters. Coming of age was displayed through specific life changing events that altered Buck’s perspective. And finally, loss of innocence can be seen in the gradual, but sure decline of Buck’s morals.