Throughout the story of The Call of the Wild, Buck had many relationships with many different individuals. Some were loving owners while others were terrible. The four most important that had the most influence of Buck were his original owner, Judge Miller, François and Perrault, and John Thornton. Eventually Buck took control of his own life and became his own master. In this essay, I am going to describe the relationships of Buck and his owners and what each of them taught him.
First off, California Judge Miller has a gigantic home and a great deal of property. Buck is the king of this estate and can roam as he pleases. He is petted, fed, groomed, and treated like the adored and cherished dog he is. He has the life of a pampered dog who can hunt, eat, sleep, or play as he wishes. He had everything a dog could possibly want until he was taken from his home and sold into captivity. After this occurrence, Buck learned not all humans are loving and caring.
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The characters of these two guys are seen through their relationship with their dogs. François is a little more sympathetic to the dogs while Perrault treats them only as working animals. After the dogs are wounded from wolf attacks the team sets out on the toughest part of the trail. François is worried that the dogs will develop madness because of their wounds, but Perrault refuses to coddle them. Buck's feet give him trouble, for they have softened in the generations since his ancestors roamed the forests. Francois crafts Buck four moccasins, which he uses until his feet grow tough, and they are thrown away. Subsequently, Buck accomplished the knowing that everyone’s character is not
Buck lost everything that he wants and everything that he loves. “The last tie was broken. Man and the claims of man no longer bound him.”(23). The quote explains he was free from the chains of man and love. The last of the domestic animal was gone and only there was the fierce wolf. Then came the blood lusting to kill whoever had murdered John Thornton, his handler and his lover. John Thornton had meant everything to him, Thornton was the reason he came back from the forest each time. He felt the grief of losing his loved one who he could not live without. The original Buck was gone he was replaced by the mighty wolf, the alpha of a wolf
Buck is a type of dog that doesn’t give give up, he was taken through some of the worst conditions and yet survived them. He was stolen, he was beaten, he was forced to run the entire distance of the Yukon mountain range. But yet he pushed through clung to life as if it was the only thing left that he had.
Human traits and characteristics like imagination, love, anger and revenge are projected by London into Buck’s character, a trait called anthropomorphosis, by using these human feelings and thoughts allowing the reader to better relate to Buck’s understanding and handling of certain situations. “At various points in the narrative, Buck is said to “imagine”, “decide”, “realize”, “know”, “divine”, “wonder”, and so on” (Auerbach 53). Further analysis of London’s narration by Auerbach of Buck is critical, claiming that while London is writing an animal tale, he is doing so more from a human perspective, rather than that of an animal. Unlike other animal tales written during the same time-period, London’s narration helps the story work as an animal story partly due to the way “Buck is put into a situation not in his control, then invested with a human mentality and morality to evaluate the situation, and then represented as reacting to that situation by way of “instinct”,”
The call of the wild is about a dog named buck hat goes through many owners and then goes to the wild and joins a wolf pack. The central idea in The Call of The Wild is the way you treat animals can tell about you and your personality.
John Thornton, "who is unafraid of the wild," is the last thing Buck has that protects him from the hostile environment where only the strong survive (London 86). After Thornton nurses Buck back to life from his brush with starvation, Buck slowly realizes that he is ready to face the wild, where he would find his true self, not as a pet or a sled dog, and most importantly as an animal without a master. It becomes apparent that,
The Call of the Wild, on the surface, is a story about Buck, a four- year old dog that is part Shepherd and part St. Bernard. More importantly, it is a naturalistic tale about the survival of the fittest in nature. Throughout the novel, Buck proves that he is fit and can endure the law of the club, the law of the fang, and the laws of nature.
Once you begin a book, you’re thrown into a story. As you read you begin to see the true meaning of the book. You see the theme. Character development shows you how the character progressed throughout the story and changed to enhances the theme. Plot events show the character’s reaction to an event to enhance the theme. Setting puts the character in a place that they have to adapt to, which helps bring out the theme. Although each book has its very own unique theme, all authors use character development, plot events, and setting to express the theme.
In The Call of the Wild, one theme could be that only the strongest survive, Buck goes through significant changes in his life and has to learn very quickly how to adapt in order to survive. The connection between this theme and natural selection is that if you are not able to adapt or suited for a certain task, you will fail. If Buck had not adapted and learned how to a sled dog, he would have most likely of died. When it says "only the strongest survive" it means that if you are not prepared or are weak, you will die first. In natural selection, when disasters happen or things in the world change, only the strongest, smartest, and quickest to adapt will survive. Bucks life changed very rapidly, but he was able to adapt very quickly to his
In the story call of the wild there were a lot of dogs and people not right
First, Buck has to prove not only himself but also his strength. For example, Buck has to pull a 1,000 pound sled for 100 yards, in result of this he wins John and his new companions $1,600, which they take with them to look for gold. Since, Buck learns that he can do anything he puts his mind to, and he has the strength to carry on. Next, Buck has to adapt to being in the wild. For instance, Buck comes face to face with a black bear, moose, and wolverines. Since, Buck kills anything that is in way and adapts to all of the deadly situations. Last, Buck has to take care of himself after losing his master. For example, John after dies from getting attacked by the Yeehats Buck goes to where he died and howls once each year on the anniversary of his death. Since, Buck lives on with his life in the wild and is the leader of a wolf
As many of Bucks past owners worked him and didn’t apply favoritism Buck never expected or sought after this affection. “For the most part, however, Buck's love was expressed in adoration. While he went wild with happiness when Thornton touched him or spoke to him, he did not seek these tokens” (Ch. 6 Pg.1). As some dogs beg and are attention-seekers Buck was not, but instead looked for appreciation and care. Buck pulled 1,000 pounds of flour to prove others wrong and he ignores the call of
Buck in the book “The Call of the Wild”, goes through many obstacles where he faced getting killed. He was just an ordinary house dog, but was kidnapped by his family’s gambling-addicted gardener. He later is beaten with a bat until he obeys and
After John Thornton dies and Buck’s only tie to humanity and civilization is severed, Buck proceeds to live out his days in a local wolf pack where he becomes the alpha. Here he becomes a legend to the locals and is forevermore known as the Ghost Dog because of ferocious actions presiding Thornton’s death. Throughout the novel, “The Call of the Wild” it is proven that adaptability is key to one’s survival in any harsh environment. Over the many years in Buck’s time after being kidnapped by Manuel, Buck demonstrated time and time again that being able to adapt to one’s surroundings is and essential to life. In the novel, it is conveyed through many different events and lessons that being able to become accustomed to a setting is key to
Buck is cared for and respected by Judge Miller however Judge does not love Buck. In chapter 6 it states ‘’and with the Judge himself a stately and dignified friendship. ’This shows that Judge respects and is friends with but does not love Buck. In chapter 1 it states ‘’neither house dog nor kennel dog .’’ This shows Judge is respectful and nice.
“You poor devil,” said John Thornton, and Buck licked his hand” (44). This shows how Buck and Thornton loved each other upon meeting each other. But, the biggest impact Thornton has on Buck is that he shows the soft, compassionate, and cuddly side of Buck. This is because of the classic man-dog relationship; which Buck has never truly had. The man-dog relationship exemplifies the loving nature of Buck, while other owners have showed the fierce and savage side to Buck.