'The Call of the Wild' by Jack London follows Buck, a pet dog from California who is stolen and sold as a sled dog in Alaska.
About the Book
Article written by Emma Baldwin
B.A. in English, B.F.A. in Fine Art, and B.A. in Art Histories from East Carolina University.
‘The Call of the Wild‘ by Jack London was published in 1903 and is a short adventure novel focused on Buck. Buck contends with a new way of life that is just as shocking to him as it is to readers. As the novel progresses, he becomes wilder, learning what it takes to survive and fight among other animals for limited resources.
London was inspired to write this novel from his experiences in the Yukon as a twenty-one-year-old man. He lived there for a year before returning to California. The illnesses he suffered from during this period are generally considered to contribute to his death at only forty years old.
The story of ‘The Call of the Wild‘ was famously inspired by Jack London’s time in the Yukon. When he was only twenty-one, the new author traveled to the Yukon in search of his fortune, along with many others who were a part of the Klondike Gold Rush. He lived there for a year, learning first-hand the kind of suffering one can and cannot endure.
During this period, London experienced diseases, near starvation, and the loss of his four front teeth from scurvy. He lived there for a year before returning to California with a wealth of material to fuel his writing.
Jack London’s writing, and outlook on the world, were famously influenced by the writings of Charles Darwin and Karl Marx. In fact, later in life, he attempted to establish a farm on which he could put Darwin’s concepts that were laid out in On the Origin of Species into practice.
London was also influenced by ‘Paradise Lost.‘ Concepts of free will, as depicted in John Milton, were also incredibly influential. As Milton wrote about humanity’s and Satan’s free will, so did London write about free will regarding Buck’s experiences in the Alaskan Klondike.
No list of books related to ‘The Call of the Wild‘ would be completed without mentioning its companion novel, ‘White Fang.‘ The latter was published in 1906, three years after ‘The Call of the Wild‘ and is also narrated from a dog’s perspective. The title character, White Fang, follows a different path from Buck in ‘The Call of the Wild.’ London depicts the wild dog becoming domesticated and turning into a loving pet.
Other novels that are similar to ‘The Call of the Wild‘ include:
‘The Call of the Wild‘ is considered Jack London’s best-known novel. At its heart, the novel is about civilization vs. the wild. As Buck contends with being thrust into the Klondike, so too does the reader experience a new understanding of true wilderness.
For decades, readers have relished London’s simple writing style and ability to transport readers out of their contemporary life and into a world where one has to be constantly alert and ready to fend off death in a variety of forms.
The book is also considered one of the best-loved depictions of a connection between dog and owner in American literature, or world literature for that matter.
Jack London’s The Call of the Wild is an undisputed classic of the genre. It takes an unlikely protagonist who readers can’t help but sympathize with, and puts him through a series of unfathomably treacherous situations.
‘The Call of the Wild’ is an American classic. Published in 1903, the novel tells the story of a domestic dog who was forced into labor as a sled dog and eventually gives in to the “call of the wild.”
Throughout ‘The Call of the Wild,’ Jack London writes about the power of nature, humanity, civilization versus the wild, and more. Buck’s transition from a pet dog from California into a member of a wild wolf pack in the Yukon plays out in Jack London’s characteristic prose style.
‘The Call of the Wild’ follows Buck a dog who is stolen from California and sold as a sled dog in the Yukon.
There is a range of themes, symbols, and key moments one should consider when analyzing Jack London’s ‘The Call of the Wild.’ These include Buck’s fight with Spitz, arrogance, man vs. nature, and more.
Published in 1903, ‘The Call of the Wild’ has defined Jack London’s literature for readers worldwide for decades. The novel features one of the most memorable main characters in literary history—Buck.
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