• The Call of the Wild
– Author
• Jack London
– Jack London
• Born 1876, Died 1916
• Left school after 8th
grade, but later returned
to graduate from high
school
• Only briefly attended Cal,
Berkley before beginning
a life of adventure
• Some of his adventures
in real life included the
following:
– Pirate
– Tramp
– Gold prospector
– Journalist for Various
Wars
• The Call of the Wild
– Jack London, Con’t:
• The Call of the Wild is his
most famous work
• These experiences,
especially his time
looking for gold in
Canada, are seen in The
Call of the Wild
• Wrote over 50 books and
was at one time the most
popular writer in America
• His works focused on the
exploration of new
frontiers, including the
American West
• They celebrated violence,
power and strength
• Literary Focus
– Date of Publication
• 1903
– Genre
• Adventure; Beast Fable
– Setting (TIME)
• The Late 1890s
– Setting (PLACE)
• Canada; Alaska
– two regions that are
diametrically opposed—the
Southland and the Northland.
The former represents
civilization and the latter the
wild. In the South, Buck lived a
domesticated and perfectly
stable life. When Buck arrives
in the North, he realizes that
survival is the only concern.
• Literary Focus
– Point of View
– Protagonist
– Antagonist
• Third-Person
– The Call of the Wild is told
from a very unusual point
of view—that of a dog. Yet
a human narrator stands
outside of Buck's
consciousness and makes
sense of the dog's universe
to human readers.
• Buck
• Nature; Selfish,
Irresponsible Owners
• Characters
– Buck
• A powerful dog, who feels
the call of the wild
• Buck is stolen from the
California estate and sold
as a sled dog in the Arctic
• Buck evolves from a
pampered pet into a
fierce, masterful animal, a
survivor in the cruel
Northern wilderness
• Spitz
• Buck’s archrival
• A fierce “devil-dog”
used to winning fight
with other dogs
• Spitz is defeated and
killed by Buck
• Amoral and ruthless
• Hal
• An American gold
seeker
• Hal buys Buck’s dog
team
• Terrible masters to
the dog team
• Mercedes
• Hal’s sister and
Charles’s wife
• Spoiled and
pampered
• Slows down the
journey
• Does show some
sympathy for the dogs
• Charles
• Mercedes’ husband
and Hal’s brother-inlaw
• Inexperienced and
foolish
• John Thornton
• Buck’s final master
• Experienced gold
hunter and knows the
ways of the Klondike
• Thornton and Buck’s
relationship is the
ideal for human and
animal—they protect
each other and are
devoted to each other
• Literary Focus
– Allegory
• An allegory tells two
stories at once—one set
in the reality of the story
and one with more
symbolic significance
• On one level the story is
simply about a dog
answering the “call of the
wild.”
• On a deeper level,
however, the novel may
be voicing London’s
opinion that man is
inherently savage and,
like Buck, must learn to
survive by any means
necessary
• Literary Focus
– Symbolism
• Hal and his
companions
represent the
weakness of civilized
people and embody
the worst kind of man
to human relationship
• Mercedes is symbolic
of how civilized
women are babied by
their men and
unsuited for life in the
wild
• Literary Focus, Con’t
– Themes and Conflicts
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Survival
Cruelty of Nature
Survival of the Fittest
Quest for Alpha Dog
Status
Primitive Instincts
Rugged Individualism
Freedom and Solitary
Life
Civilization vs. Nature
• Influences
– Friedrich Nietzsche
– Charles Darwin
• A German philosopher
• Two Types of Human
Beings: “Masters,” who
have a will to be powerful
and “slaves” who do not
have that same desire
• Envisioned a natural
world defined by fierce
competition for scarce
resources
• Darwin’s theory can be
simplified into the idea of
“survival of the fittest”
• Overview
• Buck is a powerful dog,
who is a mix of St.
Bernard and sheepdog
• Gold is discovered in the
Klondike region of
Canada and Buck is sold
to dog traders
• Buck, who had grown
used to the sunny
weather of California, is
shocked by the harsh
conditions of the north
• Buck however becomes
adept and learns to trust
his animalistic nature
• He soon becomes the
lead dog for his team
• Overview, Con’t
• On one of Buck’s journeys his
inexperienced masters ignore
the dangers of the wilderness
• With the help of the gold
hunter John Thornton Buck is
freed from his irresponsible
owners and becomes
completely devoted to
Thornton
• He saves Thornton’s life on
more than one occasion
• Buck’s affection for Thornton is
tempered, however, because
he is increasingly drawn to the
call of the wild
• Once a dog of leisure, Buck
has developed into an animal
that is one with nature.