Blake LaRue
ELA 7
27 April 2012
Buck: Dog or Beast?
In 1856, a naturalist by the name of Charles Darwin developed a theory he called
Natural Selection, or “Survival of the Fittest.” With this theory, Darwin defied all
theologically and scientifically accepted beliefs, claiming that “species evolve from a
more primitive species through the process of evolution or adaptation.” Natural selection
can be defined simply as nature’s way of deciding which individual living creatures will
adapt and prosper in not only the harsh wilderness, but in civilized societies as well. This
theory remains as one of the most debatable and arguable topics of all time, one that
opened the eyes and thoughts of the developed society to the natural world. However
scientifically educated you may be, there is no debate about the example of “Survival of
the Fittest” in Jack London’s novel, The Call of the Wild. The evolution and
metamorphosis that Buck undergoes during his experiences is a pure example of
Darwin’s famous theory. Buck begins as a civilized dog, living a life of prosperity and
domestication. As the novel progresses he learns to adapt and becomes the “dominant
primordial beast”. Buck’s adaptability to evolve from a pampered prince to a brutal beast
portrays London’s theme, that, in order to survive, one must learn to adapt and evolve.
Crisette Ocampo
ELA 1
27 April 2012
Survival
There is a quote that states that “The survival of the fittest is the ageless law of
nature, but the fittest are rarely the strong. The fittest are those endowed with the
qualifications for adaptation, the ability to accept the inevitable and conform to the
unavoidable, to harmonize with existing or changing conditions”(Declerk 27). This quote
describes Buck, who is a dog and the main character in Jack London’s The Call of the
Wild. When forcibly taken from his home in the Santa Clara Valley and smuggled into
the Alaskan wilderness to work as a sled dog, Buck in order to survive, must change his
current lifestyle and learn to adapt to the harsh and bitter terrain of the Yukon.
Throughout the story, Jack London puts an emphasis on Buck’s retrogression from a
sated and aristocratic dog. In the beginning he represents civilization. As the novel
progresses Buck evolves into the natural, dominant animal of the wild, a vicious creature
of the primitive world. Buck’s “progression” exemplifies London’s theme that one must
be able to adapt in order to survive and furthermore, that this adaptation makes one more
satisfied.