The 22nd Annual Book Report Competition For
Secondary School Students
The “Black Cat English Readers Award” of English Junior Section
Name of School
: Cheung Chuk Shan College
Name of Award Student
: Lo Yi Tsun, Philip
Title of Book Read
: The Call of the Wild
Author
: Jack London
Publisher
: The Commercial Press (H.K.) Ltd.
Out of the many books I have read, the Call of the Wild is certainly one of the
best. I can still remember my excitement at reading it, running at top speed through
the words and unable to pause for a break.
The Call of the Wild was long and I took nearly ten days to finish it from cover
to cover. The book, by Jack London, tells the story of Buck the dog.
Four-year-old Buck was born and raised in Judge Miller’s mansion, in Santa
Clara Valley, Northern California. His father was a heavy St. Bernard, and his mother
was a collie. He leads a comfortable life before a thief captures him and sells him to
be a sleigh dog in Alaska.
So begins Buck’s life as a sleigh dog. He has to face the incessant snow, the
freezing wind, hard labour, whips and lashes, and worst of all: the cruelty and
brutality of unfamiliar humans of the North.
He survives through numerous fights and the severe weather. He is changed
hands many times, and at last comes to a new and final owner, a young man named
John Thornton.
Thornton treats Buck well and they become the best of friends. They saved each
other’s lives many times. Later, Thornton is killed by the Yeehat Indians.
Buck goes on a journey of revenge and slays the whole tribe of Indians. He then
at last returns to the wild, to be the leader in a wolf clan.
What struck me most while I read the book was the great love between the
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human and the dog. In nature, where survival is difficult, dogs are the humans’ most
faithful friends. It has always been that way since ancient times. Jack London,
however, added in a lot of detail and made the friendship between Thornton and Buck
exceptional.
They both owe their lives to each other. Without Buck, Thornton would have
perished in the savage wild; without Thornton, Buck might have been starved to death
as well. Buck’s sadness and fury at the death of Thornton is vividly described.
The author is telling his reader, throughout the story: that at times of danger, in
primitive and hazardous places, where every kind of life might suddenly be killed by
a stronger life, the mutual relationship between mankind and dogs would become
persistent and firm. Dogs are really humans’ best friends in the wild.
The other thing that has impressed me is the cruelty and the brutality in nature
described in the book. There isn’t a chapter that does not emphasize the cruelty
between animals. The sleigh dogs will become violent and ferocious as the weather
turns bad and the food ration runs low. They become as wild as wolves, and will tear
any prey into pieces.
Spitz, an old enemy of buck, is always finding a chance to kill and get rid of him,
since he considers Buck a threat to his place as a leader of the sleighing team. Later,
Buck defeats Spitz in a bloody fight; Spitz’s body is eaten up by his own kind
afterwards.
Humans are not any kinder or gentler. Most of Buck’s owners during his life as a
sleigh dog will not hesitate to beat a dog to death, if it does not obey their every order.
All these bits and details form a clear message in the book: in nature, outside the
influence of human civilisation, humans are the kind of creature that changes most
drastically. They drop all pretence of politeness and culture, and become as ruthless
and bloodthirsty as any other beast. Even so, without the help of dogs, they have a
slim chance of survival.
The author ended the story with the return of Buck into the wild. This tells me
the difference between a dog and a human. The dog can live in both the human world
and the natural world, and does not change very much. The human, however, having
to give up comfortable lives in cities, becomes cruel and malicious.
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Why can dogs adapt to the wild better than us? I think it might be because that
dogs have wolves as ancestors. Although thousands of years have passed since dogs
are tamed by humans and become a domestic animal, the wolves’ blood still flow in
their veins. If a dog is released into the wild, there is a chance that wolves, who are
strong survivors, will take it in as one of their own.
For some dogs, like Buck, the life with the wolves running under the moon is
much freer, and suits them better than being shut up in a cage, or kept on a leash as
pets.
The Call of the Wild tells me a lot about the desire for freedom, shared by both
humans and dogs. It is a masterpiece, an outstanding novel in the world of literature.
It would be a pity if one has not read it.
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