FREE ESSAY ON THE CALL OF THE WILD

THE CALL OF THE WILD

In the Call of the Wild, the author tells a story of a dog whose name is Buck. We follow
buck through his adventures in the Klondike. He experiences a transformation as he adapts
to the cold temperatures, the heavy sled behind him, and the savageness of the other
dogs. By the end of the story Buck is a completely different dog. The main message of the
book was probably to never count on where you are now in life, because things change. The
author presents this by using Buck as a Symbol of a human life.
The majority of the story takes place in northern regions of Alaska and Canada where the
Alaskan Gold rush was taking place. The time period in which the story takes place is the
early 1900's. The story's setting is very important to the main plot of the story.
Without the cold of Alaskan North the story wouldn't be anywhere near the same. If it
hadn't been cold or if there hadn't been a gold rush Buck would have been able to stay in
California instead of being needed to pull dog sleds. 
A narrator tells the story, speaking from a third person limited point of view. The
narrator stays with Buck through the entire story. Throughout the story the narrator
describes exactly what Buck is thinking and feeling. Instead of letting you figure out
what Buck is like he explains it directly. 
As the story begins Buck is at his home in California. The narrator describes Buck as
being the ruler of the property. After Buck and his home are described, a gardener, who
Buck trusted, sells him. Buck is then sent to the Yukon where he is forced to pull dog
sleds. In Alaska he meets other dogs, and witnesses a dog getting killed. This
consequently gains him his first enemy. because Spitz, the dog that was his enemy, laughs
at the dog getting killed. Spitz is the lead dog in his sled team. As the story
progresses Buck and Spitz get into bigger and more dangerous arguments until finally he
kills Spitz in a fight. Now, because Spitz was dead, Buck took the lead of the team.
Eventually they are sold to new and incompetent owners who overwork, and under feed the
entire team, because of this the entire team except 6 of the dogs die from starvation and
exhaustion. Just before Buck would have died a man named John Thorton saves him. At first
Thorton resists stopping a beating that Buck is taking from his owners, but then he
stands up, cut Buck's reigns, and takes Buck from his owners. This leads to a great love
between Buck and Thorton.
Later, while Thorton is out hunting for gold, Buck decides to wander through the woods.
While in the woods he meets a wolf. He becomes this wolf's friend and plays with the wolf
for the rest of the night. When Buck wanders of another time, a tribe of Indians kill
Thorton. As soon as Buck finds out he goes into a rage and attacks the Indians sending
them running. Immediately after a pack of wolves come up to him and attack him. Buck
fights them off for a short time before the wolf that he met earlier comes up to him
sniffs his nose and howls. Buck joins the pack after this meeting. The story ends telling
how Buck terrorizes the Indians that killed Thorton. 
The story was written well and I enjoyed it. It was written so that it would be easy to
read but still be a good story. It was definitely meant for kids under 12, but oh well to
late now. 
The main message of the book was never to count on where you are now in life, because
things change. The author uses symbolism to present this message. The author wrote the
story in third person limited using Buck as his main character. He accomplishes the tale
of a dog changing into something completely different rather well. The writing of a dog
going from a domesticated life to being as wild as a wolf is quite interesting and
enjoyable. 
Bibliography
The Call of the Wild By Jack London