The Call of the Wild: kill or be killed
One of the main themes of The Call of the Wild is that the world is kill or be killed and it is shown throughout the entire story. At the beginning of the book, Buck sees very disturbing things that make Buck realize that he is no longer a king. For example, When Buck sees Curly get killed right in front of him it makes Buck that the world is a cruel and unforgiving world, unlike his old home where he was practically a king. For example, he was given plenty of food and water at his old home, where here he was going to get very little. For example, at his old home he was loved and everyone babied him, but here, no one is going to make sure he’s okay all of the time and will have to learn to depend on himself. Since this is Buck’s first real example of how the world truly is kill or be killed and teaches him he needs to be smart and strong in order to survive in this world and Buck has to decide if he is willing to kill for his life.
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For example, the camp is attacked by a pack of starving huskies and the dogs start to defend the camp, but they keep losing. Another example is when Buck and his team realizes if they stay and fight they will all die, and decide to run away from the fight. One last example of this is when Buck fights Spitz to become the leader of the group and ends up knocking him on the ground and lets the rest of the dogs eat him. Since this occurs, Buck now has accepted the laws of the wild and knows the world is kill or be killed, and Buck chose to kill for
Buck is sold and put on a sled team. He learns to dig a hole in the snow to stay warm. He has a fierce rivalry with the lead dog Spitz. Spitz then kills one of Buck’s best friends Curly by ripping Curly’s face up. Buck ends up having multiple fights with Spitz. One of which where Spitz takes Buck sleeping hole and tries to
1. Buck - A half St. Bernard and half sheepdog that was kidnapped and sold as a sled dog.
In the beginning of the book Buck was thrown into a whole new environment. He was the newby who had plenty of new things to learn. As if it wasn't hard enough the dogs weren't the friendliest and tended to take what wasn't theirs. As soon as Buck began to adapt to his environment he began fighting back leading to him standing up for himself. He began to build strength through this transformation as a result making him much more powerful. This would become his first step toward leadership. The leader at this time was Splitz, who I think found Buck as a threat because he knew he had great potential of being a leader. Buck was the only on in the pack who matched Splitz in strength. Meaning splitz was just waiting for a fight to pick with Buck, a fight to the death. Buck wasn't scared, I know this because Buck was brave. Buck first showed his bravery against the man in the red sweater who beat Buck with a club and yet Buck never let that phase him. Very soon Buck would show this strength and bravery. Slowly equality began to be shown to him and Splitz from the rest of the pack. At the same time the dogs didn't really fear splitz anymore either in fact they even began bullying him. The day came when a fight to the death would occur between Buck and the fierce
Buck lost everything that he wants and everything that he loves. “The last tie was broken. Man and the claims of man no longer bound him.”(23). The quote explains he was free from the chains of man and love. The last of the domestic animal was gone and only there was the fierce wolf. Then came the blood lusting to kill whoever had murdered John Thornton, his handler and his lover. John Thornton had meant everything to him, Thornton was the reason he came back from the forest each time. He felt the grief of losing his loved one who he could not live without. The original Buck was gone he was replaced by the mighty wolf, the alpha of a wolf
" This shows just how determined Buck is. It shows that Buck will not let them ever enjoy the pleasure of forcing him to submit ever again. Buck is pushing through the humiliation he's been forced to submit to. This is also shown later in chapter one when Buck thinks to himself, "He was beaten (he knew that); but he was not broken". This line shows just how much Buck is fighting.
This quote shows that Buck either learns to be a master or be under a dog or person he doesn’t like. Since he’s used to being high up and having dogs under him he has to fight for what he
First, Buck learns the Law of Club. There was a man in the red sweater who beat Buck with a club, and Buck would either get beat to death by the man or he could surrender which is exactly what the law of club is. You must know this in order to survive if you are a sled dog. Second, Buck learns the law of fang.
At the beginning of Buck’s journey he is cared for and well nurtured. At the start, Buck gets kidnapped, and he is set in a completely new environment. This new world has wild dogs, mean people, and minimal room for mistakes. Buck is forced to make a conversion otherwise he’ll die. “All the stirring of old instincts which at stated periods drives men out from the sounding cities to forest to plain to kill things.” Buck awakens his instincts to survive in this unforgiving place, he kills to survive, to have fun, and to feel free.
The theme of struggle for mastery is revealed lots of times from Buck as he battles different creatures and humanity. The Call of the Wild story expresses throughout the story way that Buck has killed or hurt things to be the best
In Call of the Wild, Buck had multiple conflicts that he had to mature through. Buck wanted to become the lead dog for his sled team. To get this role Buck has to do a lot of hard working and challenging things. Buck gets in any fight he can with Spitz to show him he is strong. Buck also
At the beginning of the book, Buck must achieve survival, safety, and security at the start of his quest.First Buck learns survival.For example,the man in the red sweater beat Buck with a club teaching him the Law of Club, which is a man with a club must be obeyed. Since Buck learns this law, he can continue his quest because he’ll survive.”Second, Buck learns “Law of Fang”. For instance, Curly tried to befriend a strange dog, who attacked Curly and knocked him off his feet so that the pack could
First, Buck has to prove not only himself but also his strength. For example, Buck has to pull a 1,000 pound sled for 100 yards, in result of this he wins John and his new companions $1,600, which they take with them to look for gold. Since, Buck learns that he can do anything he puts his mind to, and he has the strength to carry on. Next, Buck has to adapt to being in the wild. For instance, Buck comes face to face with a black bear, moose, and wolverines. Since, Buck kills anything that is in way and adapts to all of the deadly situations. Last, Buck has to take care of himself after losing his master. For example, John after dies from getting attacked by the Yeehats Buck goes to where he died and howls once each year on the anniversary of his death. Since, Buck lives on with his life in the wild and is the leader of a wolf
In the beginning of the book buck faces kill or be killed situations. First, Buck is trying to take Alpha Dog with spitz. For example, When Buck first goes to Alaska with Francois and encounters Dave and Spitz. Since, Buck fights Spitz to the death for alpha dog and wins that shows that Buck faces kill or be killed situations. Second, Buck has to learn how to pull a dog sled. For instance, When he gets to Alaska and see’s how good the dog sled team is and he’s going to have to step up his game to compete with the other dogs. Since, Buck has to stay on the same level as the other dogs or he’ll get kicked off the team and most likely get killed. Last, Buck Scenes have to change or he's going to get cut from the team. For example, when he first gets and see’s the team's skills and what they can do . Since, he see’s how good the team is and he knows he his whole outlook needs to change.(Conclusion)
After John Thornton dies and Buck’s only tie to humanity and civilization is severed, Buck proceeds to live out his days in a local wolf pack where he becomes the alpha. Here he becomes a legend to the locals and is forevermore known as the Ghost Dog because of ferocious actions presiding Thornton’s death. Throughout the novel, “The Call of the Wild” it is proven that adaptability is key to one’s survival in any harsh environment. Over the many years in Buck’s time after being kidnapped by Manuel, Buck demonstrated time and time again that being able to adapt to one’s surroundings is and essential to life. In the novel, it is conveyed through many different events and lessons that being able to become accustomed to a setting is key to
Call of the Wild is a novella written by Jack London that is ironic about life and the way we look at it. We look at life as humans and other things are just living in our world, that nothing else has a say in the world because we do not speak the same languages. Example of this is how we “own” dogs, cats, horses, etc; we do not “own” them, they are their own being with goals of their own. We may not be able to understand what they are saying or what they are thinking, but as London explains throughout his novella, one dog in particular has such high aspirations for himself that he will not quit for anything and his name is Buck. Never giving up on what you want in your life is the real message in this story that is being portrayed through the life of Buck.