Jack London's novel, The Call of the Wild, follows the life of Buck as he adapts to his new life. After he was stripped away from civilization, Buck must learn to survive in the wilderness. The theme of this novel is, "survival of the fittest." The only way to live is to prove your superior strength and to not back out of a fight. All of the dogs learn at an early time, that they will not make it very far without physical strength. This quote displays Buck’s complete transformation and shows his dedication to the concept of, “survival of the fittest.” Buck’s drive to survive is shown in this citation and it is clear that he has become fit to lead in the wilderness. This citation is significant to the theme, because it shows the certain characteristics that he has gained that make him eligible to make it in the wild. After starting his new journey away from civilization, he has become, “...a killer, a thing that preyed, living on the things that lived, unaided, alone, by virtue of his own strength…” The theme, “survival of the fittest,” is the way of life for the animals in the wilderness, and is also the only path for survival for Buck. He is able to live by following this concept and by, “...surviving triumphantly in a hostile environment where only the strong survived.” …show more content…
When something terrible occurs in someone’s life, their mentality and at times, their physicality, are prone to change. Buck was forced to leave his original life, and his mentality and physical ability gradually began to change. Likewise, people that are exposed to events such as the loss of a loved one, they begin to change. Some altercations that may occur are depression, anger, loss of hope, anxiety, and at times, the loss of their faith. Even though these people do not change in the same ways as Buck, they change due to the same reasons; their lives are flipped around, causing them
Jack London’s novel, The Call of the Wild, is about the transformation of Buck. As a dog who was raised as a domestic animal, he must learn to adapt to his new wild surroundings after he is snatched away from civilization. The author's message of this novel is “survival of the fittest.” Buck’s only chance of staying alive is to display his strength and fight. This quote displays Buck’s thoughts on the rules of the wild; the only way to survive. It is clearly shown that having superior power is the only route to not being killed. Each dog, no matter which breed or age, learns these rules almost instantly and gets put into their place; their journey to proving themselves and rising to the top begins. This citation is significant to the theme, because it depicts the valuable law of the wilderness, which is “survival of the fittest.” This quote describes the “eat or be eaten” world that Buck is now adapting to in order to live. The theme, “survival of the of the fittest,” is shown in this quote, and seems quite gruesome. However, “...master or be mastered...Kill or be killed, eat or be eaten…” is exactly how the animals in the wild sustain their places in their “communities.”
The Call of the Wild literary analysis. Have you ever seen someone or you have been struggling with anything?In the story The Call of the Wild, Jack London takes a domesticated dog named Buck and turns him into a wild dog,and uses stereotypes on city slickers,on ladies,and on the Yeehats. When Buck enters the harsh northern environment Buck goes through 3 different types of themes and 1 of them was Struggle for Mastery and meets 18 different sled dog teams and all of them including Buck Struggles for Mastery (or leadership). In this book has some examples about Struggle for mastery.
Buck experiences all that nature has to offer when he starves, freezes, and gets exhausted from all of his sledding. Buck continually struggles, yet he finds ways to turn his struggles into successes like when it was said that “Buck was inexorable”, and learns along the way how to survive (London 24). He takes everything a day at a time and makes the best with what he is given or not given. This man-nature relationship is not all negative though because the nature shapes Buck and other animals into becoming stronger and more athletic which then transcends to their
The theme for Jack London’s 1903 novel, “The Call of the Wild” is that only the strong survive the wilderness. The main character or protagonist is a dog named Buck. Buck was a slightly pampered dog living a happy and cozy life with his owners in the state of California but that all changed when he was abducted by two cruel men. After this event, Buck goes through a lot of hardships in his life in the wild. Some examples of the many hardships he goes through is the brutal winters and cold weather, lack of food and clean water, lazy and or callous owners, and untrustworthy or fierce teammates.
The Call of the Wild, on the surface, is a story about Buck, a four- year old dog that is part Shepherd and part St. Bernard. More importantly, it is a naturalistic tale about the survival of the fittest in nature. Throughout the novel, Buck proves that he is fit and can endure the law of the club, the law of the fang, and the laws of nature.
In schools and counties all over, the book The Call of the Wild is being banned from 8th grade curriculum. For reasons such as that the book is based on true events, that the book describes actions of animal abuse that still occur today, and that banning books causes illiteracy and it caused by illiteracy, I do not believe that The Call of the Wild should be taken out of 8th grade curriculum.
Jack London brings a natural instinct into the spotlight by defining that everyone has that primal call to the wild, and often one feels this when in a difficult situation. Giving into this ‘call of the wild’ leads to a different kind of adaptation, it makes you become primal to survive in a primal situation. Further into the book it states, “The others sat down and howled. And now the call came to Buck in unmistakable accents. He, too, sad down and howled.” (London, 1990, p.62). This is the defining moment of Jack’s book when Buck lets go of all ties to humans and decides to carve his own path, adapting the way he needs to, not the way that humans encouraged him. Soon, Buck changes himself completely to fit snugly into the environment and to prevent further torturous struggles with humans. These quotes combine to paint a picture of total and complete change when it comes to a new and unfavorable environment.
Once you begin a book, you’re thrown into a story. As you read you begin to see the true meaning of the book. You see the theme. Character development shows you how the character progressed throughout the story and changed to enhances the theme. Plot events show the character’s reaction to an event to enhance the theme. Setting puts the character in a place that they have to adapt to, which helps bring out the theme. Although each book has its very own unique theme, all authors use character development, plot events, and setting to express the theme.
The Call of the Wild, by Jack London, is a classic piece of American literature. The novel follows the life of a dog named Buck as his world changes and in turn forces him to become an entirely new dog. Cruel circumstances require Buck to lose his carefree attitude and somewhat peaceful outlook on life. Love then enters his life and causes him to see life through new eyes. In the end, however, he must choose between the master he loves or the wildness he belongs in.
A major theme in Jack London’s classic, The Call of the Wild, is that adaptability is essential for survival.
“The suck of the water as it took the beginning of the last steep pitch was frightful, and Thornton knew that the shore was impossible. He scraped furiously over a rock, bruised across a second, and struck the third with a crushing force (London 81). This quote was written by Jack London, the author of The Call of The Wild that he had written a novel about a St. Bernard and a Scotch half breed dog named Buck coming into the Yukon transferring from a master to another. He Becomes loyal and loving to his new master John Thornton they look for gold in the Yukon together, the wild is calling to buck and he has to chose John Thornton or the wild.For the theme Survival of the fittest there are several samples of how Buck has adjusted to his
As Charles Darwin once said. “It is not the strongest of species that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change”. Darwin’s quote strongly relates to “The Call of the Wild” in many circumstances where the stronger species was not able to thrive, but the one that was most able to adapt to change. In Jack London’s novel, “The Call of the Wild” it is conveyed that in order to survive in any environment one must be able to become accustomed to their surroundings. To survive by adaption one must drop old habits, be able to thrive in poor treatment environments, and love when given the chance. The main character in “The Call of the Wild” Buck, proves this idea on a multitude of occasions throughout his journey in the hostile Canadian Yukon Territory. The first adaptation that is made in “The Call of the Wild” is conveyed when one must drop their old habits to survive.
The author of The Call of the Wild, Jack London, heavily influenced the literary world with his inspirational works, specifically surrounding the theme of Naturalism. London followed the same theme, among others, in many of his works, focusing on how the environment affects its inhabitants and the details of the environment itself. The descriptions of nature London took the time to include in his books and the way they affect the story is what makes his works truly remarkable. He strongly committed himself to his works and put a great deal of effort into researching them to ensure accuracy. In The Call of the Wild, there are three main themes that are made evident: naturalism, coming of age, and loss of innocence. Naturalism is what London is most known for, and is shown through his attention to the surroundings of his characters. Coming of age was displayed through specific life changing events that altered Buck’s perspective. And finally, loss of innocence can be seen in the gradual, but sure decline of Buck’s morals.
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.
In the adventure story The Call Of The Wild by Jack London, Buck is taken to be a sled dog during the Klondike Gold Rush. Buck learns several different lessons, which validates that there are multiple themes. Buck learns the effort of leadership, the requirements of survival, and the power of instinct.