Book review- The Call of the Wild

 I read The Call of the Wild by Jack London a few years ago and read it a second time a few months ago. It is one of my favorite books, not only because it involves the wilderness, dogs, and wolves but also because of the bond between Buck and John Thornton. At the beginning of the book, we learn that Buck is taken from his home in California and was sold as a sled dog in the Klondike Gold Rush. I remember the book being difficult to read at times due to the abuse that Buck and the other dogs faced, but it also opened my eyes to how important it is to respect every form of life, including a dog’s. While he was cared for and treated well in California, his master, Judge Miller, treated him more as a friend rather than a beloved companion, hence the lack of homesickness expressed by Buck. Even though Buck was a suburban dog, there was always something different about him, he was strong, brave, and fierce. I loved how the book was told from Buck’s perspective, there was so much he didn’t understand and it made me even sympathize with him more as he learned to survive as a sled dog. The experience teaches Buck different survival methods, including eating fast and secretly stealing food to quench his hunger. His domesticated nature quickly fades away, bringing on his wild, primitive side as a strong dog with iron-hard muscles and the ability to bear ordinary pain and become a somewhat solitary character. Life in the north is tough, especially for a civilized town dog like Buck. The new experiences portray the uncivilized world of men and sled dogs, living by completely different rules from those of the civilized world. 

Eventually, Buck meets Thornton and the two learn to trust each other. The two develop a love for one another that Buck has never experienced before, even with his previous master Judge Miller. Thornton becomes Buck’s only tie to human connection and to the civilized world, however, the Yeehat attack the camp, killing the dogs and the men including Thornton. I remember reading this scene and being heartbroken I was expecting the two to live happily ever after together as man and dog. The death of everyone in the group, including Buck’s teammates and the three men, finally breaks his ties with humans. This is especially true for Thornton, who was his only remaining — and genuine — human connection. Furthermore, the encounter with the Yeehats, and the act of killing several of them, shows how humans are no longer the same creatures he had perceived before, which subsequently makes him less fearful — especially those without clubs, arrows, and spears. Buck then goes out into the wild and meets a pack of wolves. The pack seems unfriendly but soon Buck notices the wolf he had already met previously. The familiarity makes the other wolves calm down, and Buck starts running with them side by side. The Yeehats tell stories about a Ghost Dog that has troubled them for a long. They even avoid a certain valley due to the evil spirit that resides there. During the summer, the valley receives a single visitor, a coated wolf-like creature who seemingly looks like other wolves and somehow seems different from all of them; the leader of the wolf pack. Buck’s story taught me that no matter how “civilized” or disconnected the modern world is from nature and wilderness, there will always be a primal instinct within all living beings, even in a domesticated dog like Buck. While I am grateful for the life I live and its comforts, I notice that there is still that call to the wild, a call that I think we all hear but choose to ignore.