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The call of the wild, common sense media reviewers.
Thrilling, violent tale of dog's survival in 1890s Alaska.
A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this book.
Offers a portrait of the Klondike Gold Rush of the
Dogs thrive when they can follow their powerful in
Buck's final owner, John Thornton, is rough but mo
Men and dogs are beaten and killed, and attack and
"Hell" is used several times. A biracial character
Men smoke pipes. Men also receive "invitations to
Parents need to know that Jack London's classic novel The Call of the Wild was originally published in 1903. It traces the journey of a dog named Buck from domestic family life to pulling sleds during the Klondike Gold Rush of the 1890s, and then heeding the pull of his natural instincts to return to the wild…
Educational Value
Offers a portrait of the Klondike Gold Rush of the 1890s, including details on how dogsled teams work, and the hardships experienced by the people and animals.
Positive Messages
Dogs thrive when they can follow their powerful instincts.
Positive Role Models
Buck's final owner, John Thornton, is rough but more decent and compassionate than any other humans in the story. His kindness and respect for Buck's nature engenders the dog's loyalty and love. One character is half-French Canadian and half-Native American, described in negative terms. At one point Native Americans attack, killing dogs and men. The only woman who figures in the story acts like a spoiled child, by turns overfeeding the dogs (which leads to insufficient food and starvation later) and overworking them.
Violence & Scariness
Men and dogs are beaten and killed, and attack and kill each other. Men beat dogs with clubs and whips. Dogs fight to the death and tear out the throats of men and other dogs. Lots of bloody details.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.
"Hell" is used several times. A biracial character is referred to as a "half-breed."
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.
Drinking, Drugs & Smoking
Men smoke pipes. Men also receive "invitations to drink" alcohol, but drinking is not depicted.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Jack London's classic novel The Call of the Wild was originally published in 1903. It traces the journey of a dog named Buck from domestic family life to pulling sleds during the Klondike Gold Rush of the 1890s, and then heeding the pull of his natural instincts to return to the wild. This is a story of survival and includes a great deal of brutality that may be upsetting to animal lovers. Dogs are clubbed and whipped. Animals fight each other to the death, and tear out the throats of dogs and men. The book also has some bigoted and sexist portrayals of humans. At one stage in Buck's story, he's owned by two men who are described as "... a black-faced giant called Francois. Perrault was a French-Canadian, and swarthy; but Francois was a French-Canadian half-breed, and twice as swarthy." Native Americans commit a ruthless attack in the book as well, killing dogs and men. And the only woman who figures in the story acts like a spoiled child, by turns overfeeding the dogs (which leads to insufficient food and starvation later) and overworking them. Ultimately, however, this is a story about the power of a dog's natural instincts, and the dignity that animals deserve. The book has been adapted for film, most recently in the 2020 movie starring Harrison Ford .
Where to Read
Community reviews.
- Parents say (16)
- Kids say (63)
Based on 16 parent reviews
Makes Abusing Animals Seem Normal
What's the story.
In Jack London's THE CALL OF THE WILD, family dog Buck is kidnapped and transported to the Yukon in Canada to be a sled dog during the Klondike Gold Rush. At first Buck tries to fight back, but he's soon beaten into submission. As he passes through a succession of owners, he finds that ancient instincts from his wolf ancestors are awakening within him, helping him survive in the brutal wilderness of the North. Buck becomes a leader and a formidable hunter who's attuned to his senses and the wilderness around him.
Is It Any Good?
Jack London's muscular and poetic novel is a thrilling adventure story that explores the relationship of dogs with humans, and dogs with the natural world. As Buck increasingly heeds the instincts of his wolf ancestors, he becomes both more alive and more truly himself. However, not every dog in the story has the power to survive in the wild, and many of the humans are ill-suited for the harsh conditions they face. By exploring the brutality of an untamed environment through the eyes of a dog, London reveals much about human and animal behavior. The Call of the Wild may not be well-suited for sensitive young animal lovers, but it's a powerful story that makes readers think.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how attitudes toward animals have changed in the century since The Call of the Wild was written. How are animals treated in the book? How would this book be received if it were written today?
How do you feel about the way Native Americans are portrayed in this novel?
This book is written with a third-person narrator, but from Buck's point of view. Why do you think Jack London used the dog's perspective? How did this help the author tell the story?
Book Details
- Author : Jack London
- Genre : Animals
- Topics : Adventures , Cats, Dogs, and Mice , Wild Animals
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Larousse Kingfisher Chambers Inc.
- Publication date : January 1, 1903
- Number of pages : 208
- Last updated : January 15, 2019
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Book review: “The Call of the Wild” by Jack London
In November, 1902, Jack London wrote his non-fiction investigative book The People of the Abyss about the life of the poor of the East End of London. He’d spent seven weeks living there a few months earlier.
Of the city’s 6.2 million residents, one in 14 lived in grinding oppressive poverty. Or, as the writer put it:
“ At this very moment, 450,000 of these creatures are dying miserably at the bottom of the social pit called ‘London.’ ”
A month after writing The People of the Abyss , London was at work on the novel that made his name, The Call of the Wild . Both books were published in 1903.
A rejection of civilization?
To my mind, there is a direct connection between the two books, and it has to do with a little-discussed aspect of The Call of the Wild .
In his non-fiction book, London detailed the world that civilization made — a world in which nearly half a million “creatures” were left on a human trash heap, left to find their way for as long as they could struggle, left to a miserable life and an early death.
In his novel, London told the story of the un-taming of Buck — of his travels deeper and deeper into his primitive self until, in the end, he is joyously alive and full in his wildness.
In my reading, The Call of the Wild seems to be — subtly and, perhaps for London, subliminally — a rejection of a human civilization that permits the horridness of the lives of the city of London’s poor. The novel’s subtext appears to me to be that the life of Buck is a model for human beings — that health and joy and freedom can only be found in wildness.
A paean to freedom
As I suggest, this may have been subconscious for London. Even so, his visit to the East End may have primed him to create Buck’s story. On a conscious level, he may not have made the connection. But, it seems to me, it’s definitely there.
Another possibility is that, as a struggling writer, trying to keep body and soul together, he didn’t want to write a direct challenge to the status quo, and, for that reason, hid the subtext of his novel.
To write more clearly about the need for wildness would have been akin to promoting anarchy, advising the poor to rebel, preaching chaos in which those with the strongest bodies and wills — not the richest or best-connected — would triumph.
Either way, no reader of The Call of the Wild can see Buck’s evolution (or is it a devolution?) into a kind of wolf as anything but a good thing. The novel is a paean to the freedom of the wild, the freedom to howl at the moon and hunt with the pack, unrestrained.
“The decay of his moral nature”
The goodness of Buck’s transformation is signaled early when he watches another dog steal a piece of bacon from behind the human master’s back and then, “to survive in the hostile Northland environment,” cleverly thieves his own hunk of bacon, a transgression for which another dog is punished.
“This first theft marked…[Buck’s] adaptability, his capacity to adjust himself to changing conditions, the lack of which would have meant swift and terrible death. “It marked, further, the decay or going to pieces of his moral nature, a vain thing and a handicap in the ruthless struggle for existence. “It was all well enough in the Southland, under the law of love and fellowship, to respect private property and personal feelings; but in the Northland, under the law of club and fang, whoso took such things into account was a fool, and insofar as he observed them, he would fail to prosper.”
In the anarchy of the wilderness, Buck is learning that the only rule is to do whatever is necessary to survive.
And, while human society might think of itself as living under “the law of love and fellowship,” those “creatures” in the East End knew much better “the law of club and fang.”
By contrast, the three tenderfeet — middle-aged Charles, his wife Mercedes and her brother Hal —buy Buck and his worn-out team and then arrogantly expect Nature to adapt to the rules of civilization that they have lived all their lives.
Unlike the earlier men who served as the team’s masters, these three are sloppy, selfish and soft. And all three die with their dogs when their sled falls through the thin ice they’d been warned about — warnings they looked down on.
Buck survived because the woodsman John Thornton came to his defense just before the three went onto the ice.
Like Buck, Thornton was a man who lived a wild life and loved it. And loved Buck with a love that was reciprocated.
Despite the increasingly strong tugs of a pack of wild wolves on Buck, the dog remains with Thornton until, on one return to the camp, he finds the man dead, slain in an attack by a Native American tribe.
Interestingly, London depicts these Indians unusually for his time. They aren’t described as inhuman savages. Instead, they have a lot in common with the wolf pack toward which Buck is pulled.
They are wild, but that is good. The tribe and the pack share the same wilderness, the same dangers and the same rich life as an interconnected part of Nature.
Patrick T. Reardon
Written by : Patrick T. Reardon
For more than three decades Patrick T. Reardon was an urban affairs writer, a feature writer, a columnist, and an editor for the Chicago Tribune. In 2000 he was one of a team of 50 staff members who won a Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting. Now a freelance writer and poet, he has contributed chapters to several books and is the author of Faith Stripped to Its Essence. His website is https://patricktreardon.com/.
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Book Review
The call of the wild.
- Jack London
- Adventure , Drama , Historical
Readability Age Range
- Macmillan; the edition reviewed was published by SeaWolf Press in 2017
Year Published
The Call of the Wild by Jack London has been reviewed by Focus on the Family’s marriage and parenting magazine .
Plot Summary
The year is 1897. Buck, a St. Bernard and Scotch shepherd mix, is the head dog on Judge Miller’s Santa Clara estate. Gold has been discovered in Alaska, and prospectors are scrambling to find strong work dogs. One of the judge’s hired men kidnaps Buck and sells him. Buck’s new owner, the man with the red sweater, beats Buck into submission with a club. Buck watches other new dogs receive similar orientations and learns he must obey or be killed.
The man with the red sweater sells Buck to French-Canadians Perrault and François. The men take Buck and other dogs from Seattle to the Klondike on a boat called the Narwhal . Buck suddenly finds himself in the uncivilized Arctic, where he and the other dogs must draw upon their primitive instincts for survival.
He learns to be a sled dog and adapt to the frozen climate. He becomes stronger, and his senses grow keener. Buck’s canine shipmate Curly is brutally attacked and killed by the other dogs. Buck and the vicious sled team leader, Spitz, become bitter rivals. Buck and Spitz eventually fight to the death, and Buck secures his place as sled dog leader.
Led by Buck, the team makes record time to Skagway. The French-Canadians turn the dogs over to another man charged with delivering mail to the town of Dawson. A month later, they are back in Skagway. Thousands of miles of travel in poor conditions has left the dogs thin and worn-out.
A group of incompetent American travelers — including a spoiled woman named Mercedes, her husband, Charles, and her brother, Hal — purchases the dogs. They have too much baggage and no idea how to manage the sled dogs. Several dogs die under their care, and the rest suffer from overwork and starvation.
When they reach the camp of a man named Thornton, Buck can no longer move. Hal starts to beat Buck, but Thornton threatens Hal’s life if he hurts the dog. The Americans leave the near-dead Buck behind, ignoring Thornton’s warnings about the thin ice ahead. Buck watches as the travelers, the remaining dogs and the sled fall through the ice and vanish.
Thornton nurses Buck back to health. The two form a bond and save each other’s lives. Buck’s love for Thornton tempers his primal instincts for a time. Thornton makes a bet that Buck can pull a 1,000-pound sled, and the dog shocks the onlookers by succeeding. Thornton uses the money he wins to pay off debts and journey to a fabled lost mine.
He and his partners find lots of gold, and the dogs have nothing to do. During this period of boredom, Buck feels drawn to the forest and partakes in the instinctive behaviors of his ancestors. He frolics with a wolf, hunts, tracks prey and stays away for several days at a time. Only his love for Thornton pulls him back to camp.
Buck returns to camp one day and discovers Yeehat Indians have killed Thornton’s group. The furious dog attacks the tribesmen, killing several and scattering the rest. After avenging his beloved master’s death, Buck is free to return to the wild and live among the wolves. Yeehats talk about his spirit long after Buck is gone, and his traits are evident in future generations of wolves.
Christian Beliefs
Other belief systems, authority roles.
Buck’s first and last owners, the judge and Thornton, treat him with love and respect. Most of the masters between them abuse, neglect and overwork Buck and other dogs.
Profanity & Violence
The Lord’s name is used in vain a time or two. The words h— and d–n also appear a few times. Various owners taunt, throw, choke, beat and kill the dogs, sometimes using clubs and axes. Dogs are starved, denied water and overworked, sometimes to the point of death. Dogs fight fiercely and rip each other’s throats and faces open in bloody scenes. Some dogs are nearly torn to pieces. Buck rips open a man’s throat to save Thornton’s life. He kills some of the Yeehat tribesmen after they kill Thornton.
Sexual Content
Discussion topics.
Get free discussion questions for this book and others, at FocusOnTheFamily.com/discuss-books .
Additional Comments
You can request a review of a title you can’t find at [email protected] .
Book reviews cover the content, themes and worldviews of fiction books, not their literary merit, and equip parents to decide whether a book is appropriate for their children. The inclusion of a book’s review does not constitute an endorsement by Focus on the Family.
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The Call of the Wild by Jack London
- Release Date: 1903
- Genre: Book2Screen , Classics , Coming of Age , Essential Reading , Literature , Survival
- Author: Jack London
About Call of The Wild:
‘Deep in the forest a call was sounding, and . . . he felt compelled to turn his back upon the fire, and to plunge into the forest.’
Half St. Bernard, half sheepdog, Buck is stolen away from his comfortable life as a pet in California and sold to dog traders. He soon finds himself aboard a ship, on its way to Northern Canada. Surrounded by cruelty, Buck’s natural instincts and behaviour begin to emerge as he works as a mail carrying sled dog, scavenging for food, protecting himself against other dogs and sleeping out in the cold snow.
Sold to a group of American gold hunters who are inexperienced living in the wilderness, the dogs are treated badly and as misfortune besets them, Buck is saved by John Thornton. Indebted to his new master, Buck remains by Thornton’s side, saving him from drowning and protecting him with fierce loyalty throughout their time together. However, Buck can not deny the strong lure of the wilderness around him.
Exciting and action-packed, THE CALL OF THE WILD explores the timeless relationship between man and dog, and the inevitable draw of primitive instincts that pull Buck away from civilization and humanity towards the lawless and harsh wilderness.
A poignant and triumphant tale of a great creature in the wild. He feels the bitterness and savagery of men and his pack, there has been a dividing line in his relations with humans by no fault but their own due to their constant usage of this canine Buck in work, in pulling in the snow, they have not shown any kindness, but there is hope he will soon be blessed with some. One man shows a kindness that helps Buck, who has had a life of toil and enduring of hardships, its a warming to the heart to see man and animal bonded in humility and kindness. Humans can be cruel and unkind to each other, and many guilty of worser crimes to animals in the wild and those under their control as a pet, they are more vulnerable and have no voice. Jack London here has given them a voice in this story and White Fang. He has successfully placed us in their point of view, in the shoes of the main protagonist Buck. An inspiring story that will continue to last through time. Jack London is another author that I recently hold high up there in the sphere of great writers, he writes with great insight into the world, the behaviours, the human condition and here the animal dilemma. I read this story way too late in my life, I only wished that I learned of these great stories of his when i was in my youth. This story has revived for me the importance of justice and kindness to the animal kingdom and the freedom to an animal of the wild. Author Joe Lansdale recommends this author and has said in an interview that Jack London had inspired him in his youth as a writer and I can now see why. If all this is not enough reason to read this or to remind one of its greatness, then read what the author E. L. Doctorow said in his preface of this story…
“Man and dog are here together put back into prehistory, one of the moments of metaphorical abutment in which the book abounds. The law of the club and the law of the fang are one and the same, which is to say that in this primeval life of nature man and dog are morally indistinguishable-the call of the wild calls us all. We are dealing in this instance with not a literal dog but a mythopoetic thesis. It is perhaps his fatherless life of bitter self-reliance in late-nineteenth-century America that he transmutes here-though this is not the way it does us any good to read it. It seems more relevantly his mordant parable of the thinness of civilisation, the brutality ready to spring up through our institutions, the failure of the human race to evolve truly from its primeval beginnings. It derives from Jack London’s Marxism the idea of the material control of our natures, and from his Darwinism the convictions that life triumphant belongs to the most fit. This is not a sweet idea for a book, it is rather the kind of concept to justify tyrannies and the need of repressive social institutions to keep people from tearing themselves to bits. But London’s Nietzchean superdog has our admiration, if the truth be told. For as grim as its implications are, the tale never forgets its sources as a magazine frontier romance. It leaves us with satisfaction as its outcome, a story well and truly told. It is Jack London’s hack genius that makes us cheer for his Buck and want to lope with him in happy, savage honor back to the wild, running and howling with the pack.”
“Bucks first day on the Dyea beach was like a nightmare. Every hour was filled with shock and surprise. He had been suddenly jerked from the heart of civilisation and flung into the heart of things primordial. No lazy, sun-kissed life was this, with nothing to do but loaf and be bored. Here was neither peace, nor rest, nor a moment’s safety. All was confusion and action, and every moment life and limb was in peril. There was imperative need to be constantly alert; for these dogs and men were not town dogs and men. They were savages, all of them, who knew no law but the law of club and fang.” “And not only did he learn by experience, but instincts long dead became alive again. The domesticated generations feel from him. In vague ways he remembered back to the youth of the breed, to the time the wild dogs ranged in packs through the primeval forest and killed their meat as they ran it down. It was no task for him to learn to fight with cut and slash and the quick wolf snap. In this manner had fought forgotten ancestors. They quickened the old life within him, and the old tricks which they had stamped into the heredity of the breed were his tricks. They came to him without effort or discovery, as though they had been his always. And when, on the still, cold nights, he pointed his nose at the star and howled long and wolf like, it was his ancestors, dead and dust, pointing nose at star and howling down through the centuries and through him. And his cadences were their cadences, the cadences which voiced their woe and what to them was the meaning of the stillness, and the cold, and dark. Thus, as token of what a puppet thing life is, the ancient song surged through him and he came into his own again; and he came because men had found a yellow metal in the North…” “The dominant primordial beast was strong in Buck, and under the fierce conditions of the trial life it grew and grew. Yet it was a secret growth. His newborn cunning gave him poise and control. He was too busy adjusting himself to the new life to feel at ease, and not only did he not pick fights, but he avoided them whenever possible. A certain deliberateness characterized his attitude. He was not prone to rashness and precipitate action; and in the bitter hatred between him and Spitz he betrayed no impatience, shunned all offensive acts.” “All that stirring of old instincts which at stated periods drives men out from the surrounding cities to forest and plain to kill things by chemically propelled leaden pellets, the blood lust, the joy to kill-all this was Buck’s, only it was infinitely more intimate. He was ranging at the head of the pack, running the wild thing down, the living meat, to kill with his own teeth and wash his muzzle to the eyes in warm blood. There is an ecstasy that marks the summit of life, and beyond life cannot rise. And such is the paradox of living, this ecstasy comes when one is most alive, and it comes as a complete forgetfulness that one is alive. This ecstasy, this forgetfulness of living, comes to the artist, caught up and out of himself in a sheet of flame; it comes to the solider, war-mad on a stricken field and refusing quarter; and it came to Buck, leading the pack, sounding the old wolf cry, straining after the food that was alive and that fled swiftly before him through the moonlight. He was sounding the deeps of his nature, and of the parts of his nature that were deeper than he, going back into the womb of Time. He was mastered by the sheer surging of life, the tidal wave of being, the perfect joy of each separate muscle, joint, and sinew in that it was everything that was not death, that it was aglow and rampant, expressing itself in movement, flying exultantly under the stars and over the face of dead matter that did not move.” “It was beautiful spring weather, but neither dogs nor humans were aware of it. Each day rose earlier and set later. It was dawn by three in the morning, and twilight lingered till nine at night. The whole long day was a blaze of sunshine. The ghostly winter silence had given way to the great spring murmur of awakening life. This murmur arose from al the land, fraught with the joy of living. It came from the things that lived and moved again, things which had been as dead and which had not moved during the long months of frost. The sap was rising in the pines. The willows and aspens were bursting out in young buds. Shrubs and vines were putting on fresh garbs of green. Crickets sang in the nights, and in the days all manner of creeping, crawling things rusted forth into the sun. Partridges and woodpeckers were booming and knocking in the forest. Squirrels were chattering, birds singing, and overhead honked the wild fowl driving up from the south in cunning wedges that split the air.” “This man had saved his life, which was something; but, further, he was the ideal master. Other men saw to the welfare of their dogs from a sense of duty and business expediency; he was to the welfare of his as if they were his own children, because he could not help it. And he saw further. He never forgot kindly greeting or a cheering word, and to sit down for a long talk with them (gas he called it) was as much his delight as theirs. He had a way of taking Buck’s head roughly between his hands, and resting his own head upon Buck’s, of shaking him back and forth, the while calling him ill names that to Buck were love names. Buck knew no greater joy than that rough embrace and the sound of murmured oaths, and at each jerk back and forth it seemed that his heart would be shaken out of his body so great was its ecstasy. And when, released, he sprang to his feet, his mouth laughing, his eyes eloquent, his throat vibrant with unuttered sound, and in that fashion remained without movement, John Thornton would reverently exclaim, “God! You can all but speak!” “The blood longing became stronger than ever before. He was a killer, a thing that preyed, living on the things that lived, unaided, alone, by virtue of his own strength and prowess, surviving triumphantly in a hostile environment where only the strong survived. Because all of this he became possessed of a great pride in himself, which communicated itself like a contagion to his physical being. It advertised itself in all his movements, was apparent in the play of very muscle, spoke plainly as speak in the way he carried himself, and made his glorious furry coat if anything more glorious. But for the stray brown on his muzzle and above his eyes, and for the splash of white hair that ran midmost down his chest, he might well have been mistaken for a gigantic wolf, larger than the largest of the breed. From his St. Bernard father he had inherited size and weight, but it was his shepherd mother who had given shape to that size and weight. His muzzle was the long wolf muzzle, save that it was larger than the muzzle of any wolf; and his head, somewhat broader, was the wolf head on a massive scale.” “There is a patience of the wild-dogged, tireless, persistent as life itself-that holds motionless for endless hours the spider in its web, the snake in its coils, the panther in its ambuscade; this patience belong peculiarly to life when it hunts its living food; and it belonged to Buck as he clung to the flank of the herd….”
Mysteries By Moonlight
A (Mostly) Mystery Book Blog
Review: The Call of the Wild by Jack London
“Call of the Wild” by Jack London is a classic novel that has garnered much acclaim over the years. However, after reading this literary work, I find myself unable to join in the chorus of praise. While the story has some merit and compelling aspects, there are several glaring issues that prevent me from fully enjoying or appreciating the book.
First and foremost, the narrative style leaves much to be desired. London’s prose tends to be overly descriptive, often sacrificing the pacing and flow of the story. While I understand the need to set the atmosphere and evoke a sense of the harsh wilderness, the excessive detailing often felt like a burden, dragging the story along rather than propelling it forward.
Moreover, the character development is lacking. The protagonist, Buck, a domesticated dog turned into a sled dog, had the potential for a gripping and emotional journey, but unfortunately, his growth as a character felt superficial and underdeveloped. I craved a deeper understanding of his emotions, motivations, and inner struggles, but London’s portrayal of Buck remained disappointingly one-dimensional.
Additionally, the treatment of other characters and their relationships with Buck felt shallow and at times even stereotypical. The humans in the story seemed to serve only as vessels for advancing the plot rather than well-rounded individuals with their own arcs. As a result, I found it difficult to form any genuine attachment to them, which hindered my ability to become fully invested in the story.
Furthermore, the book’s pacing was inconsistent, leading to moments of excitement followed by prolonged periods of stagnation. The lack of a consistent rhythm made it challenging to maintain interest throughout the narrative. While there were moments of tension and suspense, they were often overshadowed by long stretches of monotonous and predictable events.
Lastly, I cannot overlook the problematic portrayal of certain animal cruelty scenes within the novel. While I understand that the harsh realities of survival in the wild were intended to be depicted, some of the violent and distressing scenes involving animals were excessive and left me feeling uncomfortable. I would have appreciated a more nuanced approach to conveying the realities of the wild without resorting to gratuitous violence.
In conclusion, “Call of the Wild” falls short of its reputation as a gripping and emotionally resonant classic. While it has moments of intrigue and a compelling premise, the lack of character depth, inconsistent pacing, and at times problematic content prevent me from fully embracing this novel. While it may resonate with some readers who appreciate descriptive wilderness settings and survival themes, I personally found it to be a disappointing journey overall.
2 thoughts on “ Review: The Call of the Wild by Jack London ”
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Jack London’s extraordinary masterwork “The Call of the Wild” transports readers to the untamed territories during the time of the Klondike Gold Rush. This classic book explores the impulses that drive all humans by delving deeply into the minds of both humans and animals. This novel has established itself as a literary classic thanks to its vibrant style, unrestrained emotions, and deep insights.
Buck, a domesticated dog that serves as the protagonist, is pushed into a world of innate survival in London’s amazing tale, which carries readers into the harsh and merciless wilderness. The author’s careful attention to detail creates a realistic image of the Yukon that allows readers to feel the bitter cold, hear the howling winds, and smell the aroma of book.
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A 1903 Review of Jack London's The Call of the Wild
"jack london seems to possess an intuition of the dog life, and the dog heart".
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He was mastered by the sheer surging of life, the tidal wave of being, the perfect joy of each separate muscle, joint, and sinew in that it was everything that was not death, that it was aglow and rampant, expressing itself in movement, flying exultantly under the stars.
“Jack London’s news story, The Call of the Wild , is the romance of Buck, a great dog. Buck’s sire was a St. Bernard, and his mother was a Collie, and he was shaggy, big of body, strong of muscle and stout of heart. He was stolen from a California ranch and taken to live in the far glacier land of the North, where he was put in a team with work dogs and made to carry the Yukon mail. Jack London seems to possess an intuition of the dog life, and the dog heart, an insight which must have come from intimacy and communion with some big, noble, shaggy friend; and the story is related with a simple, direct, dramatic force which enchains interest; and which is art. The Republic unhesitatingly recommends The Call of the Wild as a story of quality, not surpassed by Bob, Son of Battle , and not approached by any other similar tale.
“During the four years of his puppyhood in California, Buck had lived the life of a country gentleman, fond of activity, of the water and the hunt, but ignorant of hardship and toil. Stolen and taken into the Yukon country, his character changed and he became hard under the hard conditions of life, a leader and master among dogs, turning back toward savage instincts. As time goes on he hearkens more and more to the ‘Call of the Wild’ until, at last, after years fraught with incident and adventure, he yields himself to the mastery of primitive instincts—to the wild, both without and within himself—and reverts to savagery in the great wilderness of the North. The change from gentleman to savage is effected gradually and traced with absorbing interest. Hamilton Wright Mable says truly: ‘The story has a deep psychologic interest, and may be read as a striking parable; but it is, above all, an absorbing tale of wild life, full of pictorial power and abounding in striking incidents of frontier town, camp and adventure.’ ”
–The St. Louis Republic , August 8, 1903
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Themes and Analysis
The call of the wild, by jack london.
There is a range of themes, symbols, and key moments one should consider when analyzing Jack London’s ‘The Call of the Wild.’ These include Buck’s fight with Spitz, arrogance, man vs. nature, and more.
Article written by Emma Baldwin
B.A. in English, B.F.A. in Fine Art, and B.A. in Art Histories from East Carolina University.
Jack London employs a unique narrative perspective throughout this novel and asks readers to consider the dangers of over-civilization and the importance, or lack thereof, of material possessions and more.
The Call of the Wild Themes
Transformation .
The novel’s main focus is Buck’s transformation from a pet dog in California to a wild dog running with a pack of wolves in the Alaskan wilderness. Throughout the book, he learns what it means to be “wild” and manages the skills it takes to survive in the harsh environment of the freezing North.
The wild is one of the most important themes in Jack London’s literary work. The concept of the wild “calling” to Buck is important to his evolution as a character and revitalizing his natural instincts. It’s not until the novel’s end that he fully gives in to the “call of the wild” and joins a pack of wolves in the wilderness.
The wild also presents horrifying dangers to everyone involved in the novel. Even Thornton, an avid outdoorsman, loses his life somewhat unexpectedly.
Mastery
The theme of mastery is present throughout the entire novel. It begins with Buck in California experiencing a kind master who provides him with everything he needs in life. Judge Miller is wealthy and lives a life of relative ease.
Buck’s perception of mastery changes when he’s thrust into the wild North and is no longer the master of his own environment, nor does he have a master who inspires loyalty. Throughout the novel, the various characters are all striving to master their surroundings and one another.
Analysis of Key Moments in The Call of the Wild
- Buck is stolen from his California home by Manuel.
- He meets Curly and watches Spitz kill her.
- He is purchased by Francois to work as a sled dog.
- He fights and kills Spitz and becomes the lead dog.
- Francois sells the team to another mail carrier who mistreats them.
- The team of dogs is sold again to three Americans.
- They treat the dogs cruelly and show a great deal of arrogance about their environment.
- John Thonront tries to warn them about thin ice, but they don’t listen.
- Buck refuses to go out on the ice and is beaten by Hal.
- John saves his life, and Buck watches as the remaining dogs and the Americans drown after plunging through the ice.
- John Thornton becomes Buck’s best master and inspires his love and loyalty.
- The two travel together and Buck proves his strength.
- Thornton finds gold shortly before being killed by Yeehat Native Americans.
- Buck kills tribe members in vengeance before joining a pack of wolves.
Style, Tone, and Figurative Language
Jack London employed an unusual writing style for ‘ The Call of the Wild .’ Much of the book is written from the perspective of Buck, a dog. But, he also uses a human narrator to provide integral details to one’s understanding of the story.
Throughout, Jack London does not shy away from the violence and terror of life in the Yukon territory. There are moments in which the language is very stark and others in which it is more poetic. For example:
He was mastered by the sheer surging of life, the tidal wave of being, the perfect joy of each separate muscle, joint, and sinew in that it was everything that was not death, that it was aglow and rampant, expressing itself in movement, flying exultantly under the stars.
He also employs a contemplative tone throughout, as is seen in the above quote . Buck is constantly analyzing his situation and trying to understand what it takes to survive. Buck’s situation is also presented as incredibly sympathetic. Readers are consistently on Buck’s side and hoping that he finds happiness.
London employs multiple examples of figurative language throughout this book. They include:
- Metaphors
- Personification
Analysis of Symbols
Mercedes’ possessions .
Mercedes’ possessions symbolize over-civilization, arrogance, and ignorance. She feels the sled with so many items and even ditches other essentials in favor of her fashionable possessions that she helps bring about the final disaster that the falls her, her husband, and her brother.
The traces, or the bindings that attach the sled dogs to the sled symbolize service and labor. The dogs take pride in their strength and what they’re able to accomplish. But, at the same time, they don’t have a choice in the matter. Their master decides where they go and how fast they need to get there, and the dogs have to obey.
The Call of the Wild
The call of the wild is one of the primary symbols in this book. It’s a metaphorical call that keeps Buck’s attention and makes him want to step away from the remnants of his civilized life. It is not until the end of the book that he fully indulges “call” and leaves civilization and his human masters behind.
Why did Jack London write The Call of the Wild ?
London wrote this book to share some of what he saw while living for a year in the Yukon Territory. He also wrote it to convey the theme of transformation and how, over a period of time, one’s entire life and intentions can change. Buck transformed from a pet to a wild dog from the first to the last chapter.
What is the meaning behind The Call of the Wild ?
The meaning behind the symbol “the call of the wild” is that the “call” triggers one’s instincts and desire to escape civilization. London suggests that wild instincts are far more natural to humanity and non-human animals, like dogs, than are the confines of civilized life.
What can you learn from The Call of the Wild ?
You can learn that tapping into your instincts may provide insight and allow you to survive in difficult situations. The novel also teaches about the dangers of over-civilization and dependence on material possessions.
What is the main conflict of the novel The Call of the Wild ?
The main conflict is civilization versus the wild. Buck deals with an intense transformation as he has forced to contend with the new reality of the freezing northern Yukon. There, he has to set aside a civilized life and learn what it takes to survive in the wild.
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About Emma Baldwin
Emma Baldwin, a graduate of East Carolina University, has a deep-rooted passion for literature. She serves as a key contributor to the Book Analysis team with years of experience.
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The Call of the Wild
By Jack London
| Interest Level | Reading Level | Reading A-Z | ATOS | Word Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grades 4 - 8 | Grades 10 - 9 | Y | 8 | 37058 |
Book Reviews (16)
I enjoyed book cause of how Buck changes and realizes the law of club and fang + the relationship and pure love with John Thornton. I enjoyed it, definitely recommended for early middle school. Well for elementary it may be hard to read and it may get the child into the wrong place so keep that in mind
I think this is the first classic book that I actually ENJOYED. I read the "kids" version for a book report in 3rd grade and really enjoyed it. The "full" version is even better. I liked how Jack London showed what BUCK thought at the moment since many other books hide the feelings of a dog. Overall, very fun to read. I'd recommend for Grades 5+
I think this book is my favorite one yet it has mystery and scary stuff.
this is a very adventerous
It's really good I recommend it.
I love this book. I read it more then 100 times
I have read this book with my mom and we loved it. We have tried to watch the series on Animal Planet but we cant find it same as the movie.
Made me cry when Curly was killed,made me laugh when Buck stole meat from Francois.
they almost starve to death the man is nice to the dogs .it is pretty interesting that a dog and a wolf had a cub
This book is so so so cool!!!!!!
Book Review: The Call of the Wild
"The Call of the Wild," written by Jack London, is a novel set in Yukon, Canada during the Klondike Gold Rush. Buck, a rather large, domesticated dog, is stolen from his comfortable life and sold into the brutal world of sled dog teams in the harsh wilderness. Buck quickly learns to adapt to his new environment, tapping into his primal instincts as he navigates the challenges of survival. He forms a bond with John Thornton, a kind-hearted prospector, but Buck never feels free, and he contemplates breaking his friendship with John Thornton to escape into the wild. I enjoyed the book because I am an animal lover and I liked reading about the events that Buck endured. Subsequently, I would recommend this book to animal lovers because, after all, it is about a dog and his strive for freedom.
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The Call of the Wild
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- Literary Devices - The Call of the Wild
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- The Guardian - The 100 best novels: No 35 – The Call of the Wild by Jack London (1903)
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- Table Of Contents
The Call of the Wild , novel by Jack London , published serially by The Saturday Evening Post in 1903 and then as a single-volume book by Macmillan & Co. the same year. It is often considered to be his masterpiece and is the most widely read of all his publications.
The story follows Buck—a mix of St. Bernard and Scotch collie —throughout his journey as a sled dog . Buck’s story begins at the house of Judge Miller in Santa Clara , California . Here, Buck is a beloved domesticated pet, living comfortably. However, after gold is discovered in the Yukon territory of Canada, Buck is stolen by one of Miller’s gardeners as the demand for sled dogs increases. The gardener sells Buck to dog traders and makes a profit, and Buck is soon shipped north, abused and beaten as he goes. Along with a sweet, unassuming dog named Curly, Buck is sold to two government couriers , François and Perrault, who put him to work as a sled dog. Buck is soon overwhelmed by his surroundings, particularly when he sees a group of huskies attack and kill Curly. As Buck is forced to adapt to the wild, his primitive instincts begin to surface. It is during this time that he makes an enemy of the lead sled dog, Spitz. The two fight a number of times, and Buck consistently undermines him in the hopes of diminishing his authority. After a final, decisive battle, Buck kills Spitz and appoints himself as the new lead dog—something he convinces his owners to go along with through his sheer stubbornness. With Buck as lead dog, the team begins making trips in record time. The team, along with Buck, is eventually sold to a mail carrier who forces the dogs to carry arduously heavy loads. This work results in the death of one of the dogs.
The team is sold again, this time to American gold hunters named Hal, Charles, and Mercedes. The three are wildly inexperienced: they overload the sled, and they beat the dogs unnecessarily. Halfway through a long journey, they begin to run out of food, causing more than half of the dogs to die of starvation. Along their journey, and still with a long way to go, they happen upon the camp of a man named John Thornton. Thornton warns them that the ice they are about to cross is thinning and that it is not safe to cross. The Americans disregard him and attempt to leave. The other dogs obey, but Buck refuses to move onto the ice. Hal beats him viciously until Thornton steps in and cuts Buck free. The Americans continue without Buck, only to fall through the thinning ice and perish alongside the remainder of their dogs.
Buck becomes devoted to Thornton, and he even saves Thornton from drowning. One day, Thornton brags that Buck can pull a thousand-pound load and bets more than a thousand dollars on him. After some struggle, Buck is able to do so, and his master uses the money to search for a hidden mine deep in the Canadian wilderness . Buck’s love for Thornton becomes challenged by his growing desire for the wild. He begins to disappear into the forest for longer intervals of time, but he always returns to Thornton. During these excursions, Buck hunts bears and moose and even befriends a wolf. One day Buck returns to find Thornton and his crew killed by Native Americans the novel calls Yeehats. Angry beyond comprehension, Buck attacks and kills several Yeehats and scatters the rest. Buck then ventures into the forest and becomes the leader of a wolf pack. He becomes known by the Yeehats as Ghost Dog; because of his swiftness, his shadow is all they can glimpse. Despite being fully wild now, Buck still returns to the place of Thornton’s death each year to mourn the loss of his best friend.
The Call of the Wild is set in the midst of the Klondike gold rush of the 1890s. During this time, more than 30,000 people traveled to the area near the convergence of the Klondike and Yukon rivers in Yukon territory, just east of what is today Alaska. As described in the novel, many of these people used sled dog teams to traverse the rough cold terrain. The setting created by London in The Call of the Wild is somewhat reminiscent of the American West—idyllic unmapped territory that holds rich secrets waiting to be discovered by those brave enough to travel into the unknown. Opportunity teems in the Klondike region with the promise of gold, yet, as in the American West, with this opportunity comes risk and the threat of harm.
London’s depiction of Buck’s struggle in this setting shows the influence of, and is identifiable with themes within, various strains of naturalism , individualism , and social Darwinism . Buck begins as a pampered pet dog who is then forced to adapt to survive in the wilderness of Canada. He becomes more and more individualistic as he adapts: at first he submits to “the law of club and fang,” doing all he can to avoid beatings and fights, but, as time progresses, he becomes more self-concerned. He fights Spitz willingly numerous times, an individualistic act as well as a manifestation of the “survival of the fittest” concept important to social Darwinism. Buck’s final transition into a full strong individual who has triumphed over others is the moment he realizes John Thornton is dead, which removes any remaining tethers to the civilized world. After this Buck encounters a pack of wolves that he will come to lead; his strong individualism gives him the power of leadership.
When it was published in 1903, The Call of the Wild was an immediate success. The single-volume version of the novel also included illustrations, which enhanced its descriptions of Canada’s natural beauty. Though it has been and is still, at times, classified as a children’s book, its themes and overarching narrative are suited for mature readers. The novel was banned in 1929 in Italy and Yugoslavia, supposedly because of London’s openly socialist views. In 1933 it was burned by the Nazi Party for similar reasons. The 1935 film The Call of the Wild , directed by William Wellman and starring Clark Gable , focuses solely on John Thornton and Buck, while a 1972 film of the same name, starring Charlton Heston , stays truer to the plot of the novel.
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3.90. 433,928 ratings15,795 reviews. First published in 1903, The Call of the Wild is regarded as Jack London's masterpiece. Based on London's experiences as a gold prospector in the Canadian wilderness and his ideas about nature and the struggle for existence, The Call of the Wild is a tale about unbreakable spirit and the fight for survival ...
The Call of the Wild Review. The Call of the Wild is an unforgettable novel that pioneered the adventure genre. It follows Buck a privileged California dog who is stolen and sold as a sled dog in the Yukon. His struggle to survive leads to a newfound appreciation for the natural world and his own wild instincts. Pros.
Thrilling, violent tale of dog's survival in 1890s Alaska. Read Common Sense Media's The Call of the Wild review, age rating, and parents guide.
In his novel, London told the story of the un-taming of Buck — of his travels deeper and deeper into his primitive self until, in the end, he is joyously alive and full in his wildness. In my reading, The Call of the Wild seems to be — subtly and, perhaps for London, subliminally — a rejection of a human civilization that permits the ...
The Call of the Wild by Jack London has been reviewed by Focus on the Family's marriage and parenting magazine. ... Book reviews cover the content, themes and worldviews of fiction books, not their literary merit, and equip parents to decide whether a book is appropriate for their children. The inclusion of a book's review does not ...
The Call of the Wild at Wikisource. The Call of the Wild is a short adventure novel by Jack London, published in 1903 and set in Yukon, Canada, during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, when strong sled dogs were in high demand. The central character of the novel is a dog named Buck. The story opens at a ranch in Santa Clara Valley, California, when ...
The Lasting Impact of The Call of the Wild. ' The Call of the Wild ' is considered Jack London's best-known novel. At its heart, the novel is about civilization vs. the wild. As Buck contends with being thrust into the Klondike, so too does the reader experience a new understanding of true wilderness. For decades, readers have relished ...
Review: "The Call of the Wild" by Jack London. Jack London's "The Call of the Wild" is an old tale, a children's story told from a sled dog's point of view. And it is remarkable. Writing from the perspective of Buck, an impressive St. Bernard and Shepard mix, London gets readers to feel all the feels as he tells about the 1890s ...
"Man and dog are here together put back into prehistory, one of the moments of metaphorical abutment in which the book abounds. The law of the club and the law of the fang are one and the same, which is to say that in this primeval life of nature man and dog are morally indistinguishable-the call of the wild calls us all.
The Call of the Wild is a very short novel (fitting perfectly the definition of a novella), so you might feel even more inclined to give it a go, knowing that it'll be a relatively quick read.
In conclusion, "Call of the Wild" falls short of its reputation as a gripping and emotionally resonant classic. While it has moments of intrigue and a compelling premise, the lack of character depth, inconsistent pacing, and at times problematic content prevent me from fully embracing this novel. While it may resonate with some readers who ...
A 1903 Review of Jack London's. The Call of the Wild. He was mastered by the sheer surging of life, the tidal wave of being, the perfect joy of each separate muscle, joint, and sinew in that it was everything that was not death, that it was aglow and rampant, expressing itself in movement, flying exultantly under the stars.
The Wild. The wild is one of the most important themes in Jack London's literary work. The concept of the wild "calling" to Buck is important to his evolution as a character and revitalizing his natural instincts. It's not until the novel's end that he fully gives in to the "call of the wild" and joins a pack of wolves in the ...
The Call of the Wild has 16 reviews and 17 ratings. Reviewer noahsmith wrote: "I enjoyed book cause of how Buck changes and realizes the law of club and fang + the relationship and pure love with John Thornton.
"The Call of the Wild," written by Jack London, is a novel set in Yukon, Canada during the Klondike Gold Rush. Buck, a rather large, domesticated dog, is stolen from his comfortable life and sold into the brutal world of sled dog teams in the harsh wilderness.
The Call of the Wild by Jack London was published in 1903. The plot follows the life of Buck, a pet dog, as he is stolen and sold to be a sled dog in the midst of the Klondike gold rush. Buck is forced to adapt by giving in to his primitive instincts until he succumbs completely and becomes the leader of a wolf pack.
Reviews and discussion questions for The Call of the Wild are listed along with links to key places and things relevant to the story.
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"The Call of the Wild" is based on the episodic Jack London classic published in 1903 about a pampered pooch who triumphs over abuse to find purpose and community, and then is increasingly drawn to the limitless world beyond civilization.
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The cover art and title of "Margo's Got Money Troubles" don't quite convey the wild ride readers who crack open this new fiction from Rufi Thorpe will take. There's a reason Apple TV ...