book report call of the wild

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The Call of the Wild

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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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The Call of the Wild

Jack london, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Jack London's The Call of the Wild . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

The Call of the Wild: Introduction

The call of the wild: plot summary, the call of the wild: detailed summary & analysis, the call of the wild: themes, the call of the wild: quotes, the call of the wild: characters, the call of the wild: symbols, the call of the wild: literary devices, the call of the wild: theme wheel, brief biography of jack london.

Historical Context of The Call of the Wild

Other books related to the call of the wild.

• Full Title: The Call of the Wild
• When Written: 1903
• Where Written: California
• When Published: 1903
• Literary Period: Naturalism
• Genre: Adventure novel
• Setting: The late 1890s in Santa Clara, CA, briefly; then Alaska and the Canadian Klondike during the gold rush.
• Climax: Buck killing the Yeehats to avenge John Thornton's murder.
• Point of View: Third-person limited narrator, who narrates from Buck's perspective

Extra Credit for The Call of the Wild

A Darwinist designer. London was an avid Darwinist. In 1905 he purchased a ranch in Glen Ellen, California to develop farming techniques based on Darwin's theories.

A dog lover. London fought for custody of his husky, Brown Wolf, from his first wife, Bessie Maddern.

The Call of the Wild

62 pages • 2 hours read

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Chapters 1-2

Chapters 3-4

Chapters 5-6

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Discussion Questions

Summary and Study Guide

Originally serialized in 1903, Jack London’s The Call of the Wild is an adventure story about Buck , a dog from the Santa Clara Valley who finds himself living the life of a sled dog in the Arctic wilderness. Through Buck’s adventure, the novel addresses what it takes to survive in the natural world, contemplates the connection of life and death, and demonstrates the power of respect and love. The Call of the Wild was immediately successful upon its release. It is considered a classic adventure novel and has been adapted for the screen several times.

Plot Summary

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The story opens in the Santa Clara Valley in California. Buck, a large dog that is half St. Bernard and half shepherd dog, enjoys a pampered life on Judge Miller’s estate. Unbeknownst to Buck, gold has been discovered in the Arctic. There is an influx of men going to find fortune and an increase in the demand for sled dogs. One night, a farmhand takes Buck for a walk, then sells him to a stranger. Buck is unceremoniously thrown onto a cargo train, caged, and taken to Seattle. Buck’s eyes turn red with rage. Feeling a more violent version of himself awakening, he attacks anyone who comes near him. Buck is put under the care of a man in a red sweater, who uses a club to discipline him. Buck realizes that, in this new environment, men brandishing weapons will establish their mastery over him. Buck also befriends Curly, a kindhearted dog.

Buck and Curly are sold to two Canadian men, Perrault and François, who have been sent by their government to deliver goods and look for gold. Perrault and François are strict but also care for Buck, and Buck accepts them as his masters. Spitz , a fierce and cruel dog, leads their sled team. Without warning, Spitz lashes out at Curly and kills her. Buck never stops hating Spitz after Curly’s death. Buck meets two veteran sled dogs, Dave and Sol-leks, who teach him how to be an effective sled dog. Neither dog wants to fight for leadership, and both find their purpose lies with pulling sleds. Buck becomes an effective member of the sled team, growing stronger and allowing a primal version of himself to awaken. One day, while the dogs chase after a rabbit, Spitz attacks Buck. The two fight to the death. Spitz overpowers Buck at first, but Buck prevails and kills Spitz. After his victory, Buck asserts himself as the new leader of the sled team.

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Buck whips his team into shape, and they become more efficient than ever before, completing their assignment in record time. Perrault and François get a new assignment and sell Buck and his team to a Scotsman. Grateful for Buck’s hard work, François hugs him before departing from Buck’s life forever. Buck continues to be an effective leader under the Scotsman’s care and finds the man is respectful toward the dogs. The weather worsens, and Dave becomes too weak to pull the sled, causing inner torment for the veteran sled dog. Dave becomes too weak to move and is shot, but the rest of the team presses onward. Despite the harsh Arctic environment, the group completes their assignment and arrives in another town, but they’re exhausted and need rest.

The Scotsman sells the team to two men and a woman from the Southland—Hal, Charles, and Mercedes. Inexperienced, Buck’s new masters refuse to let the dogs rest before they leave. At first, they have too much equipment. They begrudgingly lighten their load and buy more dogs, but traveling under their leadership is still difficult. They run out of food early, and the dogs begin to starve. Many dogs become too weak to work and are killed. Buck is on the brink of death, too. The team finds the camp of John Thornton , a veteran of the wild. John warns the team not to traverse the frozen lake nearby. Spring is here, and the ice is thawing, but Hal and Charles have no intention of heeding John’s advice. Buck is too weak to stand, and Hal beats him to get him back up. John threatens Hal to leave Buck alone, and the rest of the team leaves Buck behind. John takes care of Buck as the rest of the team attempts to cross the frozen lake. The ice breaks, and the rest of the team perishes.

Buck finds John to be his most caring and loving master yet, and he comes to love the man more than any human before. Buck regains his strength. He hears the wild calling to him again, beckoning him to abandon civilization, but Buck’s love for John motivates him to stay. While in a town, John wagers Buck can pull a thousand-pound load. The task is a great challenge, but Buck accomplishes the feat because he loves John. They win thousands of dollars, strengthening their bond even more. They set out again, in search of lost mines and cabins, and find a river rich in gold. Buck’s responsibilities lessen, and he spends more time away from camp, constantly hearing the call of the wild. He returns to camp and discovers the indigenous Yeehat tribe has attacked, and John is dead. Buck kills several Yeehats, and they flee. With no more connection to the civilized world, Buck embraces the wilderness. He joins a pack of wolves and becomes a feared legend amongst the Yeehats. Every year, Buck returns to John’s resting place to mourn him.

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Call of the Wild

By jack london, call of the wild study guide.

Jack London spent a single winter in the Canadian North during the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897-1898. When he returned, he claimed to have come upon a mythic wolf which inspired the character of Buck in The Call of the Wild . Whether or not London was speaking of a true encounter, his experiences with the Gold Rush provided the inspiration for a tale of resilience and exploration. Much of the story takes place in Alaska, traveling between Dawson and Skagway. The discovery of gold prompted a mass exodus to the Klondike, where gold was hypothetically free for the taking. The town of Dawson became the heart of the Gold Rush; for in 1886, Captain Moore, a citizen of Canada who had been prospecting for gold in the Canadian northwest, discovered a trail he called the "White Pass." This trail allowed for the transportation of supplies, correspondence, and men into the Alaskan interior, and it lead directly to Dawson.

In reality, the journey to the Klondike was a dangerous and expensive undertaking. Canadian law stated that gold-seekers could only enter the territory if they entered with a year's worth of provisions. This law was rigidly enforced by police patrols. Meanwhile, the journey to the Klondike by ship was so dangerous that many threw supplies overboard to lighten the load. Once the ships had landed, the journey grew no easier. Numerous memoirs and diaries remain from the men and women who toiled over the icy trail in that year. Their accounts of the journey between Skaguay and Dawson are the best source of what life was like on an expedition. Writings speak of rugged canyons, boldly ascending mountains, and projecting cliffs. London borrowed money from his sister to make the trip. On the one hand he was spurred on by poverty, for America was in the throes of the Great Depression. On the other hand, he sought adventure and inspiration. While London did not strike it rich in the Klondike, he found the inspiration he was seeking, and that impetus would lead to tremendous success and certain amount of fortune.

London would have had abundant experience with the sled-dogs that were the most popular choice for transporting people and supplies into the Klondike. The most common breeds were the huskies (and their cross-breeds from the river country), stocky and gray with short, erect ears and thick coat, intelligent and majestic, and the malamute, an Alaska Indian dog crossed with the wolf and resembling the wolf in shape and size. They were mostly brownish-gray, friendly and easily led. In the Gold Rush Arctic, the dog was of paramount importance. Men could not cover the great distances involved, much less carry their food and equipment, on foot. As yet there were no machines, not even railroads. Horses were bogged down by the snow and could not survive on fish, the most readily available food. London also would have known that many large dogs like Buck were stolen from the pacific northwest and sold as sled-dogs.

London was clearly influenced by several important philosophers and scientists during the writing of The Call of the Wild . Darwin's theory of Evolution, Herbert Spencer's ideas about the "survival of the fittest," and Nietzsche's "superman" theory play important roles in plot and characterization. The presence of these overarching ideas lends credence to those who argue that The Call of the Wild should be read as an allegory for human experience. London sold the Call of the Wild in 1903 for a flat fee of two thousand dollars. He received no royalties from the millions of copies that sold in America and overseas. But, the popularity of The Call of the Wild played an important role in London's continued success.

Call of the Wild Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Call of the Wild is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

why did mercedes agree to lighten their load before leaving for dawson?

The dogs simply could not pull her unnecessary luggage and the sled kept tipping over.

Buck fears the man in the red sweater mainly because of..?

Buck fears his club.

London calls Buck "a live hurricane of fury"; what figures of speech does he use here?

The above phrase is an example of metaphor.

Study Guide for Call of the Wild

Call of the Wild study guide contains a biography of Jack London, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Call of the Wild
• Call of the Wild Summary
• Character List

Essays for Call of the Wild

Call of the Wild literature essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Call of the Wild.

• The Biting of the Snow- Buck's Evolution Through Call of the Wild
• Fatherly Influence in Into the Wild

Lesson Plan for Call of the Wild

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to Call of the Wild
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• Call of the Wild Bibliography

E-Text of Call of the Wild

Call of the Wild E-Text contains the full text of Call of the Wild

• Chapter III

Wikipedia Entries for Call of the Wild

• Introduction
• Publication history

The Call of the Wild - Study Guide

You don't have to love dogs to appreciate that Jack London 's The Call of the Wild (1903) is one of the best American novels. Why? We hope our study guide is particularly helpful for teachers and students to better understand the nuances of the story and its significance in American Literature.

Read the novel: The Call of the Wild , Character Analysis & Summary , Genre & Themes , Symbolism , Historical Context , Quotes , Discussion Questions , Paired Readings , Useful Links , and Notes/Teacher Comments

Character Analysis & Summary

Buck - The 140 pound Saint Bernard and Scotch Shepherd mix dog, who is the narrator of the story.

Judge Miller - Buck's first owner who raised him in a big house in the "sun-kissed" Santa Clara Valley, before Buck was abducted to the Yukon Territory to become a sled dog.

John Thornton - The first kind-hearted owner Buck has ever had in the Yukon, leading his team of sled dogs, which he treats humanely, compared to other men.

Perrault, Francois, Curly - French Canadian miners assembling their dog teams to find gold. Buck didn't like them, but respected them as a new kind of men. Perrault, in particular, knew dogs, recognizing Buck as "one in ten thousand."

Spitz - The dog who challenges Buck for the leadership position of the pack, losing a "fight to the death."

Yeehat Indians - The fictional tribe Jack London invented for the story, who are responsible for attacking Thornton's camp and murdering him (and his friends). Buck got his revenge by killing some, so they fear him as an evil spirit, a "Ghost Dog" they fear who dwells in the valley they will not enter.

Plot Summary

The story is told by a dog named Buck, a 140 pound Saint Bernard- Shepherd mix, who is abducted from his comfortable life as a pet to endure the cruel, chaotic, and harsh conditions as a working sled dog during the Klondike Gold Rush in the 1890s. Buck is mistreated by many owners before he ends up in the kindly hands of John Thornton, after enduring a severe beating for refusing to make an unsafe river crossing. Buck lets Thornton nurse him back to health. Thornton recognizes the dog's intelligence, strength, and assumed leadership of the pack as they endure many hardships in their quest to find gold. Their circumstances reduce their goal to mere survival, as both cannot ever fully recover from the cruelty of other men. Their enduring friendship becomes the defining featuring of their survival. Yeehat Indians attack Thornton's camp, killing Thornton, Hans, Pete and the dogs Skeet and Nig. Buck attacks the chief and rips his throat, the others try to shoot Buck, but hit their friends instead. Buck is regarded as an Evil Spirit, the Ghost Dog who kills hunters and warriors in the valley they refuse to enter. Buck provided his instinct and hardened heart; he is now truly wild. But he'll never forget the enduring love from one man, proven better than one in ten thousand.

Genre & Themes

London's story is in the genre of adventure fiction, though with a realistic historical setting; sub-genre is survival.

Primary Themes

Man/Dog vs. nature Man vs. man Man vs. dog Dog vs. dog

The law of club and fang

Secondary Themes

Authority hierarchies ( dominant primordial beast )

Some scars never heal ( physical and emotional )

Instinct rules : kill what you eat, trust your reflexes, trust no one, you might survive

Comparative Themes

Discipline with compassion ( Thornton ) vs. violence ( other men ) Conform vs. fight Brains vs. brawn ( Buck has both ) Trust ( Buck lets Thornton heal him ) vs. distrust ( Buck endures a beating rather than make an unsafe river crossing )

Chapter Headings

1: Into the Primitive 2: The Law of Club and Fang 3: The Dominant Primordial Beast 4: Who Has Won to Mastership 5: The Toil of Trace and Trail 6: For the Love of a Man 7: The Sounding of the Call

London employs a number of symbols in the story that impart a number of lessons (for both man and beast):

The Club - the symbol of domination and submission under its rule. It represents man's undisputed total domination over the dogs, there's no ambiguity in its power.

The Fang - represents the dogs' social hierarchy of established dominance, and their forced cooperative working relationship as a team subject to man's domination. It also represents the dogs' instinct for survival, work, and focus-on-mission, and their utter contrast to domestic dogs as pets.

Red - The color represents blood, death, and the cruelty capable of all men. The "man in the red sweater" whom Buck never forgot, is the symbol of all things cruel and hateful about man.

Historical Context

Jack London's story is set during the Klondike Gold Rush, in which an estimated 100,000 prospectors came to the Yukon, Canada after gold was discovered by local miners and reported to Seattle, triggering a stampede of wanna-be prospectors between 1896 - 1899. Most went home poor, but had plenty of stories to tell. The trip required passage from Southeast Alaska over Chilkoot Pass to the Yukon River, descending to the Klondike. Between the hazards of elevation and extreme weather conditions, many did not surive or abandoned their quest. By 1889, folks lost interest and the goldfield were abandoned for the most part, though gold mining activity continued until 1903, the same year London published his most famous book.

It's worth mentioning that the Yeehat Indian tribe is fictionalized. No such North American tribe exists. London made it up, along with their legend of the "Ghost Dog."

Explain what the following quotes mean and how they relate to the story:

"Old longings nomadic leap, Chafing at custom's chain; Again from its brumal sleep Wakens the ferine strain." Chpt. 1 epigraph

"During the four years since his puppyhood he had lived the life of a sated aristocrat; he had a fine pride in himself, was even a trifle egotistical, as country gentlemen sometimes become because of their insular situation." Chpt. 1

"They were new dogs, utterly transformed by the harness...the toil of the traces seemed the supreme expression of their being, and all that they lived for and the only thing in which they took delight." Chpt. 2

"An oath from Perrault, the resounding impact of a club upon a bony frame, and a shrill yelp of pain, heralded the breaking forth of pandemonium. The camp was suddenly discovered to be alive with skulking furry forms--starving huskies, four or five score of them, who had scented the camp from some Indian village. They had crept in while Buck and Spitz were fighting, and when the two men sprang among them with stout clubs they showed their teeth and fought back." Chpt. 3

"The driver went about his work, and he called to Buck when he was ready to put him in his old place in front of Dave...Buck was in open revolt. He wanted, not to escape a clubbing, but to have the leadership. It was his by right. He had earned it, and he would not be content with less." Chpt. 4

"He remembered the man in the red sweater, the death of Curly, the great fight with Spitz and the good things he had eaten or would like to eat. He was not homesick. The Sunland was very dim and distant, and such memories had no power over him. Far more potent were the memories of his heredity that gave things he had never seen before a seeming familiarity; the instincts (which were but the memories of his ancestors become habits) which had lapsed in later days, and still later, in him, quickened and became alive again. " Chpt. 4

"There was no power of recuperation left, no reserve strength to call upon. It had been all used, the last least bit of it. Every muscle, every fiber, every cell, was tired, dead tired. And there was reason for it. In less than five months they had traveled twenty-five hundred miles, during the last eighteen hundred of which they had but five days' rest." Chpt. 5

"They were perambulating skeletons. There were seven all together, including him. In their very great misery they had become insensible to the bite of the lash or the bruise of the club...when the club or whip fell upon them, the spark fluttered feebly up, and they tottered to their feet and staggered on." Chpt. 5

"Those who were looking on heard what was neither bark nor yelp, but a something which is best described as a roar, and `they saw Buck's body rise up in the air as he left the floor for Burton's throat...Buck loosed his teeth from the flesh of the arm and drove in again for the throat. This time the man succeeded only in partly blocking, and his throat was torn open...[Buck's] reputation was made, and from that day his name spread through every camp in Alaska." Chpt. 6

"But especially he loved to run in the dim twilight of the summer midnights, listening to the subdued and sleepy murmurs of the forest, reading signs and sounds as a man may read a book, and seeking for the mysterious something that called -- called, waking or sleeping, at all times, for him to come.” Chpt. 7

"'Never was there such a dog,' said John Thornton one day, as the partners watched Buck marching out of camp." Chpt. 7

“His cunning was wolf cunning, and wild cunning; his intelligence, shepherd intelligence and St. Bernard intelligence; and all this, plus an experience gained in the fiercest of schools, made him as formidable a creature as any that roamed the wild.” Chpt. 7

"The Yeehats tell of a Ghost Dog that runs at the head of the pack. They are afraid of this Ghost Dog, for it has cunning greater than they, stealing from their camps in the fierce winters, robbing their traps, slaying their dogs, and defying their bravest hunters." Chpt. 7

Discussion Questions

1. Why does London have Buck narrate the story?

2. Discuss the story's survival theme, particularly the meaning of " the law of club and fang. "

3. Describe Buck's character and how he establishes his dominance of the pack. Compare his innate abilities ( his breed and instincts ) versus his learned behaviors ( he was a pet who learned how to be a dominant Yukon dog ).

5. Provide textual evidence how London reveals the strong emotional connection between John Thornton and Buck, and how both been forever damaged by the cruelty of other men.

6. Describe Thornton's relationship with all the dogs, compared to Buck in particular.

7. Contrast specific behaviors of working sled dogs in this story ( how they eat, fight, work together, relate to humans ) versus domestic house dogs.

8. Identify and discuss the use of symbols in the novel ( start with the club, fang, red, food ).

9. Is this story considered " historical fiction "-- a realistic portrayal of the Yukon and the Klondike Gold Rush of the 1890s? Can you find any inaccuracies? Here's an Overview of the Klondike Gold Rush

10. Explain the legend of the "Ghost Dog."

11. Explain the idiom, "It's a dog-eat-dog world" as it relates to this story.

12. Read about Jack London 's life, including his year in the Yukon where he "found himself." How does his own story influence this one?

Movie time ! Watch the 1935 movie, ( yes, this is the old one in black & white ), The Call of the Wild (1935) , starring Clark Gable and Loretta Young, shot on Mt. Baker, Washington, where the cast endured real cruel winter conditions. Complete two columns contrasting book vs. movie adaptation ( really, a female love interest? )

Creative writing prompt : Write a story of your own using anthropomorphism narrating your pet's story. What stories would he/she tell about living with you?

Paired Reading Suggestions

Compare another story's plot, setting, symbols, writing style, and relationships with The Call of the Wild :

White Fang , considered its sequel. Which novel do you like better and why?

The Luck of Roaring Camp , Bret Harte 's short story about an unexpected baby's arrival to a mining camp.

A Dark Brown Dog , Stephen Crane 's short story anthroporphizing an alienated dog, set in the Jim Crow South during Reconstruction. What does the dog symbolize?

Holding Her Down , about hobos riding the Canadian Pacific rail lines.

To Build a Fire is our all-time favorite Jack London story about a man who slowly freezes to death, his dog knows better.

Read London's lesser-known story about an aging boxer: A Piece of Steak , compare both stories' themes of survival and the high stakes of a potential life-or-death fight.

Compare Lord Byron 's tribute poem to his beloved dog, Boatswain, Inscription on the Monument of a Newfoundland Dog

The Star Rover is a brutal story about a professor serving a life sentence for murder at San Quentin, San Francisco Bay.

Not known for his poetry, Daybreak is a touching departure from London's survival genre, about unrequitted love (requiring a different type of survival skills).

You choose : Select another author's survival story you like. Can the protagonist die and still fit this genre?

Useful Links

Biography and Works by Jack London

The Call of the Wild lesson plans & capstone project ideas

Anthropomorphism in The Call of the Wild

The Call of the Wild summary & background

History of the Klondike Gold Rush, 1896 - 1899

Sled Dogs: An Alaskan Epic

Indian Tribes of North America by region

20 Great American Short Stories

Short Stories for High School

Short Stories for Middle School

Notes/Teacher Comments

Visit our Teacher Resources for recommended works, supporting literacy instruction across all grade levels

American Literature's Study Guides

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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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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Call of The Wild — A Report On The Book Call Of The Wild By Jack London

A Report on The Book Call of The Wild by Jack London

• Categories: Call of The Wild Jack London

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Words: 736 |

Published: May 14, 2021

Words: 736 | Page: 1 | 4 min read

Table of contents

Buck's domestic beginnings and drive for leadership, trials and transformations.

• London, J. (1903). The Call of the Wild. Macmillan.
• Armstrong, R. C. (2019). Dogs in Literature: Fictional Canines in Classic and Contemporary Works. McFarland.
• Smith, P. J. (2017). Jack London: An American Original. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
• Smith, L. H. (2018). Animal Imagery in Jack London's The Call of the Wild: A Naturalistic Approach. Studies in Literature and Language, 17(1), 76-87.
• May, C. (2020). Evolutionary Theory in Jack London's The Call of the Wild: A Study. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 9(1), 11-18.
• McHarris, P. A. (2019). The Influence of Darwinism in Jack London's The Call of the Wild. The Explicator, 77(3), 165-168.
• Johnson, M. K. (2016). Nature and Survival in Jack London's The Call of the Wild. The Hemingway Review, 35(2), 117-131.

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Anti-Trump crowd tries to claim call logs in newly released Epstein files reveal Melania’s hidden past

The wild speculation is incorrect..

Mikael Thalen

Posted on Jul 2, 2024     Updated on Jul 2, 2024, 11:21 am CDT

A judge in Florida released transcripts from the 2006 prosecution of pedophile Jeffrey Epstein on Tuesday, leading to a new conspiracy theory involving former President Donald Trump’s wife.

The nearly 200 pages of documents from the case, which saw Epstein ultimately avoid sex trafficking and rape charges after cutting a deal with prosecutors in 2008, include graphic details regarding the billionaire’s abuse.

The documents came thanks to a law signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) allowing what are typically sealed documents to be released, given the vast public interest in the case.

One section of the release has left-wing conspiracy theorists enthralled.

Particularly, Trump’s name on scans of a message book detailing those who had contacted Epstein.

As stated by one user on X, Trump is said to have frequently contacted Epstein throughout 2004. Connections were quickly made to the fact that just one year later, Trump would marry his current wife, Melania.

“Prior to marrying Melania in January 2005, Trump was calling Jeffrey Epstein in 2004 on the regular. We see Donalds phone messages in the West Palm Beach indictment of Epstein, released today,” X user @MailePRMedia wrote . “His messages are in between girls calling to confirm ‘massage appointments’ and messages from disgraced modeling agent Jean Luc Brunel. What did they talk about?”

Many saw the mention of Trump’s wife as an insinuation that he had met, or perhaps even purchased, Melania from Epstein.

Despite no evidence whatsoever to back up the vague claim, the theory spread like wildfire among certain anti-Trump users on social media.

“Holy moly!” another proclaimed . “Right before Trump married Melania in January 2005, Trump called Jeffrey Epstein numerous times through 2004.”

One user even went as far as to refer to Melania as an “Epstein worker,” although there are no known connections between the two.

“Donald Trump appears in Jeffrey Epstein’s call logs multiple times in 2004, prior to marrying nude-model Melania Trump in 2005,” @AsadYR added . “Probably nothing.”

But the theory willfully ignores the fact that it’s well-known how Trump and Melania met. They were not introduced by Epstein, and the two dated on and off until they wed in 2005.

Others viewed the new documents in a less conspiratorial manner, and instead noted that Trump having a relationship with Epstein just prior to his marriage was, to say the least, disrespectful to his soon-to-be wife.

“Well…Well…Well..Guess who’s name is all over the Jeffrey Epstein document dump in Florida???” the user @the_maga_thorn asked. “Several telephone calls to Jeffery Epstein while dating Melania. This poor lady was treated exactly how this Depraved Donny feels about immigrants.”

Well…Well…Well..Guess who's name is all over the Jeffrey Epstein document dump in Florida??? Several telephone calls to Jeffery Epstein while dating Melania. This poor lady was treated exactly how this Depraved Donny feels about immigrants. — The_Maga_Thorn (@the_maga_thorn) July 2, 2024

However, all versions of the theory are likely incorrect.

Reporting from the Washington Post showed how Trump and Epstein were fighting over who would get to purchase a piece of oceanfront property in Florida during 2004, which could explain the frequent calls.

And while it is confirmed that Epstein was involved in human trafficking and had relationships with some of the world’s most powerful people, conspiracy theorists still can’t stop themselves from inventing claims with no actual backing.

The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter  here  to get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox .

*First Published: Jul 2, 2024, 11:20 am CDT

Mikael Thalen is a tech and security reporter covering social media, data breaches, hackers, and more.

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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It's wild how many job listings might be fake

• Companies often want to signal they're growing or to let overworked employees think help is coming.
• But three in 10 companies have fake job listings, according to a Resume Builder survey.
• Fake listings can undermine trust — but sometimes lead to real interviews and employment . 

That job you applied for might be a mirage.

Companies often post bogus roles to ease employees' concerns about being overworked and signal that the organization is growing, said Resume Builder, which recently found three in 10 employers have fake job listings.

Resume Builder, which offers résumé templates, surveyed nearly 650 hiring managers in May and found nearly seven in 10 said it was "morally acceptable" to post fake jobs. Hiring managers credited the move with increasing revenue, morale, and how much workers get done.

Yet, Stacie Haller, Resume Builder's chief career advisor, told Business Insider that the practice could — no surprise — undermine confidence among existing and would-be employees.

"The last people you want to be sharing fake information to your staff is the HR people," she said.

The prominence of sham listings highlights the challenges many people, particularly desk workers in industries like tech, face in finding jobs . The overall labor market remains strong, but it's not a game of workers' choice like it was a few years ago when more employers were fighting for people.

Everybody's doing it

Haller said it's long been common for staffing firms to fish for talent with dummy listings. That way, when a client calls needing workers, the agency has people ready to go.

But now, Haller said, companies beyond staffing firms appear to be adopting the practice, which can frustrate job seekers and erode trust with workers.

The listings spanned entry-level positions to executive roles, according to the survey.

The reasons for listing fake jobs included signaling that the employer was willing to hire from outside the organization. Yet about six in 10 respondents also said companies wanted to make overworked employees think help was on the way — and that they could be replaced.

"Some people are saying, 'Well, it increased productivity.' And I'm thinking, 'Well, does it do it out of fear?'" Haller said.

She said it's a stretch to think that ghost listings would do a lot to boost morale among workers by making them believe the organization was growing.

About six in 10 hiring managers said the intent was to scoop up résumés for when a role opens. Haller said there's no issue collecting the information, provided employers are upfront about it.

Related stories

"Why not be honest?" she said.

Haller said employers that dangle fake listings risk hurting themselves by undermining their reputations.

One reason is simply that companies often get caught. Two-thirds of hiring managers said those they meant to dupe, including workers, investors, and job seekers, figured out they were being hoodwinked.

Fake listings can lead to real jobs

About seven in 10 of the fake jobs were on a company website or LinkedIn, according to the survey. And, yet, despite all the shenanigans, many fake listings often lead to real interviews — and even employment.

Four in 10 hiring managers said they always contacted workers who applied for made-up jobs. Forty-five percent said they sometimes contacted those job seekers. Among companies that contacted applicants, 85% report interviewing the person.

"A lot of them are getting contacted and interviewed at some point, so it's not necessarily a black box," Haller said.

How you can spot a sham listing

Haller said it's best to try to determine who posted a job. Going to the hiring manager on LinkedIn or to someone you know at the company is often a better route than applying cold, anyway, she said. And look when the job was listed.

"If it was five months ago, and it's still up there, it's fake," she said.

Of course, not every unanswered job submission indicates that a listing isn't real. Sometimes, the problem isn't the worker but the CV, Haller said.

"It's easy to say, 'I sent out 500 résumés and got nothing.' And then I look at the résumé and they have an AOL address, and it's 20 pages, and I have no idea what they want to do. So, 'No, you're not getting a response,'" she said.

Haller lamented fictional aspects to any part of the job equation.

"'People lie on their résumés. So what?' That's horrifying. Hiring managers lie to hire people. 'Oh, we have great benefits, and you'll get promoted.' And it's a lie. None of this is acceptable," she said.

Haller is optimistic that Gen Z workers, who are expected to outnumber full-time boomers in the labor force in 2024, will demand change because surveys indicate many young people share an interest in preserving their mental health and in employers being open with their people.

"The new generation coming up isn't going to stand for this," she said.

That's a good thing, Haller said. "Anytime I see the word 'fake' in any part of the hiring process, it's alarming."

Watch: How scam call centers work, according to a 'scambaiter'

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By Katie Rogers

Katie Rogers covers the Biden administration and the Biden family and reported from Washington. She is the author of a book on first ladies.

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