Introduction: The Call of The Wild by Jack London is an adventure novel about the story of a young Saint Bernard named Buck who is dispossessed of his peaceful home as a pet and transformed into an icy sled dog in the middle of the Klondike Gold Rush. The story shows Buck's evolution after he is kidnapped from a peaceful ranch in a rural part of Canada where he ruled. Once captured, he was transported through many regions until he was finally sold to a French Canadian named Perrault. Along with his colleague François, Perrault begins raising Buck to become a sled dog alongside many other canines with polarizing personalities. As a local dog with everything going for him, Buck is forced to reignite his natural instincts. This is not only necessary to function as a sled dog, but also to survive the extreme conditions of the harsh winters of Canada and Alaska. Although he learns quickly, these attributes will not come without difficulty. Buck will face many challenges such as finding independence, teamwork, and controlling his pride, all of which are important recurring themes in the book. Thesis Statement: Thanks to Jack London's extremely descriptive style, the reader is truly able to follow and visualize Buck's story through each stage of The Call of The Wild. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Background: The story begins in 1897 with a dog named Buck residing in a large house in the Santa Clara Valley, California, owned by Judge Miller. One day, a poor Miller employee runs away with Buck and sells him to a group of people who knock him out and put him in a baggage car. The group of men take Buck to a camp owned by a man in a red sweater who beats him into submission with a club after he tries to fight back several times. More dogs circulate around the camp until Buck and another dog named Curly are transported on a ship with two men named François and Perrault, as well as two other dogs named Dave and Spitz. Arriving at Dyea Beach, Curly is attacked by a pack of huskies and is killed; Spitz finds this humorous, causing Buck to immediately feel hatred towards him. After this, Buck quickly learns to pull a sled and three more dogs are added to the sled team. The first day cycle passes and Buck begins to see the first signs of his natural instincts returning. Three more dogs are added, forming a full team of nine led by Spitz. Tensions begin to rise between Buck and Spitz as he attacks Buck repeatedly during times when he is weak. After more tension, a rabbit chase leads Buck and Spitz to the fateful battle; Spitz begins to overpower Buck at first, but Buck is able to fake it and finish Spitz with a bite to the leg. Buck quickly accepts the position of leader in Spitz's place and the team manages to reach their final destination in record time. This allowed them to gain some notoriety for a short time, but François and Perrault were directed elsewhere by their managers and the team was sold to a group of Scots. The Scots focus on heavier loads rather than saving time and they also remember more memories of Bucks ancestors from primitive times due to their physical characteristics. Thirty days later, they are entrusted to a new team of three very inexperienced young people, as well as six new underqualified dogs, which makes a team of 14 dogs.; agitated by the last effort, the sled starts again. Mismanagement of resources and general neglect by the new team leaves all but five of the dogs dead and the rest barely alive. They eventually reach John Thornton's camp and although warned of the dangerous state of the frozen lake, the group insists on moving forward. Even after being defeated several times with the club, Buck refuses to continue with the team, seeing the formidable future; Thornton and Buck then watch the rest of the sleigh crew descend into the icy lake, never to be seen again. Buck begins to regain strength as his bond with Thornton becomes unbreakable, but his natural instincts also begin to rapidly develop and he begins to hear strange calls coming from the forest. Buck ends up saving Thornton's life twice and wins him a $1,600 bet with a rich man that he couldn't pull a 1,000-pound sled. After Thornton moves north with the money, Buck befriends a timber wolf after finally answering the call of the forest. He continues to leave the camp for long periods of time until he creates two different identities; a wild animal and Thornton's dog. One day, when he returns to camp, he discovers that Thornton and all his acquaintances have been killed by the Yeehat Indians; in revenge, he kills most of the tribe, while frightening the rest. Buck returns to the wolves to fully integrate into the pack and, according to the Yeehats, returns to Thornton's Death Valley every year to mourn his fallen master. Topic Sentence: The tone of The Call of the Wild is expressed primarily through Bucks emotions in the book. Evidence and Quote: London obviously has positive feelings towards Buck, but also sympathy when he describes his emotions. A good example of this is when he describes the Bucks' emotions while being locked in the cage by the man in the red sweater: "And Buck, truly a red-eyed devil as he pulled himself together for spring , hair standing on end, mouth foaming, a crazy twinkle in his bloodshot eye. Commentary: The tone here is intense and suspenseful because of the way London conveys it through Buck's feelings. Evidence and Citation: The diction of The Call of The Wild features formal and extremely descriptive word choice to describe certain events in the book. An example of this is when we are introduced to Judge Miller's house at the beginning of the book: "Buck lived in a large house in sunny Santa Clara Valley. Judge Millers Place, as he was called. He stood away from the trees, through which one could see the wide, cool veranda which ran along its four sides. The house was accessed by grappling paths that wound across vast lawns and under the intertwined branches of tall poplar trees. Comment: This very detailed description of the exterior of the house was not necessary to understand the story, but contributes to Jack London's extremely descriptive imagery and diction. Topic Sentence: London uses a large amount of figurative language in The Call of the Wild. ; composed primarily of imagery, symbolism, similes, and metaphors. Evidence and Citation: As Buck attacked the Yeehat Indians, London writes: "It was Buck, a living hurricane of fury, rushing upon them in a frenzy of destruction." He lunged at the foremost man (he was the leader of the Yeehats), tearing his throat until the torn jugular caused a fountain of blood to gush forth. Comment: In this sentence, there are 2 metaphors, as well as images; the reader is able to clearly visualize thethroats of the Indians torn and to feel that all the Bucks have developed their rage against the Indians. Evidence and Citation: An example of a comparison is when Buck finally begins to realize the progression of his physical being after becoming an experienced sled dog: “His development (or regression) was rapid. His muscles became hard as iron and he became impervious to all ordinary pain. Commentary: In this comparison, he shows the progression of the goat from a domestic dog to a sled dog by comparing its muscles to iron. Evidence and Quote: There is one main recurring symbol throughout the book, being the man in the red sweater from the beginning of the story. After Buck is beaten by the man in the red sweater and truly defeated for the first time in his life; he was introduced to the philosophy of primitive law: “This club was a revelation. It was the introduction to the reign of primitive law, and he met the introduction halfway. Commentary: Primeval law is a recurring idea in the book that simply means that force rules, and each time this idea comes up, Buck connects it to the man in the red sweater. Topic Sentence: The sentence structure of The Call of the Wild is very parallel and descriptive. Evidence and Citation: London uses many complex and compound sentences to describe important events such as Buck running with his pack during the winter night: "When the long winter nights come and the wolves follow their meat into the lower valleys , he can be seen running to the leader of the pack through the pale moonlight or the sparkling boreals, leaping gigantically above his comrades, his great throat screaming as he sings a song of the younger world, which is the song of the pack. Comment: This sentence includes two independent and two dependent clauses to create a very descriptive sentence. London maintains this structure most of the time throughout the book to create many images in important parts of the story. This formatting makes the book much more interesting to read because the reader can feel like they are experiencing the book first hand. Topic Sentence: Although there are many themes in The Call of the Wild, the most important theme of the story is survival of the fittest. Proof and Quote: Buck is able to prove that he is the alpha dog by experiencing over 15 dogs in the same situation as him. By rediscovering his instincts and learning from others, his decision-making and physical abilities become unmatched. “When he saw Pike, one of the new dogs, a cunning pretender and sneakily stealing a piece of bacon while Perrault had his back turned, he replicated the performance the next day and got away with a whole piece. A great tumult arose, but it was unsuspected; while Dub, a clumsy guy who always got caught, was punished for Buck's misdeed. Commentary: This contributes to the theme because it shows that Buck is more adept at surviving than some other dogs and uses his favorable attributes to get away with mischief and, in turn, reap additional rewards. Evidence and Quote: Another example of survival of the fittest is when Buck refuses to cross the icy lake and decides to stay at Thornton's camp instead: "They saw Charles turn around and take a step to run back, then an entire section of Thornton camp. the ice gave way and the dogs and humans disappeared. Commentary: This contributes to the theme of survival of the fittest, as Buck was the only dog ​​smart enough to stay at camp. He then watches the rest of his team sink into the dark waters, knowing he made the right decision. Evidence and Citation: The Latest Example of Survival of the Fittest..