Call Of The Wild Theme Essay

3/28/2012
Period 8
Theme of The Call of the Wild

In The Call of the Wild by Jack London, Buck, the main character, transformed from a domesticated, pampered pet into a dominant primordial beast. Buck goes throroundings, and finally when he answers the call. London also shows that when Buck becomes more primitive he’s inner wildness comes out. In the beginning, when Buck was thrown into the harsh hostile Yukon Buck needed to learn to survive in a more primitive environment. He needed to learn that he needed to become less civilized to survive, so he was forced to become more primitive. Buck's first day was like a nightmare. Every hour was fipeace, rest, or even a moment of safety. All was confusion and action, and every moment life
and limb were in serious danger. Buck was treated like a king at a big house in the sun-kissed Santa Clara Valley, and wasn’t used to the conditions in the Yukon. He never was beaten in his civilized life but once he arrived to the Yukon he experienced getting hit with a club. The law of club, you get hit from not obeying what someone tells you and Buck needed to change his ways and follow the rule if he was going to become more primitive. Arriving to the Yukon Buck had learned an important rule; the law of club, Buck had to obey everyone with a club. The law of fang was also a very important lesson Buck needed to know, it was one of the biggest rules that could cost your death. It was once your down your dead “fair game” Buck then knew he’d have to become more primitive by fighting back or he won’t ever get back up. His instinct began to come out so he can master the things he needed to know and eating was a huge part of that too. “When he {Buck} saw Pike, one of the new dogs, a clever malingerer and thief, slyly steal a slice of bacon when Perrault’s back was turned, he duplicated the performance the following day, getting away with the whole chunk” (London 37). This quote shows that by Buck stealing the food he becomes more primitive because it teaches him that he has to eat his food fast before others try to steal it. Once Buck survived in the Yukon he now is taken on the task to becoming more primitive. Now that Buck has learned the basics of surviving in the wild and has adapted by coming more primitive he will now begin to learn how to fight and Buck discovers the beast within’ him.
Buck and his team fought off wild huskies, he loves the way of killing one as sinking his teeth into the huskies jugular. As Buck got the warm taste of blood in his mouth he flung himself into others and he loved that he felt so fierce. After getting the taste of blood Buck was attached to it, he wanted it. He enjoyed the thrill of killing, he saw a rabbit leaping upon the grounds, Buck approached it by chasing the rabbit. Buck wanted to sink his teeth into some warm blood, he lusted it. He had become more primitive, becoming stronger and more cautious. Buck learns he has become stronger than most of the other dogs and is able to fight and even kill them. His very first victim is Spitz, Buck was finally done with Spitz and how he thought he was better than all the other dogs, so Buck finally bursts out and starts to attack him, attacking him with all his power, it ends up Buck has once and for all killed Spitz. “Buck stood and looked on, the successful champion, and the dominant primordial beast who had made his kill and found it good” (67). This quote shows how Buck came nd is adapting to the primitive environment. Although Buck has found his primitive side he now wants to answer the call to
wild.
Finally Buck has answered the call and is now released into the wild. Buck having the knowledge and complete strength has now known how to attack the moose that he has been wwould repeatedly try to attack the moose over a good amount of days and then was able to approach it with being at most sneaky. He would sneak up on the moose and lay down on the ground, while slithering like a snake to w how to make a good attack upon the moose and learned a valuable strategy. Buck turned into a courageous monster of the wild; he killed all the Yee-hat Indians, Buck leaped at the Indians, ripping open the throat of the chief, and kept killing untilway in terror. For a few moments, Buck pursues them, killing a few more as they attempt to flee. Buck is no longer the pampered pet he used to be, he is the full dominant primordial beast that has developed during the way. “The wolves swung behind, yelping in chtually going to become, he came in touch with his inner wild, and take over him and he has accomplished being the master of the wild.