Essay On The Call Of The Wild

The Call of the Wild Final Essay
Barbara Kingsolver said, “A dog can’t think that much about what he’s doing, he just does what feels right.” This can be shown in The Call of the Wild by Jack London. In the novel, Buck does what he feels and follows his instinct. He goes after his instincts, but still feels the influence of the different masters he had. All the masters affected Buck in some way, whether the effects were positive or negative. Buck’s owners changed his job, his personality, and his feelings. Owners that changed Buck’s life were Francois and Perrault, Charles, Hal, and Mercedes, and John Thornton. Throughout the novel, Buck’s different owners help him learn to be a sled dog, feel true weakness, and experience love for the first time.
Francois and Perrault were two French-Canadian mail carriers. Buck learned that they were fair men, treated all the dogs equally, and were too smart in the way of dogs to be fooled. Buck learns many things while Francois and Perrault were his owners, such as following orders and pulling the sled. The book states about Buck, “...He knew enough to stop at ‘ho’, to go ahead at ‘mush’, to swing wide on the bends, and to keep clear of the wheeler when the loaded sled shot downhill at their heels” (17). Francois and Perrault influence Buck by making him a hard-working sled dog. Although Buck’s owner, Hal, would beat him, Francois and Perrault were kinder to Buck. Both men wanted a hard-working team, but were not cruel to the sled dogs. Even though they did not show much affection, Buck respected them and followed their commands. Francois and Perrault weren’t the most loving masters, but they respected the dogs and treated them