W Essay, Research Paper

By Jack Londen

Throughout the novel The Call of the Wild, we follow a dog named Buck

through his journey through the Klondike. We experience a transformation

in him, as he adapts to the cold, harsh land where he is forced to toil in

the snow, just to help men find a shiny metal. Buck seems to almost

transform into a different dog by the end of the book. In this essay, I

will go over what Buck was like, how and why he was forced to adapt to his

new environment, and what he changed into.

When we first met up with Buck, he lived in the Santa Clara Valley, on

Judge Miller’s property. He was the ruler of his domain, uncontested by any

other local dogs. he was a mix between a St. Bernard and a Scotch Shepherd

dog. He weighed one hundred and forty pounds, and he carried every one with

utmost pride. Buck had everything he could want. Little did he know, he

would soon have it all taken away from him. One night, while the judge was

away at a raisin grower’s committee meeting, the gardener, Manuel, took

Buck away from his home. Buck was then sold, and thrown in a baggage car.

This would be the beginning of a new, cruel life for Buck. On his ride to

wherever he was going, Buck’s pride was severely damaged, if not completely

wiped out by men who used tools to restrain him. No matter how many times

Buck tried to lunge, he would just be choked into submission at the end.

When Buck arrived at his destination, there was snow everywhere, not to

mention the masses of Husky and wolf dogs. Buck was thrown into a pen with

a man who had a club. This is where Buck would learn one of the two most

important laws that a dog could know in the Klondike. The law of club is

quite simple, if there is a man with a club, a dog would be better off not

to challenge that man. Buck learned this law after he was beaten half to

death by the man who had the club. no matter what he tried, he just

couldn’t win.

Buck was sold off to a man who put him in a harness connected to many other

dogs. Buck was bad at first, but eventually, he learned the way of trace

and trail. Buck had to learn many things if he was to survive in this

frigid land. He had to learn to sleep under the snow, and to eat his food

as fast as possible so as not to have it stolen. At about this point in the

book, we see Buck start to go through a metamorphosis of sorts. He

transforms from a house dog to a more primitive, savage version of his

former self. It was as if hundreds of years of knowledge, learned by his

ancestors, were dug up and brought out. Buck proceeded to lose all the fat

in his body and replace it with muscle. Buck was no longer Judge Miller’s

pet. He was a machine of survival and triumph. Most Southland dogs like him

ended up dead because of their inability to conform. Buck was born to lead

the team, but one dog would do everything possible to try and keep him down.

This dog’s name was Spitz. Spitz was a white wolf dog who was a proven

champion in confrontation and was as crafty as they come. It was clear that

he and Buck would not work well together. When dogs have confrontation in

the Klondike, only one survives. This was because of a law called fang. The

law of Fang is such that, when two dogs fight and one is knocked to the

ground, that is it. The rest of the spectators will instantly pounce on the

downed dog and make quick work of it.

All of these unspoken rules had turned Buck into the Best dog to ever roam

the Klondike. Buck did eventually fight Spitz and send him to his death.

After all of the transformations and cruelty he had been through, you would

think that Buck would never be able to trust another human. He was being

starved to death by a gold seeking group who had not brought enough food

for the dogs. When Buck could finally not move another step, a man from the

group started to beat Buck. As the blows grew less and less painful, and he

was fading farther and farther, Buck knew he was dying. While Buck was

being beaten, a man named John Thornton came fort and took Buck from his

attacker. The man nursed Buck back to health, and from that day forward,

Buck lived for that man. Buck loved him with all his being.

After being with this man for quite some time, Buck started to hear a call

from far away. He started paying more and more attention to thiscall. He

went out for days at a time searching for it’s source. This call was the

call of the wild. He had a will to go off and be with other dogs. He felt

the urge to be free from man and catch his own food. One day, Buck finally

left for good. He was excepted by a pack of wolves who treated him like a

wolf himself. And so the transformation was complete. Buck had changed from

a dog, to a beast of nature.

175b

By Jack Londen

Throughout the novel The Call of the Wild, we follow a dog named Buck

through his journey through the Klondike. We experience a transformation

in him, as he adapts to the cold, harsh land where he is forced to toil in

the snow, just to help men find a shiny metal. Buck seems to almost

transform into a different dog by the end of the book. In this essay, I

will go over what Buck was like, how and why he was forced to adapt to his

new environment, and what he changed into.

When we first met up with Buck, he lived in the Santa Clara Valley, on

Judge Miller’s property. He was the ruler of his domain, uncontested by any

other local dogs. he was a mix between a St. Bernard and a Scotch Shepherd

dog. He weighed one hundred and forty pounds, and he carried every one with

utmost pride. Buck had everything he could want. Little did he know, he

would soon have it all taken away from him. One night, while the judge was

away at a raisin grower’s committee meeting, the gardener, Manuel, took

Buck away from his home. Buck was then sold, and thrown in a baggage car.

This would be the beginning of a new, cruel life for Buck. On his ride to

wherever he was going, Buck’s pride was severely damaged, if not completely

wiped out by men who used tools to restrain him. No matter how many times

Buck tried to lunge, he would just be choked into submission at the end.

When Buck arrived at his destination, there was snow everywhere, not to

mention the masses of Husky and wolf dogs. Buck was thrown into a pen with

a man who had a club. This is where Buck would learn one of the two most

important laws that a dog could know in the Klondike. The law of club is

quite simple, if there is a man with a club, a dog would be better off not

to challenge that man. Buck learned this law after he was beaten half to

death by the man who had the club. no matter what he tried, he just

couldn’t win.

Buck was sold off to a man who put him in a harness connected to many other

dogs. Buck was bad at first, but eventually, he learned the way of trace

and trail. Buck had to learn many things if he was to survive in this

frigid land. He had to learn to sleep under the snow, and to eat his food

as fast as possible so as not to have it stolen. At about this point in the

book, we see Buck start to go through a metamorphosis of sorts. He

transforms from a house dog to a more primitive, savage version of his

former self. It was as if hundreds of years of knowledge, learned by his

ancestors, were dug up and brought out. Buck proceeded to lose all the fat

in his body and replace it with muscle. Buck was no longer Judge Miller’s

pet. He was a machine of survival and triumph. Most Southland dogs like him

ended up dead because of their inability to conform. Buck was born to lead

the team, but one dog would do everything possible to try and keep him down.

This dog’s name was Spitz. Spitz was a white wolf dog who was a proven

champion in confrontation and was as crafty as they come. It was clear that

he and Buck would not work well together. When dogs have confrontation in

the Klondike, only one survives. This was because of a law called fang. The

law of Fang is such that, when two dogs fight and one is knocked to the

ground, that is it. The rest of the spectators will instantly pounce on the

downed dog and make quick work of it.

All of these unspoken rules had turned Buck into the Best dog to ever roam

the Klondike. Buck did eventually fight Spitz and send him to his death.

After all of the transformations and cruelty he had been through, you would

think that Buck would never be able to trust another human. He was being

starved to death by a gold seeking group who had not brought enough food

for the dogs. When Buck could finally not move another step, a man from the

group started to beat Buck. As the blows grew less and less painful, and he

was fading farther and farther, Buck knew he was dying. While Buck was

being beaten, a man named John Thornton came fort and took Buck from his

attacker. The man nursed Buck back to health, and from that day forward,

Buck lived for that man. Buck loved him with all his being.

After being with this man for quite some time, Buck started to hear a call

from far away. He started paying more and more attention to thiscall. He

went out for days at a time searching for it’s source. This call was the

call of the wild. He had a will to go off and be with other dogs. He felt

the urge to be free from man and catch his own food. One day, Buck finally

left for good. He was excepted by a pack of wolves who treated him like a

wolf himself. And so the transformation was complete. Buck had changed from

a dog, to a beast of nature.