Jack London’s The Call of the Wild is nothing short of an amazing piece of literary work. It was beautifully written and really puts you into the perspective of a dog who was kidnapped, beaten, forced into being a sled dog, abused, and then being rescued before having his heart broken and joining a wolf pack. It’s insane how much you can actually feel for this dog. I mean animals automatically get a vote of empathy from anyone with a heart, but this particular novel, while short, packs a whallop.
Buck is such a strong character, despite being a dog, and has probably become my hero. It love Buck, he has proven to have the sharpest instincts and the strongest will of any character I had ever encountered in my readings. If only this book was as widely read now as it was in the sixties. Oh well I guess a book has to give up the spotlight sooner or later, but this book shouldn’t have. This dog withstood horrible conditions and was able to do amazing things out of will to survive and even more amazing things out of love.
The two most powerful, and admittedly violent, scenes: Buck fighting Spitz for supremacy, the intensity of the fight and the strong will to live and fight and win is so strong that you find yourself rooting for Buck and have no problems with the gore and insane violence of the scene. The violence almost becomes ok because you know what is on the line and you know the stakes. The second, and arguably more powerful scene, was when Buck was avenging John Thorton by killing a surprising number of Yeehat Indians. You’ve watched Buck fall in love with John and do anything for him and to protect him. The heartbreak and anger that he feels becomes yours when you realize the slaughter that happened before Buck came along. His actions almost becomes justified as he slowly loses touch with the world of humans and gives into the ancient wolf instincts that were buried in his genetic code. The heartbreak was over the top and you felt for Buck. I still think he was the most amazing dog in the world, and the fact that he was based off of a real life dog that was really kidnapped when everyone decided to go up to the Yukon. It strikes a cord.