As Buck watched the other dogs chow down on their food, his breath warmed his chest as he let out a low growl to Spitz. The sly Spitz had taken Buck’s food and outsmarted him. Buck soon learned that living in this condition would require new knowledge and a quick thinking mind. Even though other dogs are almost as wild as he is, Buck possesses the quality of intelligence. In Jack London’s The Call of the Wild, his intelligence allows him to become the only member of his pack to survive because of his shrewd hasty actions, his ability to weigh out consequences, and his flexibility in adapting to his new environment.
Buck has the ability to make quick but intelligent decisions with little or no time to think about it. Buck has to make these conclusions in circumstances such as when he saves Thornton from getting carried away in the river. “Buck had sprung in on the instant; and at the end of three hundred yards, amid a mad swirl of water, he overhauled Thornton” (Page 65). As soon as Thornton falls into the rapids, Buck leaps to his feet without thinking twice if he should risk his life or not. As Buck went to save Thornton from the river, he put his own life at risk to save Thornton. He also used this quality in the final fight against Spitz. In the fight, Buck has to think quickly on what he will do, such as to leap out of the way or attack. Buck has the advantage of hasty but shrewd thinking, which helps him with the fight and stay out of danger’s path. The quality allowing him to make decisions in life or death situations helps him survive in the middle of the harsh, cold wilderness.
Faced with tough decisions, Buck has the ability to weigh out the consequences of each side of a problem. Buck is faced with tough choices he nev...
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...in his pack. These qualities combined make him a strong dog that is able to become the single survivor of his pack.
Buck’s intelligence allows him to become the only member of his pack to become strong and smart enough to survive. He has a gut feeling that there is danger just up ahead and realizes that his pack is not strong enough to handle it. He rebels against Hal, refusing to get up even when he was dying from the beatings. As soon as he was out of harm’s way, he did not help the rest of the dogs break loose from their lashings, but instead sits quietly watching them. He knows that they were too scared or too weak to rebel against Hal and his club and did as they were told, even though they knew it would lead them to danger. Buck’s incredible intelligence allows him to rebel and not face the fate the rest of his pack faced that cold winter day on the icy lake.
Then over the course of the novel Buck transforms into a wild dog as a result of being thrown into the Klondike regions of Canada. While in the wild Buck abandons morals in order to survive because in the wild the strongest dogs rules and there is no right or wrong. Through Buck’s transformation the differences between the wilderness and civilization are highlighted. In civilization people abide by the rules and act based on their moral opinions. However in the wild the strongest man will survive while the weak will not thrive. Darwin’s theory of survival of the fittest has a strong relevance in the book because Buck a young strong dog conquers and rules over the older dogs and the weaker
What is human nature? How does William Golding use it in such a simple story of English boys to precisely illustrate how truly destructive humans can be? Golding was in World War Two, he saw how destructive humans can be, and how a normal person can go from a civilized human beign into savages. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses the theme of human nature to show how easily society can collapse, and how self-destructive human nature is. Throughout the story Golding conveys a theme of how twisted and sick human nature can lead us to be. Many different parts of human nature can all lead to the collapse of society. Some of the aspects of human nature Golding plugged into the book are; destruction, demoralization, hysteria and panic. These emotions all attribute to the collapse of society. Golding includes character, conflict, and as well as symbolism to portray that men are inherently evil.
In Call of the Wild Buck is forced to mature and persevere through great loss. When Buck is initially sold he gets his first look at the primitive world around him. At the same time he loses Judge Miller, his caretaker. This is how Buck loses family. Buck also loses his best friend after he's taken from his family. Bucks dog friend, Curly gets killed in the early phases of the book. this really gives Buck a look at how savage the real world is. Bucks losses don't end there,Buck also
As Buck’s journey continues, he gets a taste of how sweet and bitter death can be. Dogs and men answer the call of their savage natures and their terrifying environment in a violent, bloody, and continual struggle for survival (Mann 1). The harsh environment creates a sense of survival of the fittest. The men beat the dogs to keep them going to reach their destination. The dogs fight to stay alive and in some cases, fight to be dominant. Buck fights and kills Spitz, who was the lead the dog. Buck stood and looked on, the successful champion, the dominant primordial beast who had made his kill and found it good (London 99). After killing spitz, Buck assumes the lead position. This shows ho...
A quick learner, he adapts well to the sled dog life. His heritage also helped him become accustomed to the harsh Klondike climate. Some difficulties such as sore feet and a voracious appetite set him back at the beginning, but he speedily overcomes them. Buck goes through several masters and many thousands of miles. Along the way, he learns “The Law of Club and Fang”: never challenge a human that has a weapon, and once a fighting dog falls to the ground, roaming huskies quickly destroy it.
The Call Of Jack London During a time when man had gold fever, and philosophical views plagued the minds of many, one man took these views and turned them into great outdoor adventures. John “Jack” Griffith London, a twentieth century author, wrote The Call of the Wild, other novels, and short stories that depict the philosophical views of the time and added adventure to them by using his own life experiences that carried thousands of men including himself to the Klondike in search of gold. In Winter 1876 San Francisco John and Flora London shared the joy of childbirth in the celebration of their only child together. They named the baby boy John Griffith London, or Jack for short.
The novella The Call of the Wild is a story of Buck overcoming challenges while being thrown into the real world and learning new traits like persistence and resilience. Protagonist Buck is a colossal St Bernards cross Scotch shepherd dog, transforms from a humble house dog and then eventually returns to a primordial state as a best of the wild. Along the way he is faced with an endless array of challenges. London achieves this by portraying Buck’s change in character in a manner that explores and incorporates diverse motifs.
Jack London’s classic novel, Call of the Wild, published in 1903, has been subject to censorship attempts. The most notable attempts of censorship are centered in Nazi Germany, Italy, Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union. The banning of Call of the Wild in these places has been for varying reasons but the predominant reason behind all the attempts is because of “[Jack London’s] socialist sympathies.”1 However, “violent portrayals [have also] led to the book’s banning”2 in different places other than Nazi Germany, Italy, Yugoslavia, and the Soviet Union.
(28) First, Buck begins by hunting wild game. (29) For example, Buck kills a black bear and a bull moose and eats from their corpses. (30) Since Buck can kill his own meat and consume it, he is nearly wild. (31) Second, Yeehat Indians attack John Thornton’s camp unleashing Buck's wildness. (32) For instance, Buck, who no longer recognizes Man’s laws, slaughters the Yeehats despite their weapons, “…they heard a fearful roar and saw rushing upon them an animal the like of which they had never seen before. (33) Buck, a hurricane of fury, hurled himself on them in a frenzy to destroy.” (35) Since Buck can attack and kill Man, he is now wild. (36) Last, Buck joins a wolf pack. (37) For example, Buck is confronted by a wolf pack and must battle his way into the pack. (38) Since Buck will eventually lead and pack and pass on his superior natural traits to his offspring, Buck, a descendant of the wild, has answered the call of the wild. (39) In conclusion, Buck has found his true identity as a wild animal.
First of all, the protagonist of The Call of the Wild, Buck, is a complete alpha dog. Realistically, nobody can catch up to Bucks skill level. Buck’s muscles became as hard as iron, and he grew callous to all ordinary
First off, Buck shows an act of heroism when he backs up and defends John Thornton at a bar. A very evil-tempered and malicious man named Burton was trying to pick a fight with the tenderfoot at the bar, and John Thornton came in between the two men. Without warning, Burton struck Thornton across the face. Instantly Buck hurled himself into Burton. “Those who were looking on heard what was neither bark nor yelp, but a something which is best described as a roar, and they saw Buck’s body rise up in the air as he left the floor for Burton’s throat” (87). Buck had to be pried off of Burton, so he didn’t kill him. Buck almost killed a man who only punched Thornton. If Buck had no civilization in him like critics said, he wouldn’t have defended his master. It even said in the book, “But his reputation was made, and from that day his name spread through every camp in Alaska” (87). This reputation he made was, “If you set a finger on John Thornton and Buck was around, be ready to get your head ripped off”. The only reason he had this reputation was because of the intense love he had for his owner, and a
First, we're going to talk about Buck's strength through the things that he faces and how he adapts to the circumstances. Being that Buck's character doesn't have any speaking parts one get a true sense of how Buck feels through the imagery throughout the story As the story begins we meet Buck, who is a spoiled, carefree and loved pet to Judge Miller in the "sun-kissed" Santa Clara val...
In The Call Of The Wild Buck was taken away from his happy life, and put into situations that make it difficult to persevere and stay optimistic. When Buck’s friend Curly died he learned that people, even his closest friends will be gone eventually. In the beginning of the book when Buck got beat by the man in the red sweater he felt even more trapped and unable to persevere after realizing that his life was never going to be the same anymore. After Buck's first
In The Call of the Wild, Buck finds comfort in his relationships with man. When he is initially removed from Judge Miller's house in Santa Clara Valley, he is given his first exposure to the wild where, "every moment life and limb were in peril" (London 31). But soon he finds himself not entirely ready to leave civilization and answer the call of the wild, because he must first experience love. Buck establishes a relationship with John Thornton, and "love, genuine passionate love, was his for the fir...
In doing so, he creates a character that acts like an animal, but thinks like a man. His humanity is what allows him to survive under the rule of man. He understands his role as being inferior to man, but superior to the other dogs. Buck learns that the men and dogs around him “knew no law but the law of club and fang” (London 15). Therefore, Buck adapts and abides by this law, creating a place for himself in the social hierarchy of the Northland. “The ability to keep his mental strength, even when his physical energy was sapped, is one thing that separates Buck from the other dogs” (Kumin 103). Although all dogs are the heroes in The Call of the Wild, Buck connects the most with the reader. As the story is told through his perspective, the reader empathizes with Buck more than the other dogs. The mental strength that Kumin references in the above quote stems from Buck’s human characteristics. Buck is a character that exemplifies the traits of all men, including Jack London himself. His human spirit makes this connection possible, and creates a bond between Buck and the