Jack London
A Study of Jack London’s Belief in Darwinism
Jack London has a strong belief in Darwinism, survival of the fittest, during the
late 1800’s through the early 1900’s, when he wrote. Throughout his writings, many
characters display London’s belief in Darwinism. In the novel, The Call of the Wild,
Jack London’s belief in social darwinism is portrayed by animals interacting with
humans, each other, and the environment. This can be shown through Buck, a house dog
turned sled dog, interacting with his masters, other dogs, and the Yukon wilderness.
As Buck travels from master to master throughout the course of the novel he
learns, through trial and error, what behavior brings rewards, and that which brings
punishment.
[Buck] had never been struck by a club in his life, and did
not understand. ...he was [now] aware that it was a club,
but his madness knew no caution. A dozen times he
charged, and as often the club broke the charge and smashed
him down (London 18).
Buck “...had learned the lesson, and in all his after life he never forgot it. That club was a revelation. ...the lesson was driven home to Buck: a man with a club was a lawgiver, a master to be obeyed...” (London 20). Buck learned to do as his masters say. “...he grew honestly to respect them. He speedily learned that Perrault and Francois were fair men...” (London 21). Buck also learned when and how to defend himself against man.
London’s depiction of Buck’s struggle to learn how to survive in an unfamiliar
environment has been compared to western society’s struggle with encroaching communism. “The study of Jack London’s work became a mirror of the turbulent McCarthy era...” (Veggian 2). Through these struggles, Buck was able to adapt and survive in a world controlled by man.
Buck also had to learn when and how to fight other dogs. Eventually Buck
Fought and killed Spitz to become lead dog. “Buck stood and looked on, the successful
champion, the dominant primordial beast who had made his kill and found it good”
(London 42). London often witnessed these dog fights and this influenced his writing.
“...he found the first successful theme for his writing in a last frontier splurge...” (Walker 12). Although Buck had troubles with his new peers, he also had a great conflict with his new home.
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
Buck undertook the mission of learning how to survive in the wild. Buck, a domesticated dog, was stolen and forced into the Klondike. He had to learn how to survive so he adapted by following the law of Club and Fang. He respected
London implements his new view of life—“human beings are one and the same despite their class, creed, nationality or social status or colour of the skin and they differ only by their deeds”5—in his writings. “[London shows] his [view] in his novel 'Call of the Wild '. The protagonist of the novel is a dog-named Buck. The dog serves the master throughout its life and when there is no space among men, it goes back to its ancestors, wolfs.”6 Buck represents humanity in the novel. Buck’s deed is serving his master, but at the end of the day, Buck returns to his fellow beings, wolfs. These socialist undertones of uniformity in The Call of the Wild are the direct cause for its censorship in Nazi Germany, Italy, Yugoslavia, and the Soviet
Throughout the novel The Call of the Wild Buck is thrown into a vast amount of obstacles. Buck is a half Saint Bernard and Half Sheepdog who is stolen from a home in California. He was then sold as a sled dog in the arctic where he would begin his adventure. Buck undergoes many challenges that can be related to human beings. The two experiences that everyone goes through are love and death. According to Jack London in The Call of the Wild, love and death are portrayed as bitter, sweet, and deadly.
Jack London was one of America’s greatest authors. His works were of tales from the unexplored savage lands of the Klondike to the cannibal infested Philippine Island chain of the vast Pacific, and even the far reaches of space and time. Jack London himself was a pioneer of the unexplored savage frontier. London wrote about this unknown frontier with a cunning sense of adventure and enthrallment. “He keeps the reader on tenterenters books by withholding facts in a way that makes him participate in the action'; (Charles Child Walcutt 16). He taunts the reader with unfulfilled information that subliminally encourages the reader to continue reading their selection. “The tortuously baroque style, it’s telling often proves an annoyance';(Gorman Beauchamp 297-303). London’s writing attributes are so deep in description and narration, the reader sometimes perceives the story-taking place with them included in the action. His ability to exclude just the very miniscule amount of information transforms his books into a semi-formal mystery. Mr. London’s tales deal with nature, the men and women who either neglected the fact that they are mere mortals, or they humbled themselves as being only a solitary one being on the earth. His stories satisfied the civilized American readers yearn for knowledge of what awaited them over the horizon, with either promise of prosperity or demise with a manifestation of dismay.
Fang the main character is a gray cub wolf. Wolves in this novels were used
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.
Throughout the novella London uses various figurative language techniques to portray Buck’s gain of knowledge of the wild. From the beginning of the novella Buck’s life is easy and calm, then when he is forced to become a sled dog he is disorientated and is confused to what is happening. He progressively learns more things about the real world and starts to understand it. At the start of the novella London shows that at Judge Miller’s house he is the king and he is the one in charge. This is show when London writes “And over this great demesne Buck ruled.”. Lat...
As an adolescent, Jack London led an impoverished life and struggled to earn more money to support himself and his mother. In an attempt to find a small fortune, London joined the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897. Unfortunately, he returned home penniless. However, his adventures in the Yukon provided him the most epic experiences that guided him into writing some of his most famous, widely acclaimed literary works. His novels focus primarily on naturalism, a type of literature in which the characters are shaped by their environment through the practice of scientific principles. The author centralizes his themes around this literary technique. Jack London’s naturalistic portrayal of his characters explores the brutal truth of humans versus animals and the struggle for survival.
Buck has left the Santa Clara Valley; his bubble where he felt no love or mutual friendship. Buck is experiencing love for the first time, while experiencing the call and joy of the wild for the first time; and couldn't be happier. An example of this is when it is described that “Sometimes he thought of Judge Miller’s big house in the sun-kissed Santa Clara Valley, and of the cement swimming-tank, and Ysabel, the Mexican hairless, and Toots, the Japanese pug; but oftener he remembered the man in the red sweater, the death of Curly, the great fight with Spitz, and the good things he had eaten or would like to eat.” (54). This quote gives proof to how Buck doesn't want that life anymore; he is happier in the Yukon with John Thornton in the wild then he ever was with Judge or his family, all while getting to be part of the wild life that he so desires. He has love now. John Thornton drives Buck into this crazy frenzy of love and joy that makes it so that Buck doesn't even give the Santa Clara Valley a second thought. The final reflection of Buck’s newfound happiness is when London says that, “Deep in the forest a call was sounding, and as often as he heard this call, mysteriously thrilling and luring, he felt compelled to turn his back upon the fire and the beaten earth around it, the call sounding imperiously, deep in the forest. But as often as he gained the soft unbroken earth and
John Griffith London, who is considered by many to be America’s finest author, was born January 12, 1876 in San Francisco, California to an unmarried mother of a wealthy background, Flora Wellman. His father is thought to have been William Chaney, a Journalist, lawyer and major figure in the development of American Astrology. Because Flora was ill, an ex-slave, Virginia Prentiss, who would remain a major maternal influence during the boy’s childhood, raised Jack through infancy. Late in 1876, Flora married John London, a disabled Civil War veteran. The family moved to Oakland, where Jack completed grade school and would develop his love of the outdoors.
“In Buck’s bad dreams, Jack recorded his own childish fears of cold, deprivation, and solitude, as well as compulsion always to be free and roving…” (Sinclair 49). While in John Thornton’s company, Buck dreams of a primal man with whom he walks through the forest, on the edge of the wilderness. The dreams beckon to him and encourage him to give in to his instincts. They fill him with “a great unrest and strange desires” and cause him to feel a “vague, sweet gladness” (London 71). His visions both frighten and intrigue him, until eventually he pursues the call and ventures into the wild. London feared being alone, but knew he could not thrive in a confined, suburban life. This fear, London believed, is rooted in all men. They are subdued by their fear, yet it also lures them to return to their beginnings. “…Jack believed that people respond to the literature of fear and nightmare, because fear is deep in the roots of the race. However civilized men think they are, fear remains their deepest emotion” (Sinclair 49). Buck is a civilized dog who turns into a savage beast. When Buck understands his deep-rooted fears, he is able to ‘turn back the clock’ and complete his transformation into a primordial animal. London explains that this transformation can be undergone by all men if they conquer their fears as Buck
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...
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...
Jack London was an American man of many talents, which included being an author, journalist and a social activist, despite being minimally educated. Nonetheless, he was undoubtedly most recognized for his short stories and novels that fixated on the harsh, cold climates that Mother Nature crafted. London focused on a deeper level of the wild and the literary devices in his work are littered throughout every one of his novels and short stories, including The Call of the Wild, White Fang, as well as “To Build a Fire.”