One of the major theme London presents through his character’s Buck and Spitz is that competition has the potential to be negative. Buck and Spitz are both dedicated members of an Alaskan dog sled team. They are both competing for the most coveted position on their team, the leader. “Dave was the wheeler or sled dog, pulling in front of him was Buck, then came Soleks; the rest of the team was strung ahead, single file, to the leader, which position was filled by Spitz”(London 12). There is conflict amongst the dogs to obtain this position, and Buck and Spitz will do anything to make sure they get it. The leader gets the most respect from the others and has the greatest responsibility on the team, and it is similar to the role of a captain in sports like basketball or football. The competition to be the best on the team and have the best spot on the team causes rivalry. …show more content…
Spitz “went out of his way to bully Buck, striving constantly to start a fight which could end only in the death of one or the other” (15). Eventually, Buck kills Spitz as a result of one of their fights. Their tension grew so strong that Buck and Spitz begin fighting to the death. This extreme is a way for London to examine the effects competition can have. Although he uses their rivalry as a way to improve their skills, he ultimately chooses to show the negatives of this concept. Rivalry is the cause of Spitz’s death, and it began with competition. Hence, London holds a negative connotation for the competition between Buck and Spitz, and he utilizes these two characters to exemplify his
Two best friends are torn apart. A man meticulously plots revenge on the person who got the job he was dying for. A nation is full of rage and fear because another country beat them in the race to walk on the moon. Sadly, all of these situations were caused by one thing, competition. In Alfie Kohn’s essay, “Competition Is Destructive”, he describes competition as having a “toxic effect on our relationships”(11). Although competition has many positive effects in this world, when talking specifically about relationships, whether it be between best friends, two strangers, or even entire nations, it fuels negative feelings and attitudes that transform people into monsters.
The story explains that this particular team was a group of underdogs who were able to use an exhausting strategy against teams that were far more talented than them. Using this story as a reference, Malcolm was able to explain that in this situation, being an underdog can give an edge because the team was able to “try things no one else even dreamt of.” (37) The strategy used by this team was then contrasted with the fact that if a talented team were to have tried the full-court press strategy, they would not have the motivation to successfully execute the strategy. Furthermore, Gladwell contrasted ideas was by using the Big Fish - Little Pond Theory, which he used to look into the advantages and disadvantages of students attending very good colleges versus mediocre colleges. After looking closely into this theory, Gladwell was able to find that the “best students from mediocre schools” (87) happened to almost always be a “better bet than students from the very best schools.” (87) Simply, what this means is that while it might seem to be a good
Winning isn’t always a piece of cake, sometimes it takes more than what one’s expected to do. People have to work very hard to achieve that goal. Abraham Okimasis is a man who thinks it would be a great idea to join a dog race. He has a wife, they will be celebrating their 21st anniversary. He is willing to do anything to win. Abraham shows a few signs of quitting throughout the excerpt but he doesn’t give up. In this excerpt, the author uses hyperbole and imagery to show how important it is for Okimasis to conquer the ride.
A prominent theme in the book Seabiscuit is the existence of generational rivals. During The Great Depression many people focused their attention on the horse racing business. With this booming trend making many rich during a time of immense poverty, I find it no surprise that there is a father son rivalry. Often in competition there will always be a struggle between the older, more experienced competitor and the young up and coming superstars, this is brought on by a constant need for dominance which is created by human nature.
A repeated point made throughout the book was the fight for dominance between the dogs. In a canine hierarchy, the dogs on the top are generally established through physical dominance over the other dogs. Generally speaking, physical superiority means that it is ordinarily the largest dogs that have the highest ranks. Prince quickly embraces the new language and begins creating poetry. Prince’s artful expression of words makes the
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.
In Alaska, Buck is sold to become a sled dog. Intelligent and hard working, he quickly learns to adapt to his new life. He becomes a good sled dog, working as part of the team; he also learns how to protect himself from the miserable cold, burrowing under the snow, and how to find food, stealing if necessary. He also learns he must always be alert, for there are dangers everywhere. Additionally, Buck learns the law of the whip, for if he does not obey the driver or do his fair share of pulling, he will be popped.
There are many aspects that determine how humans behave around one another. This is shown throughout William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies. This book is about a group of British boys that are stranded on an island without any adults due to a plane crash. At first, all goes well; the boys cooperate in attempting to maintain the fire signal, gather food and making shelters. However, human nature takes over and their democracy that they have created fails. This leads to the majority of the boys becoming complete savages when the evil within them takes over. Different qualities help determine whether a person is a good or a bad leader. Although, Piggy and Jack have some leadership qualities, Ralph is the best leader.
Competition is an incredibly strong and driving power that each individual contains. Whether it be against friends, siblings, teammates, coworkers, or even ourselves, every person experiences competition. Depending on the nature of a person, a competitive feeling can be felt monthly, weekly, daily, or even hourly. The emotion of competitiveness is felt at different types and at varying levels among every person. For example, a male football player may feel more rivalry during a football game versus a female cheerleader attending the same match. Every person will experience the thrill of competition, but at differing amounts and situations. Some individuals feel competitiveness usually in the pursuit of obtaining something, such as a title
In Harrison, competition is looked at as a major cause of destruction. The handicaps are put in place to try to prevent the Dark Ages again by making sure nobody can compete with each other. The General shoots Harrison as an attempt to stop him from encouraging competition and destroying the system they put in place . Due to the extreme measures the government took, everyone attempts to take away the competition. An example of this is shown when Hazel’s encourages a stuttering news reporter by saying “at least he tried”. In today’s society, signs that competition is a major cause of destruction are beginning to show. One example is that some people believe the wrong person was chosen for president and are trying to prevent him from taking office. Today, people will go to extremes to please themselves. Cheating is a good example, seeing how some people will try to disable others to win. Competition is becoming less important, however. At some sports with younger kids, no trophies are given or, in other instances, they will reward everyone with a
The narrator prepares the reader for the fight between Buck and Spitz by building up the tension between Buck and Spitz. The story first starts off with how Spitz feels threatened by Buck. However Buck tries to avoid conflict as much as possible until Spitz steals Buck’s hole. This is where Buck begins to despise Spitz and realizes that only one of them could be left. As the chapter continues to progress, it tells of how their tensions grows worst until one day Spitz steals a rabbit that Buck was chasing with a few other dogs. This leads to the real fight between Spitz and Buck, unfortunately it seems as if Spitz would win the fight because of his experience in fighting. However Buck was able to fake out Spitz and was able to cripple his leg
Competition is a natural part of all nature. Weather it is for a scrap of food on the ground or the top of the podium. Everything on earth has to compete for survival. Some compete for survival like food or some compete for fun in things like sports. Competition can be seen as a positive aspect of society but it can also be viewed a negative part. Competition can teach individuals to set goals and have the drive to achieve these goals, but it can also bring hostility, and when winning at all costs is stressed, can negatively affect individuals.
But under Brooks’s training and with Brooks as a slight common enemy for the group, the boys who once were pitted against each other, become a strong, clean team and gain success. The mismatched group of kids went through their struggles early on in their process as they didn’t know how to work as a team, but after being broken down after their first game, a tie against the Norwegian national team, they started to think like a unit and began to run like a true team on the ice. An article by umbrella.org.nz explains perfectly how teamwork is important in success: “A strong team will provide an environment that fosters and supports individuals to enhance and maintain their resilience.” The best team is able to highlight the strengths of all their members instead of individuals carrying the rest of their team. If one works as a member of a team, both their triumph and lack of are supported. A group member who struggles or falters,
Jack London brings man versus nature discussion into his story. The environment, however doesn't play against him for say, but does warn him from the very beginning. The audience can conclude that just like “the man” everyone is alone in the world - fighting for ourselves and the things we wish to acquire. The character created by London is isolated from the universe and fooli...
The team members compete for their position as they try to establish themselves in relation to other team members and the leader, who may receive challenges from team members.