The Relationship between Humans and Dogs
As the dogs pull the sleigh with all their might through the thick winter snow, they are forced to move forward by the “Law of the Club” in the fictional book, The Call of the Wild by Jack London. In the novel, London describes how a pet dog, Buck, is introduced to the wild. Buck is familiar with the dull boring life in the Santa Clara Valley, but now he is challenged into the wild. The Call of the Wild shows how there is a codependence between humans and dogs, demonstrates how humans take advantage of dogs for their personal needs, and describes how relationships between snow dogs and humans are short.
First, London depicts how dogs and humans depend on each other to survive in the Yukon. Traveling to the Yukon is hard when it is snowing, so both dog and human have to understand each other to survive the harsh climate. When Francois and Perrault’s sled breaks through the thinly iced lake in the Thirty Mile River, “They were coated solidly with ice, and the two men kept them on the run around the fire, sweating and thawing, so close that they were singed by the flames” (pg. 3). This demonstrates how Francois and Perrault depend on the dogs to take them to the Yukon, while the dogs show how they depend on the two men to take care of them. If the humans do not take care of the dogs, neither of them will survive. One example of how dogs and humans mistreat each other is that humans do not take care of the dogs. They whip the dogs in order for them to run faster, but the dogs cannot move because they are enervated. When Hal, Charles, and Mercedes own Buck and the other dogs, Hal keeps whipping the dogs so the dogs will run faster. He often yells, “The lazy brutes, I’ll show them, he cried, p...
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... have a loving relationship; when the Yeehats attacks where John Thornton lives: “John Thornton was dead. It felt a great void for him, somewhat akin to hunger, but a void which ached and ached…” (pg. 6). This shows how Buck’s favorite master dies, and he has lost another relationship. Buck has many relationships with his past owners, and he learns that you will never have the same master.
The relationship between humans and dogs in The Call of the Wild creates many types of bonds. According to Helen Keller, “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” Humans and dogs rely on each other to survive when traveling to the Yukon. Some human takes advantage of dogs for their own personal needs. Relationships between humans and sled dogs are short. The Call of the Wild, by Jack London shows us how dogs and human can have any type of bond for a short period of time.
Henry was an extremely lonely nine-year-old boy whose greatest wish was to get a dog. His parents were busy with their work most of the time and it seemed that Henry did not have any friends, perhaps because they moved so often. A dog would have provided Henry with unconditional love - something in short supply around his house - and would have been the perfect companion. The problem was, his parents did not want dog, which would have been another obligation and something else to take care of. As emotionally detached as his parents were, something else to take care of was just not desirable.
The poem above speaks volumes about the nature of man’s best friend. Dogs are not inherently bad, but are rather “a product of their environment”. The same principle applies to the world’s most misunderstood breed of dog. When you hear the phrase “pit bull”, what do you think? A savage beast, murdered out of cold blood?
It is often said that a dog is a man’s best friend. In Cormac McCarthy’s novel, The Crossing, a deep affection and fondness are established between man and animal. In a particular excerpt from the novel, Cormac illustrates the protagonist’s sorrow that was prompted from the wolf’s tragic death. As blood stiffens his trousers, the main character seeks to overcome the cold weather and fatigue with hopes of finding the perfect burial site for the wolf. McCarthy uses detailed descriptions and terminology in his novel, The Crossing, to convey the impact of the wolf’s death on the protagonist, a sad experience incorporated with religious allusions and made unique by the main character’s point of view.
I’ve always felt that animals are the purest spirits in the world. They don’t fake or hide their feelings, and they are the most loyal creatures on Earth and somehow we humans think we’re smarter. I chose this topic about the canine because, some of these canines risk their life’s to protect dog’s best friend.
A sense of belonging and community is essential in finding value and purpose in life. Dogs are naturally social animals that seek to live in packs. In the novel “Fifteen Dogs”, written by André Alexis, the dogs are given human intelligence and are forced to face a difficult question; to embrace this new way of life or revert back to their old nature. The intelligence the dogs gain unites the pack of dogs together, but, it is also what separates them from all other dogs. The introduction of language to the pack creates disorder within the hierarchy of the group which leads to divisions between the dogs.
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.
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.
The dog they rescued is a particularly prominent topic, a vestige of the past civilizations. In defiance of the treacherous environment, the dog managed to survive, a feat that even Lisa, the most cold-blooded of the three main characters, could not help but be “impressed by” (Bacigalupi 61). Therefore, the dog is a symbol of hope for the reader, an animal that is in the extreme, completely out of its element, and yet capable of surviving. As a result, nature’s idea of itself is astoundingly resilient, keeping certain species alive as an attempt to return to the normal state of the world. Even after horrendous trauma the natural world is still capable of a stalwart attempt at reclaiming itself. Accordingly, it is never too late to start fixing the damages and help nature’s cause, before allowing it to escalate to such a degree where the oceans are black with pollution and there is no room left for the humans of today. Chen could not help but notice that the dog is different than them in more than just a physiological nature; “there’s something there” and it’s not a characteristic that either them or the bio-jobs are capable of (64). Subsequently, the dog has something that the evolved humans are missing, compassion. In consequence, the author portrays the idea that the dog
...tion, including their initial evolution, their domestication, and the roles they played in human society throughout the ages. It is a relatively new book being published in 2010. Darcy Morey, the author of this book is a zooarchaeologist and focuses his research on the relationship between dogs and humans throughout time. He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee. This book is based on the authors own research and also refers to the information gathered by many other scientists, all of which are listed in the reference section of the book. As mentioned this book contains the results of research from many scientists and is beneficial for learning both general and more scientific knowledge on the subject. I would recommend it to anybody who is conduction a research on the topic. This book was found using I-Share using the search term the domestication of dogs.
Simon Legree, the novel’s epitome of the cruel slaveowner, owns several of the animals. In one scene, Legree tells Tom, while “caressing the dogs with grim satisfaction” at the animals ability to incite fear, "Ye see what ye 'd get, if ye try to run off. These yer dogs has been raised to track niggers; and they 'd jest as soon chaw one on ye up as eat their supper.” This scene is echoed later in the novel when the character of Cassy tells Tom that even “down in the darkest swamps, their dogs will hunt us out, and find us. Everybody and everything is against us; even the very beasts side against us--and where shall we go?" The dogs serve to convey the barbarity of Legree and illustrate the all-encompassing corrupting power of the
Mark Haddon’s book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime mirrors the idea that trust is the glue that holds relationships together and how a lack of honesty and truth can create barriers between loved ones and shows how being honest can fix these problems. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime is a innovative and ground breaking novel that continues to show the understanding of the world by Christopher Boone and his
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...
The law of club and fang applies to all creatures. Both man and animal are lured by the attractive forces of their ancestry. It is up to them to decide if they are willing to submit to the call and embrace their primitive nature. The Call of the Wild enlightens readers with a story about a dog who yields to said call and renounces his domesticated ways. Jack London juxtaposes the events in The Call of the Wild with those in his life by creating characters that are indicative of mankind, and incorporating the themes of heredity and the influence of the environment on both man and animal and double meanings of places and characters in the novel.
Armbruster, K. (2002). “Good Dog”: The stories we tell about our canine companions and what they mean for humans and other animals, 38 (4), 351, 26. Retrieved from http://www.siue.edu/PLL/