The Instinct to Survive

Currently I am reading the book Call of The Wild by Jack London. So far the main character Buck, a St. Bernard-Scotch Shepherd, has been living a comfortable life in his owner’s estate. However, he soon finds himself in an unfamiliar position when he is captured and sold away to an abusive owner. Now he must find a way to survive among the other power hungry hounds whose sole purpose to survive in their harsh environment. I find this instantaneous change in lifestyles that Buck faces very interesting since it’s similar to how people must adapt when faced with the hurdles of life. As a house dog that goes from rags to riches, I predict that Buck will initially struggle with the wild nature of the other dogs but will eventually learn to survive and even thrive in their presence.

Overall, I have enjoyed reading this book but I’ve found some parts of this book to be very gruesome. For example, in the chapter “The Law of Club and Fang” Buck is constantly beaten with a club until he realizes that he must learn to respect his new owner. Although I enjoy the fact that the author tries to keep Buck’s encounter as real as possible, he sometimes goes over the top and gives the reader a very gory mental image. However, the author’s vivid imagery helps to clearly portray the demoralizing tone in the story. Hopefully by the end of this story the tone will change to more optimistic and Buck will find his place at the top of nature’s hierarchy.