Book review
Reflection on The Call of the Wild
Civilization and wildness
The novel focuses on the experience of a dog named Buck, exploring the eternal topic of civilization and wildness through Buck's transformation of identity from a noble king to a evil spirit leading the wolves.
Under the pen of Jack London, there seems no difference between dogs and human, and to some extent dogs may even have more humanity. Those humans who are proud of growing up in a civilized society only learn to threaten and punish dogs with brutality by using ropes, cages and clubs, regarding themselves as the supreme master of dogs. Personal interests are the only things they care about, while they turn a blind eye to other living beings. For example, the man in the red sweater strikes Buck in order to break it; and Hal, Charles and Mercedes ignore the tiredness and injuries of the sled dogs, and roughly swing the whip to drive these overworked dogs. Under the skin of civilized men are their primitive and savage nature.
On the other hand, Buck shows excellent endurance, resilience and leadership during the tough experience of being stolen to sledding in the wilderness, regarding the job of the trail and trace as glory and pursuit. He fights for the leadership with Spitz and manages to discipline the dogs in good order. Despite the cruel treatment of the last owners, Buck is still willing to spare no effort to walk off with a thousand pounds sled, only with the intention of winning the bet for the human John Thornton. What’s more, going into the wilderness after Thornton's death, Buck returns to the camp in memory of the master. In the process where Buck gradually shows the primitive nature which was left over from his ancestors, the fire of civilization is still burning in his chest.
As far as I’m concerned, the author Jack London doesn’t intend to criticize civilization as well as the shackles it brings, nor to simply praise the wildness as well as the freedom behind it, but to satirize extreme egoism of human. It is with this egoism that people tend to think of themselves as the center of the world and reveal the uncivilized nature of what they call civilization. It is clear in the novel that both dogs and human have the two sides of civilization and wildness. However, only the descriptions of human’s hypocrisy and arrogance can arouse the readers’ disgust, because compared to the dog Buck whose wildness is awaken for adjusting to the survival of the fittest theory, the brutality in human may grow merely out of their pursuit of personal interests.
Personally, civilization and wildness are both kinds of living stages, and there never exists definite division between the two. Nobody has the power to decide which side is right, and it isn’t a yes-or-no question at all. Hence, what we should focus on and think about is the reason why they chose their living styles, which is of significance to understand the social nature and improve our behavior from the root.
The five owners of the dog Buck
Another interesting plot which deserves exploring is the change of Buck’s owners. The first was Judge Miller, who provided Buck with enjoyment materially and spiritually. Buck’s morals were cultivated during this period. Although ‘Buck was neither house dog nor kennel dog’, he lost the foundational freedom as part of nature. Glories and civilization had become his fetters and blocked him from backing to nature. So, it is believed that Buck didn’t find his meaning of life in the big beautiful house.
The second and third owners were Perrault and Francois, together with the Scotch half-breed diver. They saw Buck as an outstanding workmate and took care of him due to his excellent capacity for sledding. This kind of care was out of responsibility more than love from bottom of their hearts. One typical scene is that Perrault and Francois looked on the fight between Buck and Spitz with cold indifference.
Then Hal, Charles and Mercedes were the fourth. They were the representatives of exploiters in the capitalist society, who took dogs as tools and consumables without a little sympathy. This sort of relationship between human and dogs was full of contradictions and conflicts hidden behind it would break out one day. Selfishness and brutality were shown in the three’s behaviors during the painful track while endurance and persistence were reflected on the sled dogs.
The last master is John Thornton who was a real dog lover. He came to Buck's rescue in an emergency, and treated Buck with genuine passionate love. It is the first time that Buck felt the true love away from the civilization. As a result, Thornton got Buck’s adoration in return and became the last tie between Buck and human society. This harmonious relationship in which each creature respect and love each other is beyond dispute the role model of modern relationship between human and nature, especially in the era when our attitude towards nature is being rethought.
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