Call of the Wild Buck is a crossbread dog who has the build of a wolf. He is very strong and has been brought up in the sun-kist Santa Clara Valley. He has been abducted and shipped off to be trained as a husky. Buck was profoundly affected by his experiences in the Yukon. Bucks first relationship with man was a kind master whose name was Judge Miller the relationship between the pair was based upon mutual respect and Buck considered them equals. When one of the Judge’s servants decides that he could pay off a lot of gambling debts by selling Buck to a husky dealer, a sharp twist develops in Bucks life.
First he was shipped off to a man of cruelty who wore a bright red sweater. Here he was brutally beaten with clubs and developed a bitter hatred for this new master whose relationship with dogs was purely man to beast. His next masters were to be named Francois and Perrault. Here Buck was trained as a husky. This relationship was more respectful than the relationship Buck had with the man in the red sweater. It was professionally based master to worker.
The next masters Buck had were incompetent beginners who had not had any experience. The sled carried too much weight, too many dogs, they took wrong trails, did not feed the dogs the right amount of food and eventually the dogs started to decay and die. They did not listen to the warnings of travellers and one day they broke through the ice and disappeared. Fortunately about a quarter of a mile back Buck had been taken in by a kind loving new master whose name was John Thorton.
Here Buck recuperated and found the wholeness of life between himself and John Thorton Love, genuine passionate love was his for the first time” (86) In addition, many of Buck’s long dormant instincts were aroused. When Buck was forced into being trained as a husky dog his body undertook many changes. After being in constant competition with the other huskies and being constantly annoyed by his enemy Spitz, Buck develops a strong killer instinct, a blood lust, his hearing develops so well that even the slightest twig breaking can be sensed in his sleep, his eye sight becomes second to none,” His development (or retrogression) was rapid. His muscles became as hard as iron and he grew callous to ordinary pain” (32-22) and most of all the call of the wild became a burning desire which Buck wished to fulfil. After John Thorton was killed and Buck succumbed to the call of the wild he hunted his own food, showed no mercy and became savage such as his ancestors before him.
In conclusion, Buck’s feeling and his emotional well being were affected greatly. From his time spent in the Yukon Buck had experienced the very highs and the very lows of emotional and physical well being. He had learned that many men were evil and mean and many were kind and loving, he had experienced both of these men. He had made very bitter enemies with dogs such as Spitz and many friendships.
As many of his friends and masters passed through his life like a breeze Buck become very sad and insecure and when John Thornton came and saved Buck, he became very worried that John would pass just like the other masters Buck previously had. When John refused high amounts of money from a potential buyer of Buck, Buck knew that John would not leave him. After John was killed Buck became filled with rage and sadness. He left camp and made a new beginning in the wild with his cousins the wolves. The great descriptions, good pictures and the emotional feeling is what makes this book a must to read.
