The book The Call of the Wild is mainly about a dog named Buck that experiences many changes while trying his best to survive in the Yukon. Buck was living a very privileged life before he was taken. He was a pretty dog that had a lot of things. For intense, a huge house that he lived in the few years of his life. One day, that all changed when he was taken by two men. From that moment, Buck knew he had to change in life in many ways. He had to build Independence, strength, intelligence, and he needed to adapt to what he was going to receive in the near future. Buck had to have all those things to survive. If he doesn’t, he would get killed or die.
Surviving in the wild after having almost everything handed to you is definitely not easy. An important thing to have, even when not in the wild trying to survive, is independence. Without Independence, people would be hanging on each other asking others for everything. People would not be able to live by themselves. For example, London writes, “Buck’s first day at Dyea Beach was like a nightmare”. (pg 15) is an example of independence because Buck had to be very independent if he wanted to not be attacked by crazy animals or other people.
He couldn’t be dependent on another dog because he was all on is own because almost everyone was against each other. Buck also needed to survive by feeding himself. The two men that took him didn’t feed the dogs nearly as much as needed. Buck was also separated from his world. His world was nice sunny, and not very hardworking. Even though he thought that that was how dogs really lived and that’s the only way to live for him, he soon got a reality check.
As I mentioned before, surviving in the wild is not easy at all. Another important trait you need is strength. You need strength even when your living a privileged life. In the wild, it is crucial for survival because, in Bucks situation, he has to deal with pulling a sled and other dogs trying to kill him. For example, London writes, “He was beaten, but not broken”. This is one of my favorite quotes in this book because it represents a lot of strength. Buck also got a lot stronger during his experience.
He not only became stronger physically, but mentally also. Mentally, he learned to love wild in harsh and cold weather. an example of how someone didn’t build a lot of strength fast enough was Dolly. She couldn’t defend herself against other dogs. So, because of that, she ended up getting killed by one of the mean dogs. Strength is definitely one of the MOST important thing to have in everyday life.
To survive in the wild, you need intelligence and instinct. You need intelligence and instinct regardless, but you can’t lack it in the wild. Without intelligence, you would be fighting, running into trees, dying because of a stupid mistake, and much more!!! You also need instinct because without it you would not know how to live and do the simplest tasks. For example, London writes ” He felt it, so did the other dogs, and knew that a change was at hand”. I think this quote represents the dogs soon having to use their intelligence, instinct, and adaptability. Buck used all those by finding food, finding places to sleep, keeping up his stamina, and more. Intelligence effects everything that goes on with you. For Buck, if he needs to live on his own after his Yukon experience, he has to use intelligence to learn how to get mentally ready for that.
Intelligence, independence, and strength are very resourceful things to have in your life. You need all of those things to use them. Without strength, you won’t have Independence, without Independence, you won’t have intelligence. They all work together to make a mentally and physically fit person. You need to use the resources that make you like that so you don’t end up like a loser. Buck used intelligence and strength very well to keep himself alive.
