Subjects:
Jack London has a strong belief in Darwinism, survival of the fittest, during the
late 1800’s through the early 1900’s, when he wrote. Throughout his writings, many
characters display London’s belief in Darwinism. In the novel, The Call of the Wild, Jack
London’s belief in the Darwinian Jungle is portrayed by animals interacting with humans,
each other, and the environment. This can be shown through Buck, a house dog turned
sled dog, interacting with his masters, other dogs, and the Yukon wilderness.
As Buck travels from master to master throughout the course of the novel he
learns, through trial and error, what behavior brings rewards, and that which brings
[Buck] had never been struck by a club in his life, and did
not understand. ...he was [now] aware that it was a club,
. . .
how Buck quickly adapted to live in this new environment. London often witnessed these dog fights and this influenced his writing.
In The Call of the Wild, Buck represents the “blond beast” or the “Nietzschean
hound”, the animal which struggles, and as a result survives (Tuttelton 293, Kazin 88). It was a world of inhuman cold, of
blinding snow, and of sudden blizzards that obscure the trail
and portend a death by freezing (Tuttleton 290). He speedily learned that Perrault and Francois were fair men. “The study of Jack
London’s work became a mirror of the turbulent McCarthy era. proceeded to dig a hole for himself. Although Buck had troubles with his new peers, he also had a great conflict with his
new home.
Essay's Topics
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