The Call of the Wild
By: Stenly • Essay • 1,140 Words • March 3, 2010 • 1,051 Views
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Title: The Call Of The Wild
Author: Jack London
Copyright: 1986
Setting:
The beginning setting takes place on the property of Judge Miller in Santa Clara
Valley, California in 1897. Later the setting takes place in Alaska during the Gold Rush
of the Klondike.
Main Character:
Buck is the only main character of the book. Buck is a dog who is part Saint
Bernard and part Shephard.
Summary:
Buck is my favorite character of the book. He had such a great life before he was
stolen and sold to some very nasty people. Buck was treated very badly and he had to
learn how to survive. He didn’t let the people know he was scared. The only way to
survive was to listen, watch and learn. Buck wanted to be the leader and fought for what
he wanted and he got it.
Buck had a great life living with Judge Miller and his family. He had free run of
the place and played with his daughters and hunted with his sons. All the other animals
were stuck in the house or behind fences.
One day a gardener named Manuel, that Buck had trusted, stole Buck and took
him to a train station and sold him to people who used large dogs to pull sleds in Alaska.
These men were not nice and would beat Buck and the other dogs very badly to let them
know who was boss. Buck and the other dogs had no idea what was happening to them.
The dogs were put onto the trains and taken to a ship that took them to Alaska where they
would be sold again in teams to pull the sleds of people looking for gold and other work.
When Buck and the other dogs got off the ship, the first thing they saw was white.
They didn’t know what it was. It was snow. They learned quickly how hard and scary
this would be. Other dogs being used were wild wolves that would tear the new dogs
apart if they had the chance.
Buck and eight other dogs were sold to Perrault and Francois. Buck knew he
needed to learn how to survive fast. One of the dogs, Spitz, who was the leader was a
wolf and very mean. He would bully the other dogs. Buck hated him and one day
wanted to take him down to take his place as leader. The dogs had to live through many
dangers and survive with little food and sleep.
One night Buck had his chance to get Spitz. Spitz fought hard but Buck was the
smarter dog and he won. The other wolves killed Spitz. When Buck went to take Spitz’s
place, Francois tried to put him back in his old spot but Buck would not have it. They
tried by whipping Buck but Buck was able to get away every time. The two men gave up
and let Buck lead. They realized Buck was a great leader.
Francois and Perrault finished their work and were done with the dogs. The dogs
needed to be sold again but they were in bad shape. They had all lost a lot a weight and
they just traveled over 2500 miles in less than five months. No one wanted to buy them
until Charles, Hal, and Mercedes came along. They had no idea how to work a dog sled
and what was involved. They packed too many things and overloaded the