Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Book # 91 The Call of the Wild by Jack London

Progress Book 12 of 100


I think we had to read White Fang by Jack London in school and know I saw the movie when I was little. I remember that story fondly and expected The Call of the Wild to be a short enjoyable story and it was. The Call of the Wild is about a dog named Buck who is kidnapped from his life of privilege and sold to work in the wilderness of the Pacific Northwest. At the beginning Buck leads a happy life on the ranch of a Judge- he is content. Then is kidnapped and for the first time beaten into submission. The new owners are strangers and completely foreign to his way of life. He is quickly shipped to the wilderness and sold to two government workers setting up the mail system. From the two men, Buck learns that his new role in life is to be a part of a dog sled team. His new owners are fair and teach him how to adjust to the new life. Buck quickly picks up on how to survive and starts to feel The Call of The Wild. His natural instincts are to be the leader and he soon becomes the leader. By the time they arrive at their destination, Buck has become the leader of the sled and has learned to survive and endure.


The sled team is then put to work delivering mail all over the wilderness. They work with many different humans and are pushed beyond their capabilities. At the end of the mail season instead of getting a rest they are sold to a family- 1 woman and 2 men in search of gold, with no idea of what they are doing. They mistreat the dogs and when he can run no longer Buck is beaten. An onlooker Mr. Thorton, saves Bucks life and a strong bond grows between them. Buck saves Mr. Thorton’s life and becomes a legend. During this time Buck’s instinct becomes even more connected to the wild and his wolf cousins. In the end Buck joins the wild wolves to fulfill his destiny.


I really enjoyed this book- it was one of my favorites so far. I will give it an A 96%

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