Chapter 1

Summary
Because Buck can't read the newspaper, he doesn't know gold
has been discovered in the Northland, making large dogs with
"warm, long hair" like him highly sought after to toil in the cold
climate. Buck lives on a wealthy Californian estate owned by
Judge Miller. Although the estate has many dogs, Buck enjoys
a special position, being neither a kennel dog nor a house dog.
He is the hunting companion for the Judge's sons and plays
with the judge's grandchildren. Buck feels he rules over the
place as if he were a prince. However, one day a servant
named Manuel, who is in need of money, takes Buck to meet a
stranger by a flag station. The stranger hands Manuel some
coins. Manuel puts a rope around Buck's neck, which the dog
at first accepts. However, when the stranger takes the rope,
Buck growls. The stranger then tightens the rope. Buck
struggles furiously, to no avail. The two men then throw him
into the baggage car of a train, and the train heads north.
On the train, Buck bites the stranger who captured him, and
the man complains he isn't being paid enough. The man
removes the rope from Buck and sticks him in a cage-like
crate. The following morning, some men pick up the crate,
which is then transported by wagon, truck, and finally,
steamship. During this trip, the enraged Buck doesn't eat or
drink. The crate is then sent by train to Seattle, where four men
load it on a wagon. The men take the crated canine to a
walled-in backyard. There, a man in a red sweater uses a
hatchet to pry open the crate. Furious, Buck leaps at the man,
who uses a club to strike Buck in midair. Stunned and
confused, Buck lands on the ground and charges the man
again. The man again whacks Buck with the club. Buck
charges 12 times, and the man clubs him 12 times. Buck
staggers in a daze, blood flowing from his nose, mouth, and
ears. After this, the man "dealt him a frightful blow on the
nose." Buck charges once more, and the man strikes him to the
ground. Buck gradually regains his senses. The man in the red
sweater tells Buck if he's a good dog he'll be treated well.
However, if he's a bad dog, the man says he will "whale the
stuffin' outa you." The man brings Buck water to drink and raw
meat to eat.
Buck feels beaten but not broken. He has learned a man with a
club must be obeyed. Eventually, two French-Canadian men,
François and Perrault, buy Buck and take him and a
Newfoundland named Curly on a ship bound for the Northland.
Buck soon realizes François and Perrault are fair men and
have knowledge about dogs. On the ship, Buck and Curly join a
white dog who seems deceptively friendly. They also meet a
gloomy dog named Dave who shows no interest in his
surroundings. After the ship docks, François takes Buck to
shore. There, Buck is mystified by a strange white substance
called snow.
Analysis
Jack London describes a civilized world in which the dog Buck
enjoys a privileged life on a Californian estate. The author puts
Buck in this luxurious setting to emphasize the dog's
transformation from civilization to the wild. In this domain, Buck
rules as if he is a prince and is treated with kindness by his
master. Buck feels special and views himself as above the
kennel dogs and house dogs, yet he deceives himself. He sees
himself as a ruler because of his master's favor, not because of
his own actions and abilities. In this setting, Buck is a dog who
has lost touch with his primordial instincts. To regain a
connection with these impulses, Buck must be torn away from
what he finds comforting and familiar and thrust into the
frightening unknown.
As Buck begins his journey of self-discovery, he moves from a
sense of belonging to state of confusion and uncertainty.
During the first four years of his life, Buck feels he belongs at
the Judge's estate because this is the only life he has known.
London compares Buck to country gentlemen who become
convinced of the rightness of their privileged position because
of "their insular situation." The author was a strong believer in
environmental determination, the idea that one's surroundings
shape one's personality. Buck's upbringing on the estate
convinces him his lifestyle is natural and correct; he is unaware
of the primitive drives lying dormant within him.
Greed changes Buck's life. The Judge's servant, Manuel, sells
Buck to pay for his gambling debts. Money changes hands
again when the dognappers sell Buck to gold prospectors who
buy Buck for a dogsled team they hope will lead them to
riches. These men parallel what Karl Marx saw as greedy
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capitalists, exploiting workers and keeping the surplus (the
riches from gold) for themselves. When Buck is thrown into the
chaotic environment of his capturers, he is outraged like an
indignant ruler. Buck feels he does not belong in this situation
and should not be treated this way. However, he needs to face
this hardship to get in touch with his inner potential. Buck
begins this process when faced with the man in the red
sweater who uses a club to beat Buck into submission. Buck
soon learns the new rules that govern this less-civilized world:
"a man with a club was a lawgiver, a master to be obeyed." As
Buck learns to adapt to this new environment, he begins the
process that will lead him to embrace his primitive instincts. As
he attains knowledge about his surroundings, he also becomes
more powerful. Even in his confined situation, Buck's newfound
knowledge helps him survive.
London also emphasizes that this new law and order is often
backed by violence or the threat of violence. Throughout The
Call of the Wild, the author shows violence in various situations;
it's often used to enforce a harsh law or express passionate
feeling. In this way, violence becomes a motif in the novel.
Chapter 2
Summary
In the frontier town of Dyea, Alaska, Buck learns more about
"the law of club and fang" by witnessing Curly being attacked
by a husky dog who rips open the Newfoundland's throat. After
this, a circle of dogs descend on Curly and rip him apart.
Although angry about the attack on Curly, François and
Perrault break up the slaughter too late. Shocked, Buck has
trouble sleeping. However, he also learns there is no fair play in
this uncivilized world. The white dog named Spitz seems
amused by Curly's death. Buck hates Spitz "with a bitter and
deathless hatred."
Soon François harnesses Buck to a sled. Along with Dave and
Spitz, Buck pulls a sled to transport firewood. At first, Buck
finds this work demeaning, but he quickly learns how to work
efficiently with the other dogs at their task. François and
Perrault add more dogs to the team, including good-natured
Billie, sullen Joe, and Sol-leks. Like Dave, Sol-leks seems to
have no interest in what's going on around him and wants to be
left alone.
During the night, Buck has trouble sleeping because of the
harsh cold. In addition, he can't locate the other dogs on his
team. Perplexed, he wanders around the camp for a while.
Suddenly, his paws sink into the snow and he feels something
wiggling. Startled, Buck jumps back and sees Billie "curled up
under the snow in a snug ball." Buck soon digs himself a hole,
curls up inside it, and falls asleep. The next morning, Buck feels
the snow pressed around him and thinks he's caught in a trap.
Terrified, he leaps up, pushing himself out of the snow and into
the crisp morning air. François admires how quickly Buck
learned the best way to sleep in the frigid wild.
The French Canadians add three more huskies, making a team
of nine. Their job is to transport dispatches via sled. Buck
notices when Dave and Sol-leks are harnessed to the sled how
they change from disinterested creatures to alert and active
dogs. Pulling a sled seems to be what these two dogs live for.
The Canadians place Spitz at the head as the leader of the
team. As the dogs pull the sleds in single file, Dave and Sol-leks
use their sharp teeth to correct Buck when he does something
wrong. During the day, the dogs pull the sled over glaciers and
deep snowdrifts. Usually, Perrault goes ahead of the sled and
François rides the vehicle, guiding it. The journey lasts for days.
At mealtime, Buck soon understands he has to eat his food
quickly. If he doesn't, other dogs snatch some of the food from
him. Also, Buck notices dogs steal bacon and other food from
François and Perrault. Soon Buck does the same without
getting caught. He is adapting to the new rules of this
uncivilized world to survive. Buck learns quickly, as his body
grows stronger and his senses of sight and smell become
more acute. In addition, Buck has started to get in touch with
his primitive instincts, fighting other dogs in a wolflike manner.
And when Buck howls during the night, "it was his ancestors ...
howling down through the centuries and through him."
Analysis
Jack London contrasts the civilized world where Buck grew up
with a new, uncivilized world of sled dogs and human masters.
This uncivilized world is not the wild that will eventually call to
Buck; instead, it's an intermediate stage between civilization
and the wild. This stage has vastly different rules from
civilization's rules, and prepares Buck for the wild. London
refers to this new set of rules as "the law of club and fang,"
which is enforced by violence. In contrast, the author calls the
rules of civilization "the law of love and fellowship." So,
London's idea of law and order consists of a basic dichotomy
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between these two codes of law. Buck has already begun to
show the Darwinian concept of natural selection. His mixedbreed ancestry allows him to
adapt to and take advantage of
his new, more primitive world.
In the previous chapter, London showed the club part of "the
law of club and fang" through the man in the red sweater and
his use of a club to beat Buck into submission. In this chapter,
the author depicts the fang part by describing the death of
Curly. When this Newfoundland tries to be friendly to a husky,
the husky tears Curly's throat, and then a pack of dogs rips
Curly apart. This shows Buck that in the uncivilized world, the
strong dominate the weak through the use of violence. This
event also demonstrates Herbert Spencer's influence on
London. Curly's death conveys Spencer's ideas of the survival
of the fittest.
To survive in this harsh reality, Buck must quickly learn new
skills. By doing this, London shows how knowledge leads to
power. Buck learns in the Northland that the law consists of
strength and violence and has no rules of fair play. As a result,
Buck must always be on guard with the dogs and people he
encounters. This awareness proves to be essential to Buck's
survival. Then Buck gains knowledge about a host of other
things, such as how to sleep during the night, how to eat food,
and how to pull a sled. All of this knowledge empowers Buck,
enabling him to survive. During this process of learning, Buck
has to use his primal instincts more often. For example, when
attacked, Buck realizes he must fight using a cut-and-slash
technique like a wolf. By doing this, Buck is connecting to his
primitive side and his forgotten ancestors. Sensing this
connection, Buck howls during the night and feels his
ancestors howling through him. Here, London appears to be
influenced by Darwin's ideas about the strong influence of the
environment on one's nature.
In addition, through his learning, Buck moves from a chaotic
situation back to a sense of belonging. However, in this
uncivilized world, Buck must adapt and change to achieve this
belonging. The author shows this through the example of Buck
stealing food. In civilization, Buck knew he should not steal
food from humans and proved himself a good dog by not doing
this. As a result, Buck showed he belonged in civilization. In the
Northland, though, the ground rules have changed. Buck
witnesses another dog stealing bacon and getting away with it.
According to "the law of club and fang," such behavior is
accepted. Each animal looks out for its own needs and grabs
what it can. Understanding this, Buck also steals some food.
So, behavior that would warrant a severe reprimand for Buck
on the Judge's estate is now accepted among the dogs,
thereby showing how Buck is fitting in with his new
environment. Also, Buck shows he belongs by adapting well to
his new routine. Like the other dogs in his team, Buck pulls the
sled effectively, eats fish for dinner, crawls in the snow to
sleep, and wakes up early in morning with the other dogs and
starts the routine over.
Chapter 3
Summary
As Buck learns about his new life pulling sleds, he focuses
mainly on adjusting his behavior as needed. Because of this, he
doesn't concern himself with the leader, Spitz, who feels
threatened by Buck and often tries to pick fights with him.
Buck, though, succeeds in avoiding such a fight. However, one
evening Spitz occupies Buck's sleeping nest, which is too much
for Buck to bear. Furious, he leaps at Spitz, surprising him.
Buck and Spitz face off for a fight to the death. Then a pack of
about 50 ravenous wolves enter the camp and desperately
start to devour any food they can find. François and Perrault
try to beat them off with clubs, but the blows have no effect.
The dogs also attack the wolves, starting a fierce melee.
Taking advantage of the confusion, Spitz attacks Buck.
Meanwhile, the other dogs start to run away from the fierce
wolves. Buck joins the fleeing dogs. Later, the dogs gather in
the forest, all of them suffering from severe wounds. The dogs
head back to camp, only to find the wolves have eaten all the
food and left. Cursing their bad luck, François and Perrault get
the wounded team harnessed and head toward Dawson, about
400 miles away.
During the first six days, the sled-dog team faces treacherous
terrain with large areas of thin ice and temperatures dropping
to –50 degrees Fahrenheit. Buck and Dave break through the
ice and nearly drown. Later, Spitz and the other dogs, except
for Buck and Dave, plunge through the ice. Buck, Dave, and
François strain to pull them out. Eventually, the ice improves,
and they make better time. One morning, a dog named Dolly
goes mad, foaming at the mouth. Dolly chases Buck for a while,
and then François crashes an ax on Dolly's head. Exhausted,
Buck heads for the sled. Spitz attacks him, but François breaks
them apart. Buck knows the fight with Spitz for the leadership
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of the pack will eventually come, and welcomes it. As the sleddog team continues its journey
to Dawson, Buck shows no fear
of Spitz. Once, Buck comes between Spitz and another dog
Spitz was picking a fight with. Buck's mutiny against Spitz
causes the entire dog team to get unruly.
Soon, the sled-dog team heads into Dawson and gets a muchneeded rest of one week. During
the night, Buck joins the
howling of the huskies, feeling stirred by this ancient song.
François and Perrault head out on another dispatch run with
the same team of dogs. Buck agitates Spitz but does so
secretly so the Canadians won't catch him. Sensing the conflict
between the leader Spitz and the upstart Buck, the entire dog
team continues to be unruly, causing much frustration for
François and Perrault. One evening, the dogs spy a rabbit and
chase after it. Soon, they are joined by about 50 huskies
owned by the North West Police. Buck heads the chase. In
contrast, Spitz sneaks around the chase and cuts off the path
of the rabbit, killing it. The pack of chasing dogs all stop,
except for Buck, who charges at Spitz. Buck and Spitz begin a
fight to the death. Spitz fights deftly, biting Buck as he
attempts various charges. Finally, Buck grabs Spitz's foreleg
and crunches it. Then Buck breaks Spitz's other foreleg,
leaving him crippled. Spitz sees the circle of dogs closing in on
him. Buck knocks Spitz over, and the circle of dogs close in on
the lame animal and kill him. Buck, "the successful champion,"
stands by and looks on.
Analysis
Jack London explores the theme of the wild and the theme of
law and order by immersing Buck and his fellow members of
the sled-dog team in harsh, wilderness conditions. The "law of
club and fang" applies both to the uncivilized world of the
Northland people and their dogs and to the wild. However, the
motivation becomes more intense and instinctual in the wild.
This idea is clearly shown when the ravenous wolves attack
the camp to get food. Both the members of the sled-dog team
and the wolves are ruled by the "law of club and fang." They
each use brute strength and violence in an attempt to achieve
their goals. However, the wolves are starving to death.
Because of this, their instinctual drive reaches an apex the
members of the sled-dog team cannot match. As a result, the
narrator states, "the club fell upon them [the wolves]
unheeded." The wolves don't care how much they are beaten;
they must get food to survive. This encounter introduces Buck
more fully to the wild.
After the wolf attack, the sled-dog team faces severe weather
conditions and treacherous terrain as they head back to
Dawson. During this journey, Buck becomes more in touch with
his primitive nature. Soon, he becomes confident enough to
taunt the dangerous Spitz. When the sled-dog team reaches
Dawson, Buck joins in with huskies as they howl during the
night, expressing the fear and mystery of the dark. The
narrator states, "and that he should be stirred by it marked the
completeness with which he harked back through the ages of
fire and roof to the raw beginnings of life in the howling ages."
Later, Buck's strong connection to his wild instincts comes to
the fore when he chases the rabbit. Buck shows his ability to
work with the pack.
Buck becomes a superior animal not only because of his
connection to his primordial instincts, but also because of the
knowledge he has learned and how he uses his imagination to
implement this knowledge. The "law of club and fang" has
taught Buck to be cunning and patient. For example, Buck
makes sure to harass Spitz only when François and Perrault
are not looking. Later, Buck combines his knowledge and
imagination to defeat Spitz. Buck uses a creative strategy,
enabling him to cripple his opponent. The narrator states, "But
Buck possessed a quality that made for
greatness—imagination. He fought by instinct, but he could
fight by head as well." So, knowledge combined with
imagination has empowered Buck to victory.
London emphasizes the theme of belonging through the pride
Buck and his fellow dogs take in their work. Because of this
pride, Dave and Sol-leks transform from bored creatures to
alert ones when they pull the sled. Spitz takes pride in being
the leader who disciplines the dogs in his team when they
make mistakes. So, all of the dogs take pride in the roles they
perform for the benefit of the team. For these dogs, therefore,
working as a well-functioning community is of primary
importance. The reason again is survival. An efficient team of
dogs has a better chance of surviving than an unruly team. So,
the "law of club and fang" is not used for individual triumph but
for the good of the community. Buck and Spitz fight because
each believes he is better suited to be the leader of the team.
In fact, when this leadership is questioned, the team of dogs
become unruly, much to the consternation of François and
Perrault. The team must have a strong leader to function well.
This idea of the good of the community again shows Charles
Darwin's influence on London. Along with his principle of
natural selection, Darwin argues that throughout the
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evolutionary process, animals have developed "social instincts"
and a "moral sense" for the "general good of the community."
For animals, a strong community is vital to survival. Marx's
socialism also featured that cooperation among a group is the
best approach.
Chapter 4
Summary
After killing Spitz, Buck wants to take the position as the lead
of the dog team. However, François has other ideas and puts
Sol-leks at the lead. This infuriates Buck, who chases Sol-leks
away and then takes the lead position. At first amused by this,
François soon becomes upset at Buck's stubbornness. He
grabs a club, but Buck scampers away to avoid being hit.
François gets the sled ready and calls to Buck, but the dog
stays a short distance away. Holding the club, François
approaches Buck who retreats a few steps. This happens
several times. Buck feels the leadership of the team is his by
right. Both François and Perrault chase Buck but can't catch
him. Finally, François admits defeat and allows Buck to be the
leader. The dog happily takes his position at the front of the
team.
Buck leads the team well, and the sled makes record time to
Skaguay. In town, fellow mushers admire François and Perrault
and buy them drinks. However, the French Canadians soon get
new work orders and must leave Buck and the other sled dogs.
A Scotch half-breed and his friend take charge of the dog
team. Buck and his fellow canine teammates find themselves
pulling a sled heavy with mail. They do not enjoy this task as
much as transporting dispatches but still perform their job well.
The dogs fall into a routine, which involves getting up at a
certain time in the morning, eating breakfast, pulling the sled,
eating supper, and then lounging by the fire before sleeping.
Buck enjoys lying by the fire the best. During this time, he
imagines past events, such as Curly getting killed and his fight
with Spitz. Also, Buck taps into the memory of his ancient
ancestors and has a vision of a primitive man by the fire afraid
of the dark.
One day, Dave becomes morose and irritable, as if something
is hurting him inside. The Scotch man and the other men check
the dog for broken bones but don't find any. They wonder what
could be causing Dave's pain. They decide to let Dave out of
his harness so he can trot freely along with the sled. However,
Dave hates this and keeps trying to join the team again. The
Scotch man tries to drive Dave away with a whip, but it doesn't
work. Eventually, Dave bites through Sol-leks's traces and
stands in front of the sled in his usual spot. The men give in
and allow Dave to pull the sled with the rest of the dogs,
despite his pain. Dave tries his best but falls down several
times and "once the sled ran upon him so that he limped
thereafter in one of his hind legs." The next morning, Dave is so
weak he has to crawl to the sled. The sled-dog team goes
ahead without Dave. Then they stop, and the Scotch man goes
back to the camp and shoots Dave.
Analysis
The tightly knit community of the dog team emphasizes the
theme of belonging. Even though Buck and his team don't
enjoy pulling the heavy load of mail as much as the lighter load
of dispatches, they still take pride in working well as a unit and
performing their task well. As the leader, Buck enforces
discipline when members of the team slack or make mistakes.
The degree to which the dogs are bonded to the team is
emphasized with Dave. Even though this dog is in agony, he
still wants to take his part in the team and pull his weight. The
Scotch man uses a whip in an attempt to keep Dave away from
the team, but even the "law of club and fang" doesn't work. So,
here, Jack London shows another example of a drive that
supersedes this law. In the previous chapter, the author shows
through the starving wolves that the basic instinct of hunger
can be stronger than the violence of club and fang. The drive
to belong to a community can also be stronger. In fact, it might
even be stronger than the need to eat. Dave would probably
still want to be part of the team, even if he were starving to
death.
Buck's insistence about being the leader of his team shows his
desire to belong to the community in his proper place, even
though François at first objects. Buck uses the knowledge he
has learned about the "law of club and fang" to avoid being
clubbed by François and to get his way. The skills he has
learned in the traces enable Buck to be an excellent team
leader. Even though the mutiny against Spitz has made the
team unruly, "Buck proceeded to lick them into shape." Once
again, knowledge leads to power.
Also, in this chapter London introduces another motif, namely
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visions. For Buck, these visions form a link back to his ancient
ancestors. Lying by the fire, Buck envisions a primitive man
with long, matted hair and "his head slanted back under it from
the eyes." The primordial instincts of this man are acute. He
has a "quick alertness as of one who lived in perpetual fear of
things seen and unseen." Buck relates to this man. In the
Northland, Buck is going through a process called atavism.
This process involves reversing the evolutionary processes
and thereby regaining primitive, instinctual traits. As a result,
Buck imagines being with a primitive man, sensing his fear of
the dark, and listening keenly to the sound of beasts of prey in
the wilderness. The narrator states, "the instincts ... which had
lapsed in later days, and still later, in him [Buck], quickened and
become alive again."