Nature writers tend to portray the environment in their own unique fashion, especially Jack London. He reveals a rare style of nature writing in some of his most recognized works because he often portrays nature in the unknown arctic territory at the turn of the 18th century as a powerful, threatening force that graciously serves no man. His arctic stories provide readers with powerful, uninviting imagery of distant and unknown lands. In London’s novella The Call of the Wild, he reflects on his own personal experiences during the Klondike Gold rush, exposing the struggle of humans and animals against the natural environment in the Yukon Territory by utilizing a dog as the central character.
In order to understand London’s personal connection to The Call of the Wild, it is important to learn about the Klondike Gold rush and to examine some of London’s firsthand battles he faced while he was a tourist looking for gold in the cruel arctic territory. The Klondike Gold rush “was the last great American gold rush” that began quickly after the sparkling metal was discovered by three men along the Klondike River “on 17 August 1896” (Dyer xvi). Nearly a year later, the news finally reached San Francisco. The gold rush attracted so many, that from 1896-1899, about one hundred thousand people attempted to go to the Yukon; however, only thirty thousand made it to Dawson City, the targeted boom town near the mouth of the Klondike. When London learned about the gold rush, he immediately set out for the Yukon hoping he would strike it rich—he was practically penniless at the time. London teamed up with his brother-in-law, who borrowed money and bought all the supplies that they thought was required: “heavy boots, shovels, picks, a map, tobacco, chewing gum, whiskey, food, sharp knives, books, mittens, long underwear, a used tent, and—carefully wrapped—a tremendous quantity of matches” (Schroeder 55).
When London and his brother-in-law arrived, they were overloaded with provisions, which exhausted their journey up Chilkoot Pass, a dangerously steep incline—London’s supplies alone weighed over 1,500 pounds. Because of their heavy gear, it was essential for London and his company to build a boat in order to reach Dawson City in time before winter. After the team successfully built the Yukon Belle, they set off on a dangerous journey, tackling raging rapids—some of the deadliest in the region. The ship came close to capsizing, but all the men managed to hang on. Unfortunately, London and his crew decided not to go to Dawson City because there were rumors of famine; therefore, after nearly freezing to death, they were forced to settle in an abandoned cabin on an island that “was located 80 miles from Dawson, between the Steward River and Henderson Creek” (Schroeder 60). Many gold seekers stumbled upon London’s cabin and warmed up by his fire. “To his cabin came…trappers, Indians, Yellow Legs, chechaquos, seasoned sourdoughs, men from all over the world who were to gain immortality in [his] gripping tales of Alaska” (Stone 89). The Call of the Wild includes most of the cities and areas that London journeyed through.
London did manage to travel to Dawson City in order to register claims and to listen “to the old-timers spin their tales of near starvation, lost fortunes, blizzards, and faithful sled dogs” (Schroder 61). Eventually, it seemed unlikely that Jack and his companions were going to find any gold. Unfortunately, since fruits and vegetables were considered a luxury in the arctic, London became malnourished and eventually suffered from scurvy. “His face became covered with sores and his few remaining teeth weakened in the gums” (Stone 94). London was forced to seek medical treatment for a spell, and then he headed back to San Francisco, conquered and in poor health; however, “he did not realize that he was returning with a tremendous bonanza: the raw, bristling stories that would later become White Fang, The Call of the Wild, Burning Daylight, and The Son of the Wolf” (Schroeder 63).
In the beginning of The Call of the Wild, London portrays Buck as a tamed and trusting dog who dominates all the other animals on his master’s land. Buck’s character is actually based on a real dog that London encountered named “Jack, an animal that had much impressed [him] in the north. The dog was a mixed breed—a St. Bernard and some kind of Collie or Shepherd” (Dyer 83). In the story, Buck lives in California in the Santa Clara Valley until he is stolen by the gardener because he “had learned to trust in men he knew, and to give them credit for a wisdom that outreached his own” (London 5). After Buck is sold for gambling money, he travels abroad to where he begins his treacherous journey in the freezing cold as a sled dog after being purchased by Perrault, a courier for the Canadian government. Buck suffers culture shock as he endures freezing temperatures for the first time, seeing dogs fighting to the death, and being trained to pull heavy equipment when “mushers customarily used thirty-foot-long whips of plaited seal hide” (Dyer 87).
London’s novella, The Call of the Wild boasts the timeless theme of survival in nature, exposing the relationship between nature and culture, and where urban standards are not the protocol for survival. London successfully portrays the treacherous nature of the artic success by exploiting Buck as the central character in the story. Although Buck is a dog, the arctic nature he faces causes him to encounter the same obstacles that his mushers endure. Through Bucks thoughts and actions, London effectively portrays the cruel nature in the Yukon region by providing vicious fatal imagery concerning man and animals, especially ones that are accustomed to American society and standards.
After Buck undergoes dogsled training, the first fatal outcome he witnesses is a vicious dog fight because “these dogs and men were not town dogs and men. They were savages, all of them, who knew no law but the law of club and fang” (London 12). After Curly’s face was ripped off by another dog, the next horrific disaster takes place in the untamed arctic is on the shore of Lake Laberge when nearly 80 starving huskies viciously attack Buck’s campsite which they barley survive. Consequently, Buck is forced to kill Spitz, a cruel evil spirited sled dog—he becomes the leader of the team. He eventually fell into the hands of other mushers for the right price, and they all tragically die because of urban ignorance, or fall victim native peoples, the Yeehats.
Buck’s unfortunate predicaments define the frigid arctic nature that retaliates against those who dare to meddle with it, especially those who are foreign to the territory. When Buck is purchased by Hal and Charles, London makes it apparent that they have no idea how to survive in the Yukon region because they are rich, arrogant, big city morons. “Mercedes cried when her clothes-bags were dumped on the ground and article after article was thrown out…for canned goods on the Long Trail is a thing to dream about” (London 41). Hal ignores the fact that Buck and his team are exhausted and nearly starving after running a record of 14 days—he thinks “they’re lazy [and he’s] got to whip them to get anything out of them” (London 39). London also effectively demonstrates the harsh consequences of man’s ignorance and the glacial environment by tragically eliminating every dog that is a member of Buck’s team, especially when Hal, Charles, Mercedes, and the few remaining dogs fall through the ice and die. After John Thornton rescues Buck, the dog saves him from treacherous rapids; however, Buck is sadly unable to save his beloved companion from the Yeehats.
London centralizes Bucks character in order to successfully demonstrate man’s attempt to conquer, use, and control the natural world. Men foolishly risk their lives for the chance to find gold in The Call of the Wild—they also resort to stealing, beating, starving and exhausting dogs to death—animals that loyally and successfully guide and transport them through terribly frigid conditions. London clearly displays how men use elements of the natural world by revealing details about the heavy reliance on animals in order to benefit their financial status. The gardener who stole Buck in the beginning sold him “because he loved to play the Chinese lottery” (London 4). The gardener realized that dogs were in high demand because of the Klondike Gold rush; therefore, dogs were often the target of theft. Buck is later purchased by Perrault for $300, and then purchased by Hal, Charles, and Mercedes who were along for the ride hoping to strike it richer, even though they were already considered wealthy. Buck is understood by humans as a price tag—not the valuable asset and loyal servant he really is: gold is nature’s only asset in a man’s eyes. Even John Thornton, the heroic man that saves Bucks life, makes a bet on Buck, and wins “sixteen hundred dollars in five minutes” (London 60).
Throughout London’s story, he displays the nature of man cruelly using animals beyond their natural abilities because the overworked sled dogs are often neglected. Sadly, when Buck is in Perrault’s hands, he is only fed a “pound and half of sun-dried salmon, which was his ration for each day…He never had enough, and suffered from perpetual hunger pangs” (London 17). Likewise, Hal and Charles also feed the dogs very little because they are too ignorant to ration at first; therefore, “Hal awoke one day to the fact that his dog-food was half gone and the distance only quarter covered…so he cut down even the orthodox ration and tried to increase the day’s travel” (London 42). Eventually, many of the dogs were shot and killed because of their poor performance due to being overworked and underfed by fools. Before John Thornton saves Buck, Hal whips and runs him nearly to death. “[Buck] lay quietly where he had fallen. The lash bit into him again and again…This was the first time Buck had failed, in itself a sufficient reason to drive Hal into rage. He exchanged the whip for the customary club” (London 46).
In The Call of the Wild, London successfully portrays nature by utilizing a dog as the main character because it clearly demonstrates the struggles of humans and animals against the natural environment in the Yukon Territory. London’s grim descriptions of arctic survival clearly reflect his personal experience during the Klondike Gold rush in the late 1890s. London saw the Yukon Territory as a threat to foreigners because he barely survived in the region. “[London] compressed the entire sprawling Klondike experience into a spare and poetic thirty-two thousand words. Like his creator, the dog Buck travels from California to Dyea, traverses the Chilkoot Pass, follows the Yukon River trail (the frozen surface of the river was the highway for dog teams), and arrives at Dawson City. Like his creator, Buck nearly dies in the Northland but eventually triumphs, become the stuff of legend” (Dyer xix).
London’s arctic stories provide readers with influential, unattractive descriptions of remote and unfamiliar lands. The Call of the Wild successfully reflects London’s own personal involvements during the Klondike Gold rush, exposing the struggle of folks and animals against the organic environment in the Yukon Territory by employing Buck as the central character. In the end of his grim tale, London portrays Buck as part of the natural environment in the Yukon region—London sets him free. Buck choses to become part of the untamed nature in the Yukon region. He joins up with a pack of wolves and is never seen again; however, the Yeehats noted a change in the breed of timber wolves; for some were seen with splashes of brown on head and muzzle, and with a rift of white centring down the chest” (London 72).
Works Cited
London, Jack. The Call of the Wild: Annotated and Illustrated. Ed. Daniel Dyer. University of Oklahoma Press, 1997. Print.
Schroeder, Alan. Jack London. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1992. Print.
Stone, Irving. Sailor on Horseback: The Biography of Jack London. Cambridge: Riverside Press, 1938. Print.
In order to understand London’s personal connection to The Call of the Wild, it is important to learn about the Klondike Gold rush and to examine some of London’s firsthand battles he faced while he was a tourist looking for gold in the cruel arctic territory. The Klondike Gold rush “was the last great American gold rush” that began quickly after the sparkling metal was discovered by three men along the Klondike River “on 17 August 1896” (Dyer xvi). Nearly a year later, the news finally reached San Francisco. The gold rush attracted so many, that from 1896-1899, about one hundred thousand people attempted to go to the Yukon; however, only thirty thousand made it to Dawson City, the targeted boom town near the mouth of the Klondike. When London learned about the gold rush, he immediately set out for the Yukon hoping he would strike it rich—he was practically penniless at the time. London teamed up with his brother-in-law, who borrowed money and bought all the supplies that they thought was required: “heavy boots, shovels, picks, a map, tobacco, chewing gum, whiskey, food, sharp knives, books, mittens, long underwear, a used tent, and—carefully wrapped—a tremendous quantity of matches” (Schroeder 55).
When London and his brother-in-law arrived, they were overloaded with provisions, which exhausted their journey up Chilkoot Pass, a dangerously steep incline—London’s supplies alone weighed over 1,500 pounds. Because of their heavy gear, it was essential for London and his company to build a boat in order to reach Dawson City in time before winter. After the team successfully built the Yukon Belle, they set off on a dangerous journey, tackling raging rapids—some of the deadliest in the region. The ship came close to capsizing, but all the men managed to hang on. Unfortunately, London and his crew decided not to go to Dawson City because there were rumors of famine; therefore, after nearly freezing to death, they were forced to settle in an abandoned cabin on an island that “was located 80 miles from Dawson, between the Steward River and Henderson Creek” (Schroeder 60). Many gold seekers stumbled upon London’s cabin and warmed up by his fire. “To his cabin came…trappers, Indians, Yellow Legs, chechaquos, seasoned sourdoughs, men from all over the world who were to gain immortality in [his] gripping tales of Alaska” (Stone 89). The Call of the Wild includes most of the cities and areas that London journeyed through.
London did manage to travel to Dawson City in order to register claims and to listen “to the old-timers spin their tales of near starvation, lost fortunes, blizzards, and faithful sled dogs” (Schroder 61). Eventually, it seemed unlikely that Jack and his companions were going to find any gold. Unfortunately, since fruits and vegetables were considered a luxury in the arctic, London became malnourished and eventually suffered from scurvy. “His face became covered with sores and his few remaining teeth weakened in the gums” (Stone 94). London was forced to seek medical treatment for a spell, and then he headed back to San Francisco, conquered and in poor health; however, “he did not realize that he was returning with a tremendous bonanza: the raw, bristling stories that would later become White Fang, The Call of the Wild, Burning Daylight, and The Son of the Wolf” (Schroeder 63).
In the beginning of The Call of the Wild, London portrays Buck as a tamed and trusting dog who dominates all the other animals on his master’s land. Buck’s character is actually based on a real dog that London encountered named “Jack, an animal that had much impressed [him] in the north. The dog was a mixed breed—a St. Bernard and some kind of Collie or Shepherd” (Dyer 83). In the story, Buck lives in California in the Santa Clara Valley until he is stolen by the gardener because he “had learned to trust in men he knew, and to give them credit for a wisdom that outreached his own” (London 5). After Buck is sold for gambling money, he travels abroad to where he begins his treacherous journey in the freezing cold as a sled dog after being purchased by Perrault, a courier for the Canadian government. Buck suffers culture shock as he endures freezing temperatures for the first time, seeing dogs fighting to the death, and being trained to pull heavy equipment when “mushers customarily used thirty-foot-long whips of plaited seal hide” (Dyer 87).
London’s novella, The Call of the Wild boasts the timeless theme of survival in nature, exposing the relationship between nature and culture, and where urban standards are not the protocol for survival. London successfully portrays the treacherous nature of the artic success by exploiting Buck as the central character in the story. Although Buck is a dog, the arctic nature he faces causes him to encounter the same obstacles that his mushers endure. Through Bucks thoughts and actions, London effectively portrays the cruel nature in the Yukon region by providing vicious fatal imagery concerning man and animals, especially ones that are accustomed to American society and standards.
After Buck undergoes dogsled training, the first fatal outcome he witnesses is a vicious dog fight because “these dogs and men were not town dogs and men. They were savages, all of them, who knew no law but the law of club and fang” (London 12). After Curly’s face was ripped off by another dog, the next horrific disaster takes place in the untamed arctic is on the shore of Lake Laberge when nearly 80 starving huskies viciously attack Buck’s campsite which they barley survive. Consequently, Buck is forced to kill Spitz, a cruel evil spirited sled dog—he becomes the leader of the team. He eventually fell into the hands of other mushers for the right price, and they all tragically die because of urban ignorance, or fall victim native peoples, the Yeehats.
Buck’s unfortunate predicaments define the frigid arctic nature that retaliates against those who dare to meddle with it, especially those who are foreign to the territory. When Buck is purchased by Hal and Charles, London makes it apparent that they have no idea how to survive in the Yukon region because they are rich, arrogant, big city morons. “Mercedes cried when her clothes-bags were dumped on the ground and article after article was thrown out…for canned goods on the Long Trail is a thing to dream about” (London 41). Hal ignores the fact that Buck and his team are exhausted and nearly starving after running a record of 14 days—he thinks “they’re lazy [and he’s] got to whip them to get anything out of them” (London 39). London also effectively demonstrates the harsh consequences of man’s ignorance and the glacial environment by tragically eliminating every dog that is a member of Buck’s team, especially when Hal, Charles, Mercedes, and the few remaining dogs fall through the ice and die. After John Thornton rescues Buck, the dog saves him from treacherous rapids; however, Buck is sadly unable to save his beloved companion from the Yeehats.
London centralizes Bucks character in order to successfully demonstrate man’s attempt to conquer, use, and control the natural world. Men foolishly risk their lives for the chance to find gold in The Call of the Wild—they also resort to stealing, beating, starving and exhausting dogs to death—animals that loyally and successfully guide and transport them through terribly frigid conditions. London clearly displays how men use elements of the natural world by revealing details about the heavy reliance on animals in order to benefit their financial status. The gardener who stole Buck in the beginning sold him “because he loved to play the Chinese lottery” (London 4). The gardener realized that dogs were in high demand because of the Klondike Gold rush; therefore, dogs were often the target of theft. Buck is later purchased by Perrault for $300, and then purchased by Hal, Charles, and Mercedes who were along for the ride hoping to strike it richer, even though they were already considered wealthy. Buck is understood by humans as a price tag—not the valuable asset and loyal servant he really is: gold is nature’s only asset in a man’s eyes. Even John Thornton, the heroic man that saves Bucks life, makes a bet on Buck, and wins “sixteen hundred dollars in five minutes” (London 60).
Throughout London’s story, he displays the nature of man cruelly using animals beyond their natural abilities because the overworked sled dogs are often neglected. Sadly, when Buck is in Perrault’s hands, he is only fed a “pound and half of sun-dried salmon, which was his ration for each day…He never had enough, and suffered from perpetual hunger pangs” (London 17). Likewise, Hal and Charles also feed the dogs very little because they are too ignorant to ration at first; therefore, “Hal awoke one day to the fact that his dog-food was half gone and the distance only quarter covered…so he cut down even the orthodox ration and tried to increase the day’s travel” (London 42). Eventually, many of the dogs were shot and killed because of their poor performance due to being overworked and underfed by fools. Before John Thornton saves Buck, Hal whips and runs him nearly to death. “[Buck] lay quietly where he had fallen. The lash bit into him again and again…This was the first time Buck had failed, in itself a sufficient reason to drive Hal into rage. He exchanged the whip for the customary club” (London 46).
In The Call of the Wild, London successfully portrays nature by utilizing a dog as the main character because it clearly demonstrates the struggles of humans and animals against the natural environment in the Yukon Territory. London’s grim descriptions of arctic survival clearly reflect his personal experience during the Klondike Gold rush in the late 1890s. London saw the Yukon Territory as a threat to foreigners because he barely survived in the region. “[London] compressed the entire sprawling Klondike experience into a spare and poetic thirty-two thousand words. Like his creator, the dog Buck travels from California to Dyea, traverses the Chilkoot Pass, follows the Yukon River trail (the frozen surface of the river was the highway for dog teams), and arrives at Dawson City. Like his creator, Buck nearly dies in the Northland but eventually triumphs, become the stuff of legend” (Dyer xix).
London’s arctic stories provide readers with influential, unattractive descriptions of remote and unfamiliar lands. The Call of the Wild successfully reflects London’s own personal involvements during the Klondike Gold rush, exposing the struggle of folks and animals against the organic environment in the Yukon Territory by employing Buck as the central character. In the end of his grim tale, London portrays Buck as part of the natural environment in the Yukon region—London sets him free. Buck choses to become part of the untamed nature in the Yukon region. He joins up with a pack of wolves and is never seen again; however, the Yeehats noted a change in the breed of timber wolves; for some were seen with splashes of brown on head and muzzle, and with a rift of white centring down the chest” (London 72).
Works Cited
London, Jack. The Call of the Wild: Annotated and Illustrated. Ed. Daniel Dyer. University of Oklahoma Press, 1997. Print.
Schroeder, Alan. Jack London. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1992. Print.
Stone, Irving. Sailor on Horseback: The Biography of Jack London. Cambridge: Riverside Press, 1938. Print.