by Wendy R.

Created on: March 28, 2009

Call of the Wild is the classic story of a dog named Buck, a powerful half St. Bernard, half sheepdog. Buck was living an average life in California with his owner, Judge Miller, until gold was discovered in Canada. Buck was then kidnapped by his owner's gardener and sold to dog traders who taught him to obey by abusing him. He was eventually shipped north to the Klondike where he witnessed cruelty to the dogs around him.

Buck becomes the property of two mail carriers, who work for the Canadian government. He learns to adjust to his life as a sled dog, and relearns his wild instincts by learning to fight, hunt for food, and sleep under the snow at night. Eventually, after fighting with and killing another dog, Buck becomes the lead dog for the sleds. The mail carriers force Buck and the other dogs to carry loads much heavier than they can accommodate, and eventually their poor planning takes its toll on the dogs and the humans. They begin to run out of food and only a few of the dogs survive to John Thornton's camp. Hal, one of the American gold hunters who now had Buck and the other dogs which had survived the original trip tired to force the dogs towards the gold, against the recommendation of John Thornton. Luckily for Buck, Thornton keeps him, as Hal and the other dogs die when they fall through ice which is too soft.

Thornton then becomes Buck's master and they take care of and become devoted to each other. Buck saves Thornton's life and stays with him, but continues to feel the pull of the wild. When Thornton is killed by Yeehat Indians, Buck attacks them, killing several of them. He then heads back out into the wild, where he becomes the leader of a wolf pack. Every year of his life afterwards, Buck goes back to where his master died and mourns him, before returning to the wild.

This is a good book, and the author showed great emotions throughout. The difficulty of the journey and the cruel treatment of the dogs make this a difficult book to read in parts. However, it is a quick read that keeps your interest. Although the book is written from Buck's perspective, it is not difficult to imagine what the animal is going through. It was interesting to watch Buck change from a domesticated dog into a wild one, one with an unbreakable spirit and his fight for survival. I would recommend this classic to anyone over twelve, but not to younger readers.

Learn more about this author, Wendy R..
Click here to send this author comments or questions.