The Call of The Wild , a classic novel, was written by Jack London in 1903. This book has withstood the test of time as over 100 years later it is still read. When the book was first released, it was instantly a best-seller, the first edition of 10,000 books, sold out within the first 24 hours. Before writing the book, London went to the Yukon and experienced the life and hardships that were happening during that time.  These experiences shaped his novel and judging from its  popularity, the novel is one to which people can relate their own experiences and emotions. London’s novel should be considered a classic because of its timeless quality, its descriptiveness and its universal appeal.

One of the reasons The Call of The Wild is a classic is because it has stood the test of time. The book triggers strong emotional responses within us and has themes to which readers can strongly relate. One of the themes of the novel is survival of the fittest, a theme that is universal. One writer has suggested that London seemed to have had Origin of Species in mind when he wrote this book (www.novelguide.com). The main character, Buck, is a domesticated dog of a shepherd and St. Bernard mix. He is kidnapped by a servant from the home where he was living and sold to strangers. This is the beginning of  Buck’s adventure and he has no idea the challenges he has to face head of him. He is taken to the North where he is forced to be part of a dog sled team and is rapidly changed by the exposure to this new dog eat dog environment.  He has to survive the elements, and has to learn the law of “club and fang”.  He learned that he would have to fight in order to survive. “So that was the way. No fair play. Once down, that was the end of you”(chapter 2). Buck also learns to steal from others to help ensure his own survival. “It marked his adaptability, his capability to adjust himself to changing conditions, the lack of which would have meant swift and terrible death. It marked, further, the decay or going to pieces of his moral nature...”(28). Throughout the book, Buck is sold through the hands of multiple owners and experiences different feelings towards eat Man-Dog relationship he was placed in. At the end of the book, Buck is under the care of John Thornton and in this partnership, Buck learns that he still has to have a master. But, more importantly, it is in this relationship that he goes beyond survival, to fully open up and love his master back. They both take turns and save each other's life, strengthening this connection of love which Buck had never experienced before towards anyone. Readers relate to Buck’s feelings and his struggle to adapt in order to survive. It is these personal connections with people that give meaning to Buck’s struggle, a meaning that has been relived by decades of readers.

Another reason The Call of The Wild is a classic novel is because of its descriptiveness. London describes the setting and all aspects of the book with a wonderful richness and detail. Because of London’s ability to paint a word picture of the North,  the reader is transported into the story and gets a deeper understanding of what it must have been like to have lived during the gold rush. His characters come to life, whether human or canine.  “All that stirring of old instincts which at stated periods drives men out from the sounding cities to forest and plain to kill things by chemically propelled leaden bullets, the blood lust, the joy to kill-- all this was Buck’s, only it was infinitely more intimate. He was ranging at the head of the pack, running the wild thing down, the living meat, to kill with how own teeth and wash his muzzle to the eyes in warm blood.”(48) Because of London’s vivid descriptions, the reader is able to clearly picture characters and events. Thornton, Buck’s final owner,  is also a key character in the book, and one who was typical of that period of the gold rush in the far North. An anonymous reviewer cited the "fine spirituality. . . [the] cosmical atmosphere [and the] masterly description," concluding: "It is this which is the highest in literary art, as it is in music, in picturing and molding, to give the work the character, the superhuman strength and the delicacy of the indefinable something which stands far back in the highest human consciousness.” (http://www.jacklondons.net/greatestworldnovel.html) . Thornton has a gritty, logical approach to challenges he has to face and understood the dangers inherent in the environment.

The final reason that this novel is a classic is because of its universal appeal. Few other book has produced such a worldwide impact. "The call of the Wild is unique in its appeal to readers of all ages, social classes, and civilizations," explains Jacqueline Tavernier-Courbin in her perceptive study of the novel as A Naturalistic Romance: "Since its publication in 1903, it has been the most widely read American novel in the world, and its fame is far from diminishing."(http://www.jacklondons.net/greatestworldnovel.html) Readers have appreciated the realism created by London telling the story, recreating the dogs perspective which brings the readers much closer to his character. The reader almost forget that Buck is not human . There is always this underlying conflict between man vs nature in the book which again is something that all readers can all relate to. Mankind thinks that he can control nature but in the end, nature proves too powerful.

In conclusion, The Call of The Wild is a classic novel because of its timeless quality, the novels descriptiveness, and its powerful universal appeal.

Post #4: Conflicts

Conflicts

Throughout The Call of the Wild, I can across outstanding conflicts such as, Buck vs. man, Buck vs. nature, Buck vs. Instinct and being a pet vs. a wild animal; but I believe the main conflict is survival of the fittest and adapting. Buck is kidnapped from his home and is instantly thrown into a life were you must fight to survive every minute of the day or there is no mercy for you. Once you go down, your dead; there is no getting back up. The Call of The Wild fallows Bucks transformation form being a domesticated house pet to a merciful less wild dog. He has had to adapt to his new life and most everything is different, new, and frightening. 

Post #3 : Point of View

While reading The Call of The Wild ,I found that it is told threw a unique point of view. In this novel, what you’re reading is the author telling you the story and telling you exactly what the main character is doing, thinking, feeling etc. like its threw his eyes. The main character, the dog Buck, is loyal, strong, intelligent, and dedicated. London was able to get the feelings of all the character across to the reader every well threw using anthropomorphism; giving human like qualities to animals. For me, the made the book much more enjoyable then I think it would have been if it was just the narrator speaking. In this book, London has used the narrator and the characters in a way I haven’t read before in other books.

Post #2: Setting

Setting

In the main body of the book, the setting in this novel is explained like a travel log on the dog sled journey through the Yukon. As Buck is bought and sold to different owners and teams threw out the book, Buck travels thousands on miles across the Klondike. The climate in the book setting is dangerous and wild. Threw the narration describing Bucks surroundings, my attention was always kept and always sparked interest. Its do or die through the entire book and you never truly know what is going to happen next, of if the lovably main character is going to live. The Yukon environment is frozen plains and thick forest. The book is written about Bucks life over a couple year, so the season change many times and London has described it so well that you a truly see what he is talking about.      
As I’ve been reading this novel, I feel every connected to the land and all the characters within the story. Setting is so important to a story and, I believe, is the difference between a great story and one you wish you had not bothered to read. It makes all the difference and takes you, the reader, along for the journey too.

Post #1: Theme

Loyalty

One of the main themes in this novel is loyalty. All threw out this novel, Buck’s loyalty is unbreakable from whoever or whatever has obtained his devotion or trust. When Buck is stolen he is taken to the Klondike were he learns that it is a place were loyalty differs from his past southern home in Santa Clara Valley, where his kidnapper took him from. Under the law of Club and Fang, loyalty is of a different matter. When Buck was with his original family, he knew a loyalty that was instantly expected from him which he gave to this master willingly, for he loved him. But once you keep reading, the kind of loyalty that Buck develops and feels once he is up in the Klondike, seems to be much greater and stronger then he has ever known to have felt. Buck also discovers that loyalty is a virtue that often does not count for anything, although being loyal and working together is the only way to survive. When Spitz , a fellow team member, fights Buck when the hole group is fighting off a group of ravines unknown huskies, Spitz goes against the loyalty of their team and proves he’s disloyal to all. This could be devastating for the hole group. After this event in the novel, Buck finds it easy to convince the other dogs to go against Spitz because it is obvious he care more about himself then for any of their lives. It will be interesting to see what happens with these to characters and how this conflict is resolved.