The Call of the Wild

Title: The Call Of The Wild

Author: Jack London

Copyright: 1986

Setting:

The beginning setting takes place on the property of Judge Miller in Santa Clara

Valley, California in 1897. Later the setting takes place in Alaska during the Gold Rush

of the Klondike.

Main Character:

Buck is the only main character of the book. Buck is a dog who is part Saint

Bernard and part Shephard.

Summary:

Buck is my favorite character of the book. He had such a great life before he was

stolen and sold to some very nasty people. Buck was treated very badly and he had to

learn how to survive. He didn't let the people know he was scared. The only way to

survive was to listen, watch and learn. Buck wanted to be the leader and fought for what

he wanted and he got it.

Buck had a great life living with Judge Miller and his family. He had free run of

the place and played with his daughters and hunted with his sons. All the other animals

were stuck in the house or behind fences.

One day a gardener named Manuel, that Buck had trusted, stole Buck and took

him to a train station and sold him to people who used large dogs to pull sleds in Alaska.

These men were not nice and would beat Buck and the other dogs very badly to let them

know who was boss. Buck and the other dogs had no idea what was happening to them.

The dogs were put onto the trains and taken to a ship that took them to Alaska where they

would be sold again in teams to pull the sleds of people looking for gold and other work.

When Buck and the other dogs got off the ship, the first thing they saw was white.

They didn't know what it was. It was snow. They learned quickly how hard and scary

this would be. Other dogs being used were wild wolves that would tear the new dogs

apart if they had the chance.

Buck and eight other dogs were sold to Perrault and Francois. Buck knew he

needed to learn how to survive fast. One of the dogs, Spitz, who was the leader was a

wolf and very mean. He would bully the other dogs. Buck hated him and one day

wanted to take him down to take his place as leader. The dogs had to live through many

dangers and survive with little food and sleep.

One night Buck had his chance to get Spitz. Spitz fought hard but Buck was the

smarter dog and he won. The other wolves killed Spitz. When Buck went to take Spitz's

place, Francois tried to put him back in his old spot but Buck would not have it. They

tried by whipping Buck but Buck was able to get away every time. The two men gave up

and let Buck lead. They realized Buck was a great leader.

Francois and Perrault finished their work and were done with the dogs. The dogs

needed to be sold again but they were in bad shape. They had all lost a lot a weight and

they just traveled over 2500 miles in less than five months. No one wanted to buy them

until Charles, Hal, and Mercedes came along. They had no idea how to work a dog sled

and what was involved. They packed too many things and overloaded the sled so when

they pulled away everything fell off. They repacked the sled and had a helper go along to

help them. They were not careful feeding the dogs so they were running out of food. Hal

was very mean to the dogs always beating them with the whip and club. He carried a gun

with him too.

John Thorton was the helper. He did not like how Hal treated the dogs. The dogs