Jack London led a life crammed with violence and adventure,
both of which were transferred into his writing. He had virtually no childhood,
starting work at age ten. At fifteen he became a hobo; at sixteen, an oyster
pirate and longshoreman. Joining the Alaskan gold rush at nineteen, London
hiked across the United States and Canada to the Klondike. He found no gold,
but later used some of his Northland experiences to draft The Call of the
Wild.
In Buck, the "hero" of the novel, The Call of the Wild, London
endows all of the cunning and savagery that he feels lurks not only in animals,
but in human beings as well. Buck's transformation into a ferocious animal
is London's attempt to argue his "survival of the fittest" philosophy;
the potential primitive beast he feels lies within each individual. However,
London's great love for animals and nature inspired him to also write of the
loyalty, affection, and excitement experienced by Buck. This adventuresome,
emotion-packed novel seems to capture all of these qualities in a powerful
way.
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