Customer Reviews

The Call of the Wild and Selected Stories (100th Anniversary)

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I have to admit that I have not really given Jack London his proper due up to now. Perhaps it is because I don't by my nature like outdoor adventure type stories, or perhaps it is because I associate White Fang and "To Build a Fire" with my youth. The fact is that Jack London is a tremendously talented writer. His understanding of the basics of life matches his great knowledge of the snow-enshrouded world of the upper latitudes. The Call of the Wild, despite its relative brevity and the fact that it is (at least on its surface) a dog's story, contains as much truth and reality of man's own struggles as that which can be sifted from the life's work of many other respected authors. The story he tells is starkly real; as such, it is not pretty, and it is not elevating. As an animal lover, I found parts of this story heartbreaking: Buck's removal from the civilized Southland in which he reigned supreme among his animal kindred to the brutal cold and even more brutal machinations of hard, weathered men who literally beat him and whipped him full of lashes is supremely sad and bothersome. Even more sad are the stories of the dogs that fill the sled's traces around him. Poor good-spirited Curly never has a chance, while Dave's story is made the more unbearable by his brave, undying spirit. Even the harsh taskmaster Spitz has to be pitied, despite his harsh nature, for the reader knows full well that this harsh nature was forced upon him by man and his thirst for gold. Buck's travails are long and hard, but the nobility of his spirit makes of him a hero--this despite the fact that his primitive animal instincts and urges continually come to dominate him, pushing away the memory and reality of his younger, softer days among civilized man. Buck not only conquers all--the weather, the harshness of the men who harness his powers in turn, the other dogs and wolves he comes into contact with--he thrives. The redemption he seems to gain with the fortunate encounter with John Thornton is also dashed in the end, after which Buck finally gives in fully to "the call of the wild" and becomes a creature of nature only. While this is a sad ending of sorts, one also feels joy and satisfaction at Buck's refusal to surrender to nature's harsh trials and his ability to find his own kind of happiness in the transplanted world in which he was placed. This isn't a story to read when you are depressed. London's writing is beautiful, poignant, and powerful, but it is also somber, sometimes morose, infinitely real, and at times gut-wrenching and heartbreaking.

The other stories are also powerful tales of survival (or demise) in the face of nature's harshness. I feel I am not alone in saying that I cannot recall most of the stories I had to read in school in my younger years but I distinctly recall "To Build a Fire." London's real, visceral language and description is hard to forget, as is the human pride and stupidity that characterizes the protagonist--London seems to be saying that we must respect and understand nature in order to survive and prosper. The protagonist's demise is more comical than tragic because of his lack of understanding and appreciation for the harsh realities of his environment. All of the stories bear the same general themes as the two I have mentioned. In each, man or beast is forced to battle against nature; survival is largely determined by each one's willingness or freedom to recede into primitiveness and let the blood of his ancestors rise up within his veins. Those who refuse to give in to their lowest instincts and who do not truly respect nature do not survive. I feel that London sometimes went a little overboard in "The Call of the Wild" when describing Buck's visions and instinctual memories of his ancestors among the first men, but his writing certainly remains compelling and beautiful, an important reminder to those of us today who are soft and take nature for granted that nature must be respected and that even her harshest realities are in some ways beautiful and noble, and that the law of survival applies just as much to us as it does to the beasts of the field.

This is the first Jack London I have ever read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The Call of the Wild has so much depth and intelligence to the writing that I can imagine books being written about it, and at the same time it's written in such a way that many elementary school children should be able to understand it (if standards are still up where they were when I was that age).
The various stories after The Call of the Wild are also interesting. They are all similarly themed, with the protagonist suffering through the tortures of the cold wilderness, freezing and starving to death, but each is unique, and Jack London's imagination is never in question to the reader. Overall, excellent writing.

Long before TV, the written word was the wellstone of many political movements. This is as true in America as it is in Europe, and many modern American books are testament to this. Upton Sinclair's Jungle started the food safety movement, Nader's Unsafe at any Speed brought public and Congress's attention to car safety, and the Grapes of Wrath put white poverty into the attention of the mainstream media. This book, more than any other single work of American literature, can be argued as giving birth to the animal-rights movement; a very unique feature of American society as animals have almost no rights everywhere else in the world. This story itself is short and accessible to most elementary school students. What it does is create a parallel between human suffering and the suffering of animals; and in doing so, it puts a human face on animals. As such, it deserves to be on any list of great works of English literature, and as part of any middle school curriculum.

I read three short stories from the book, "The Call of the Wild and Selected Stories", by Jack London. These stories include "To Build a Fire", "To the Man on Trail,", and "Diable the Dog." I recommend all three of these short stories to people who like descriptive short stories with exciting scenes and sad endings.

The story "To Build a Fire" is about a man who is heading up to camp, which is twelve hours away in seventy-five-degree below zero weather. This story is about man versus the cold, frigid, abilities of Mother Nature. The theme of this story seems to be about how challenging nature can be to humanity.

The second story, "To the Man on Trail," is about a band of men from many different lands celebrating Christmas when an under cover thief shows up. This is an exciting story that confuses the reader at times because you can't tell if he is good or bad until the end. The theme of this story is about man versus society. It makes one think that you can't judge a book by its cover.

The last story of the three, written by Jack London, is called "Diable - A Dog." This is about an evil dog who is owned by an evil owner. His owner beat him so much that he started to take revenge against his owner by trying to kill him. This story is a great example of the saying, "You reap what you sow." This story seems to be about the conflict of man versus nature, as well as man versus himself, since the dog had a natural evil temperament, which was worsened by the beatings he received from the man. Both of these factors created evil in this dog, which in the end defeated the man.

I had mixed feelings about these stories because I normally prefer science fiction novels. I also didn't like how the main character in two of the three short stories always perished. However, what I really like in the stories was the author's way of describing his characters and their conflicts. I t made me feel like I was a part of the story. I recommend these stories to anyone who enjoys rich, detailed, stories with exciting scenes.
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Jack London is still the most widely read American author in the whole world. He was one of the first to incorporate modern psychology into his fiction and gave birth to the 20th century short story. Great eye for detail

The Call of the Wild is about a dog and his adventures. The writing of it and the action that takes place is excellent.

Ok, this might just be me, but I found this book extremely boring. The author did an OK job on making it bearable for girls, yet I would definitely classify this as a "boy book." I found it impossible to enjoy, although guys may like it. I don't like reading about animals. I like reading about people, and how they react to different situations, a position no animal could fulfil. My favorite books are The Phantom of the Opera and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. If you like those books, you will probably not like this one.