*Yukon River basin

*Yukon River basin. Region of mountains, glaciers, forests, and rivers. This place was well known to Jack London, an eager participant in the Klondike gold rush of 1897. Buck, stolen from Judge Miller’s place in California, is taken north where he is pressed into service as a sled dog, repeatedly making the grueling round trip between Dyea, on the coast, and Dawson, the rough-hewn territorial capital more than four hundred miles inland. In winter, this trip encompasses 95 miles of ice-packed lakes and 350 miles of frozen river. The lakes (Marsh, Tagish, Bennett, and Laberge), the differing stretches of the river (Thirty Mile, Five Fingers, and Hootalinqua), and the intersections of other rivers (Big Salmon, Little Salmon, and Pelly) become the weary round in which Buck’s transformation to wildness evolves. He becomes increasingly aware of the world beyond the sphere of man. Buck senses in the cold and the silence of the vast wilderness surrounding him a primitive call to run free. Eventually the weary dog is sold to Charles, Mercedes, and Hal, hopelessly inept and ill-prepared prospectors. They mistreat their dogs, finally starving them and beating them unmercifully. Buck is saved from death at their hands by John Thornton, a prospector encamped for the winter where the White River flows into the Yukon.

Thornton’s river camp

Thornton’s river camp. Temporary winter camp at the mouth of the White River. After John Thornton saves his life, Buck begins to heal in body and spirit as the spring thaw weakens the iron grasp of winter on the landscape. John Thornton, unable to accompany his partners earlier because of frostbitten feet, has also healed in this place, and he and Buck form a bond unlike any Buck has ever experienced. As the days lengthen and the air grows warmer, Buck begins to venture more often deep into the forest of spruce and birch, feeling more strongly the call to the life of his ancient ancestors, but always the love he bears Thornton calls him back to John’s campfire each evening. Later, John’s partners return for him and the prospectors continue their year-round search for gold along the Yukon River, ranging as far away as Circle, more than five hundred miles downstream. During these travels, Buck becomes ever more at home in the wild and remains attached to the world of man only because of his tie to Thornton.

Thornton’s valley camp

Thornton’s valley camp. Lodge in a mountain valley. In their endless search for gold, John and his partners sled up the Yukon River from Dawson. They continue along the Stewart River until it loses itself in the uncharted reaches of the Mackenzie Mountains. High along this backbone of the continent, they wander from valley to valley until in the spring they find a stream rich in gold deposits. Here they stay, working tirelessly, piling up sacks of gold beside the lodge. Buck is free to roam the wild country at will for days at a time, and deeply buried primordial instincts become ever stronger as he encounters free-ranging wolves. Finally, when he returns to camp and discovers John and his partners have been murdered by raiding Yeehats, Buck’s last bond with civilization is severed.

Buck kills two of the Indians as they flee the camp and shortly thereafter establishes his dominance over the wolf pack. Among the Yeehats, Buck becomes a legend, a Ghost Dog who runs at the head of the wolves through the high mountain valleys.

The Klondike Gold Rush
Early settlers in North America migrated with hopes of finding gold similar to what the Spaniards discovered in Central and South America. These dreams began to materialize in the 1840s when gold was discovered in California. Over the following decades, gold was found in various parts of the West. However, most prospectors who journeyed to California never fulfilled their dreams. By the 1880s, mining had evolved into a major industry, making it even more challenging for hopeful individuals to strike it rich.

In 1896, the discovery of gold in the Klondike region, part of the Yukon territory in Canada, reignited dreams for many who saw it as a final chance to achieve wealth. This gold rush drew thousands to the Alaska territory, which bordered the Yukon. The region was largely uncharted and most people were unprepared for the severe conditions, much like Charles, Hal, and Mercedes in The Call of the Wild. For the first time, towns were established in Alaska's interior. In 1897, the same year Jack London ventured to Alaska, the Klondike produced $22 million in gold.

Social Darwinism
Around the turn of the century, Charles Darwin's theory of evolution was adapted to human society by philosophers and a new group of social scientists, including Herbert Spencer and William Graham Sumner. Using the concept of natural selection, they argued that life was a survival struggle where the "fittest" would succeed. According to them, it was inevitable that only a few would thrive while the rest would live in poverty. Social Darwinists believed these conditions were not only unavoidable but beneficial, as they weeded out those deemed unfit or inferior.

This theory of social evolution seemed to align with the competitive nature of capitalism that was shaping America in the 1890s and 1900s. Wealth was concentrated in the hands of a few, such as Andrew Carnegie, whose book The Gospel of Wealth (1900) used Social Darwinist principles to justify his societal position. The prevailing belief was that extending charity to the needy would not only prolong the lives of those deemed unfit but also threaten society's overall survival. Nonetheless, Carnegie felt a duty to use his wealth for the public good. Instead of merely giving away his money, he established trusts to fund universities, art galleries, and public libraries.

For numerous Americans, including Protestants and social Progressives, the philosophies of Spencer and Sumner appeared ruthlessly barbaric and devoid of morality. They criticized Social Darwinists, accusing them of degeneracy and nihilism. Rather than accepting that those at the bottom of society would simply be weeded out, these Americans sought to level the playing field for everyone by enacting legislation and providing social services. They rejected the notions of "rugged individualism" and "survival of the fittest," instead advocating for social cooperation.

Philosophers like Lester Frank Ward argued that individuals had the power to transform their surroundings. Ward contended that a better society would emerge from actively protecting the weak, as opposed to following the laissez-faire doctrine of letting competition run its course.

Arts in the 1900s
Heavily influenced by Social Darwinism, urban poverty, and labor unrest, writers and artists of the early 1900s viewed the world as bleak. These younger creators aimed to move literature and art out of the genteel drawing rooms and into the streets, factories, and decaying farms, depicting life in all its gritty detail. They believed society was undergoing a form of natural selection but did not share Spencer's and Sumner's optimism about the end result. Instead, they concentrated on how individuals—the central focus of literature—were impacted by the unchecked capitalist forces shaping this new society.

Naturalist writers like Theodore Dreiser, Frank Norris, Stephen Crane, and Jack London crafted memorable characters who grappled with surviving in an indifferent and amoral world. The protagonist in Theodore Dreiser's Sister Carrie (1900) is attracted to Chicago by dreams of urban sophistication and material wealth, only to end up stuck in a low-paying, suffocating factory job. She escapes by becoming the mistress of a wealthy man, whose downfall parallels Carrie's rise as an actress. While she adapts to the new economy, he is ruined by it.

In the visual arts, a new group of artists known as the Ash Can School portrayed the realities of everyday urban life. They rejected the earlier artistic belief that beauty was the sole subject of art. Centered in New York City, this movement dismissed traditional views on technique and training, favoring a more impressionistic, gut-driven style. Their art often featured brown and gray urban landscapes filled with buildings and bridges. However, the Ash Can artists frequently celebrated the lives of immigrants and the urban working class, finding aesthetic value in groups previously ignored by earlier artists.

The narrative starts in 1897, marking the onset of the Klondike gold rush. The discovery of gold in the Klondike—a region in northwestern Canada's Yukon Territory—spurred thousands of prospectors to journey to the far north, all urgently needing dogs to pull sleds over the unforgiving arctic terrain. Buck, a large dog who has lived a comfortable life on a California ranch, is kidnapped and sent to the Yukon. Buck learns to survive in this harsh environment; he begins to awaken the primitive instincts of his ancestors, and eventually, he heeds the call of the wild.

Point of View
The point of view refers to the narrative angle from which a story is conveyed to the audience. The Call of the Wild is narrated from a unique perspective—that of a dog named Buck. However, a human narrator exists outside of Buck's awareness, interpreting the dog's world for human readers. London takes care to keep Buck believable as a dog. Although he elucidates Buck's motivations, London reminds readers that Buck does not engage in human-like reasoning. After a detailed passage on Buck's moral decline, explaining why Buck steals food from his master, London writes, "Not that Buck reasoned it out....unconsciously he accommodated himself to the new mode of life."

Setting
Setting encompasses the time, place, and cultural context in which a narrative unfolds. The Call of the Wild is distinctly divided into two contrasting regions—the Southland and the Northland. The South represents civilization, while the North signifies the wild. In the South, Buck leads a domesticated, stable life. Upon arriving in the North, he realizes that survival becomes his primary concern.

The stark difference between these regions is exemplified by their climates. The South is warm, with abundant food and leisurely living. In contrast, the North's harsh, cold environment is perilous for the unprepared, requiring hard work and significant suffering to survive.

Allegory
Many critics view The Call of the Wild as more than just a dog's story, interpreting it as an allegory about human society. An allegory narrates two stories simultaneously: the surface narrative, in this case, Buck's transformation, and the deeper "real" story implied by the literal events. Thus, the novel also explores themes of human savagery, the struggle against an unforgiving world, the quest for survival by any means, and the choice between human bonds and the desire to live independently of human connections.

Earle Labor describes The Call of the Wild as a "beast fable," because it "provoke[s] our interest— unconsciously if not consciously—in the human situation, not in the plight of the lower animals." Charles N. Watson, Jr. offers another perspective on this aspect of the novel: "This is not a matter of observing, as some critics have done, that the dog story involves a human 'allegory,' a term implying that Buck is merely a human being disguised as a dog. Rather, the intuition at the heart of the novel is that the process of individuation in a dog, wolf, or a human child are not fundamentally different."

Naturalism
There has been considerable discussion about how closely The Call of the Wild aligns with naturalism. Despite the debate, some core concepts of the novel serve as excellent examples of this theory. Emerging from realism, naturalism took root in the 1890s with authors like Stephen Crane and Frank Norris, who produced works that analyzed life with scientific detachment, concluding that behavior is governed by biological and socioeconomic forces. While local color and sentimental fiction were popular at the time, these writers advocated for literature that was "real" and "true" in its portrayal of the darker aspects of America's growing cities. Influenced by Darwinian theories of biological determinism, they applied these ideas to society, where the struggle for survival was frequently harsh and dehumanizing.

Buck's destiny is controlled by men, leaving him unable to make his own decisions. London emphasizes this when he writes that Buck ended up where he was "because men had found a yellow metal in the North, and because Manuel was a gardener's helper whose wages did not lap over the needs of his wife and divers small copies of himself." Essentially, forces beyond Buck's control are directing his life. The Call of the Wild vividly demonstrates the principles of naturalism, as Buck "is a product of biological, environmental, and hereditary forces."

Romanticism
In addition to its naturalist elements, some scholars also identify romantic aspects in The Call of the Wild. Although the romantic movement peaked in America during the mid-nineteenth century, its core principles have remained popular in American literature. In this style, strict realism is not crucial; instead, settings or characters often assume mythic or symbolic dimensions. As Buck begins to respond to the "call of the wild" he hears from his ancestors, the narrative shifts from realism to mythology.

As Earle Labor and Jeanne Campbell Reesman have noted, the novel is a "mythic romance" because "the call to adventure, departure, initiation, the perilous journey to the mysterious life-center, transformation, and apotheosis: these are...all present in Buck's progress from the civilized world through the natural and beyond to the supernatural world." Buck starts as a realistic character but evolves into the legendary "Ghost Dog" of Yeehat folklore. Similarly, the Northland setting transitions from a real place to a dreamlike, mythical realm.

London, who credited Herbert Spencer's "Philosophy of Style" for his stylistic education and admired Rudyard Kipling's straightforward prose, consistently emphasized that content should outweigh form. In his less successful works, this ambition to craft novels centered on ideas leads to disjointed narratives and static writing. However, in "The Call of the Wild," London conveys his story through action and character, steering clear of didactic tendencies.

London was a firm believer in the principles of realism, asserting that "A thing must be true, or it is not beautiful." The unique strength of "The Call of the Wild" lies in London's meticulous shift from the mundane to the visionary, mirroring the journey of his protagonist. Buck's life at Judge Miller's ranch in the Southland is depicted with straightforward, unembellished language. His brutal awakening to the harshness of the Yukon is narrated with concise, dynamic sentences. Finally, his evolution into the legendary Ghost Dog of the North is rendered in what have been described as tone poems. In this way, London's style in "The Call of the Wild" effectively enhances and completes the story's substance.

The Call of the Wild exemplifies the characteristics of a literary movement from the turn of the century known as naturalism. The story is portrayed with realism and directness, highlighting the impact of the environment on character development. The Call of the Wild is widely regarded as London's finest work of fiction. The author's strong command of the narrative and focused perspective lend the story its extraordinary coherence. London’s language is notably rich, filled with complex and melodious words. His writing style is both lean and vigorous, becoming more resonant with mystical undertones as the book progresses.

A frequently mentioned literary precursor to The Call of the Wild is Frank Norris's 1899 novel McTeague. Norris's novel follows the descent of a San Francisco dentist who ultimately destroys himself and those around him due to his alcoholism and violent nature. Similarly, London delves into the latent character traits influenced by one's environment that shape an individual's destiny.

Many readers have discovered allegories for human experiences in Buck's struggles. Some interpret The Call of the Wild as a kind of fable, akin to Aesop's fables, where an animal triumphs through strength and cleverness. Other readers, such as critic Earle Labor, view Buck as a mythic hero who embarks on a dangerous adventure, travels to a distant, enigmatic place, and undergoes a profound transformation.

When Jack London and his brother-in-law set out for the Yukon in 1897, the news of the gold strike had only been known for eleven days. Like thousands of other adventurers, they quickly seized the chance to relive the frontier spirit, test their manhood against a hostile environment, and potentially achieve great wealth. Similarly, the atavism in The Call of the Wild resonated with the nation's yearning for an escape from the increasing complexities of modern life.

London's own experiences with poverty, relentless factory work, life as a drifter, and imprisonment revealed to him that life was a brutal struggle for survival for many. Influenced by social Darwinism and the writings of Herbert Spencer, London believed that many of the downtrodden individuals in society were victims of hereditary and environmental factors beyond their control. However, The Call of the Wild also illustrates London's belief that the same harsh competitive pressures that eliminate the weak and unlucky can forge exceptional individuals, akin to the Nietzschean superman. Thus, the novel reflects London's conflicting attractions to strength and compassion, Nietzsche and Marx, individualism and cooperation, materialism and romanticism.

Additional Commentary

To audiences accustomed to Rambo-style violence, the brutality in The Call of the Wild may seem mild. Nonetheless, the ferocity of the dogs is vividly and powerfully depicted, as London illustrates "the law of club and fang" in brutal action.

John Thornton is portrayed as a kind and fair man, making his unexplained murder by the Yeehats shocking. This act, however, is part of London's social commentary—humans, like animals, can be savagely brutal. Buck's bloodthirsty revenge on the Yeehats might seem extreme to some readers, but it invites discussion about the nature of justice and retribution, as well as the values of civilization.

London's belief in environmental determinism is a central theme in this story. While not all readers may agree with his Darwinian assumptions, his portrayal of these ideas in The Call of the Wild should provoke thoughtful discussion about the extent to which environment shapes character.

1900s: Americans start to acknowledge the importance of conserving and protecting the environment. The U.S. government initiates forest preservation in 1891. In 1892, John Muir establishes the Sierra Club.

1903: President Theodore Roosevelt establishes the National Wildlife Refuge System.

Today: The Sierra Club remains active and is a significant player in the environmental movement. Conflicts between businesses and environmentalists frequently arise over the usage of America's natural resources and the protection of endangered species.

1900s: Wolves are native to and commonly found throughout the northwestern United States, Canada, and Alaska.

Today: Wolves have largely vanished from most parts of the United States. A controversial project to reintroduce wolves to Yellowstone National Park is carried out in the 1990s, despite opposition from local ranchers, and sees some success.

1900s: Alaska, which joined the United States in 1867, was sparsely populated until the gold rushes in Juneau (1880) and the Klondike (1897). These events drew numerous fortune seekers to the region.

Today: Alaska became a state in 1959. For many years, oil was the state's primary economic driver. However, the oil market downturn in the 1980s hurt Alaska's economy. The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill polluted over 1,285 miles of shoreline, including the Prince William Sound wildlife sanctuary. Alaska still holds the largest area of pristine wilderness in the U.S. and continues to navigate the balance between economic development and environmental conservation.

1900s: Theodore Roosevelt becomes President of the United States in 1901. As a member of the "Rough Riders," a volunteer cavalry regiment, Roosevelt was a war hero in the 1898 Spanish-American War. He was also a passionate sportsman, hunter, and adventurer, embodying a robust masculinity that set a new standard for American manhood.

Today: President William Jefferson Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives in 1998 for lying under oath about an affair with a White House intern. Many Americans view Clinton's actions and subsequent dishonesty as a disgrace to American values and indicative of a decline in the dignity of the presidency.

The philosophy behind "The Call of the Wild" was influenced by London's studies of Charles Darwin, Herbert Spencer, Karl Marx, Immanuel Kant, Benjamin Kidd, Friedrich Nietzsche, and others. Buck, the novella's canine hero, exemplifies both natural selection and Nietzsche's concept of heroic morality.

However, the archetypal essence of "The Call of the Wild" connects it to the tradition of great American symbolists like Poe, Hawthorne, and Melville. London's link to Melville is particularly fascinating, as both authors delve into the boundaries of knowledge and use potent animal symbols within hostile settings. Buck's reaction to the mystical call of the wild and his evolution into a legendary figure evoke Melville's symbolic portrayal of the white whale in "Moby Dick" (1851).

The Call of the Wild has been transformed into film multiple times. In 1923, Hal Roach directed a version featuring Jack Mulhall. The 1935 adaptation, directed by William Wellman, starred Clark Gable and Loretta Young in a Hollywood-style romance about a young widow and a Yukon prospector. This popular version took several liberties with London's original plot. In 1972, Charlton Heston and Michele Mercier starred in a more faithful adaptation directed by Ken Annakin. Filmed in Finland, this movie showcased stunning scenery. In 1976, James Dickey wrote the screenplay for a television adaptation of The Call of the Wild.

Jack London intended his novel White Fang to be a sequel and "companion book" to The Call of the Wild. This optimistic story reverses Buck's journey, as White Fang is born in the wild and becomes domesticated. Some readers find White Fang to be a more fulfilling book than The Call of the Wild.

The Jack London Cassette Library, narrated by Jack Dahlby, features readings of The Call of the Wild, Martin Eden, and The Sea-Wolf.

The Call of the Wild is narrated by Arnold Moss on a cassette produced by Miller-Brody.

The Call of the Wild was first adapted into a film in 1935 by United Artists.

In 1972, a movie adaptation of The Call of the Wild was released, starring Charlton Heston as John Thornton. This version is available on video.

In 1983, The Call of the Wild was adapted for television, featuring Rick Schroder as John Thornton. This TV adaptation is also available on video.

Hamilton, David Mike. "Jack London." In Research Guide to Biography and Criticism, edited by Walton Beacham. Washington, DC: Beacham Publishing, 1985. This work offers a comprehensive overview of the key biographies and critical studies on Jack London.

Labor, Earle. Jack London. New York: Twayne, 1974. This authoritative and well-written introduction to Jack London's life and work is an excellent starting point for new readers.

London, Jack. Jack London: American Rebel. Edited by Philip S. Foner. New York: Citadel Press, 1947. This compilation of London's autobiographical and social essays features notable articles such as "How I Became a Socialist" and "What Life Means to Me."

London, Joan. Jack London and His Times: An Unconventional Biography. 1939. Reprint. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1968. Written by London's daughter, this book delves into the evolution of Jack London's socialist views.

Walker, Franklin. Jack London and the Klondike. San Marino: Henry E. Huntington Library, 1966. This academic work explores Jack London's Klondike experiences and their impact on his writing.

Sources
Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 92, November 1903, pp. 695-96.

Jonathan Auerbach, “Congested Mails': Buck and Jack's 'Call'," in Rereading Jack London, edited by Leonard Cassuto and Jeanne Campbell Reesman, Stanford University Press, 1966, pp. 25-45.

Joseph Campbell, "The Hero and the God," in The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Princeton University Press, 1968, p. 36.

Mary Kay Dodson, "Naturalism in the Works of Jack London," in Jack London Newsletter, Vol. 4, No. 3, September-December 1971, pp. 130-39.

J. Stewart Doubleday, review of The Call of the Wild, in The Reader, Vol. 2, No. 4, September 1903, pp. 408-09.

Andrew Flink, “‘Call of the Wild'—Jack London's Catharsis," in Jack London Newsletter, Vol. 11, No. 1, January-April 1978, pp. 12-19.

Joan D. Hedrick, "The Call of the Wild," in Solitary Comrade: Jack London and His Work, The University of North Carolina Press, 1982, pp. 94-111.

Earle Labor and Jeanne Campbell Reesman, Jack London, Twayne, 1994.

Abraham Rothberg, introduction to The Call of the Wild and White Fang, by Jack London, Bantam Books, 1963, pp. 1-17.

Charles Watson Jr., "Ghost Dog: 'The Call of the Wild,'" in The Novels of Jack London: A Reappraisal, The University of Wisconsin Press, 1983, pp. 33-52.

Earl J. Wilcox, "Jack London's Naturalism: The Example of The Call of the Wild," in Jack London Newsletter, Vol. 2, No. 3, September-December 1969, pp. 91-101.

For Further Study
Raymond Benoit, "Jack London's The Call of the Wild,” in American Quarterly, Vol. 20, No. 2, Summer 1968, pp. 246-48.
Benoit argues that The Call of the Wild belongs to the tradition of "pastoral protest" literature in America and reflects the "American dream of escaping from the entangling complexity of modern living."

Jacqueline Tavernier-Courbin, The Call of the Wild: A Naturalistic Romance, Twayne, 1994.
Provides a thorough analysis of the novel's conflicting ideologies.

Jacqueline Tavernier-Courbin, editor, Critical Essays on Jack London, G.K. Hall, 1983.
This compilation includes significant early evaluations of London's works as well as modern critical essays.

Charles Child Walcutt, "Jack London: Blond Beasts and Superman," in American Literary Naturalism, A Divided Stream, University of Minnesota Press, 1956, p. 87-113.
In his chapter on London within this classic study of American naturalism, Walcutt examines the nature of morality in The Call of the Wild.

Earl J. Wilcox, editor, The Call of the Wild by Jack London: A Casebook with Text, Background Sources, Reviews, Critical Essays, and Bibliography, Nelson Hall, 1980.
Along with the novel's text, this book includes reviews, insightful essays on the novel, the story "Batard," and nine letters by London related to the novel.