Although he is tormented into a furious state in the few days since his kidnapping, Buck had been a pampered house pet all his life until this point.  It is really a heartbreaking moment when Buck is sold to the man in the red sweater.  The man is a dog-breaker by trade, his job is to brutally train the dog to submission, and the image of the beautiful, intelligent creature about to be victimized by the man with the hatchet and club is chilling.  Buck, who had never been hit before, fights bravely but is quickly and savagely beaten - taught the first law of the wild, that "might makes right".