and is taken out of the traces. Sol-leks replaces Dave's position, and the extremely ill dog follows alongside the sled until the Scotsman is forced to shoot him the next morning.

Chapter Five involves a difficult journey for the team, where they get sold to an incompetent pair of Americans named Charles and Hal.

At the beginning of the chapter, Buck and the dog team arrive at Skaguay thirty days after they left Dawson.  They are “in a wretched state,” and Buck has lost 25 pounds while some dogs have lost more.  Many of the dogs are hurt.

There was no power of recuperation left, no reserve strength to call upon. It had been all used, the last least bit of it. Every muscle, every fibre, every cell, was tired, dead tired. (Ch. 5)

Perrault and Francois sell the team to “two men from the States” named Charles and Hal.  There is also a woman, Mercedes, who is Charles’s wife and Hal’s sister. Buck describes their camp as a “a slipshod and slovenly affair,” and they run the dog team the same way.  They overfeed the dogs early in the trip, and underfeed them later.  The dogs were either mismanaged or brutally treated.

In the excess of their own misery they were callous to the suffering of their animals. Hal's theory, which he practised on others, was that one must get hardened. … [He] hammered it into the dogs with a club. (Ch. 5)

The Americans’ incompetence would be their downfall, but fortunately not Buck’s.  A man named John Thornton rescued him when he saw Hal mercilessly beating him to get him moving.  John Thornton saw something in Buck.  The other dogs continued on when the incompetent humans forced them to, right into the river, but Buck stayed behind with John Thornton.  John Thornton saved his life, and he was eternally grateful.

Chapter Five demonstrates how Buck and the others, as animals, were at the mercy of human beings who depended on them but bought and sold them.  The Americans did not need a license to buy the dog team.  They did not know what they were doing, and the dogs suffered because of it.  As a result, the Americans and the entire dog team except for Buck drowned in that river.  If Buck hadn’t been stubborn and refused to get up, and John Thornton hadn’t seen his fighting spirit and rescued him, Buck would have died along with the rest of the team.

BUCK DISCOVERS THE EMOTION OF LOVE.  Although Buck had received attention and friendship while living on the Judge's ranch, he had never experienced true love. It first comes from Skeet who, like "a mother cat washes its kittens," licks and cleanses Buck's wounds. He looks forward to her "ministrations" after a while, and he comes to appreciate his other canine mate, Nig. But it is primarily Thornton from whom Buck receives true loving attention, and Buck soon realizes that he loves his master: To Buck, it seemed like an act of madness to have such emotions for a human.

DEPENDENCY UPON THORNTON.  Buck also comes to realize that he does not like Thornton to be out of his sight, following at his heels if necessary. But he also knows that no master can be permanent, and this arouses his fears.

CALL OF THE WILD.  Buck also discovers a "primordial" call that conflicts with his present life of love and relaxation. It recalls innate desires of freedom and wildness, but Thornton's love continues to draw him back.

LIFE FOR A LIFE.  Buck had saved Thornton's life several times previously--once from a collapsing ledge and another time from a raging stream. Buck never considered his own well-being, risking his own life to save Thornton on each occasion.

Chapter 6 is a wonderful chapter, and it probably demonstrates the stereotypical love bond between a man and dog than most other literary pieces. Part of the reason for this is that the book focuses more on Buck and his thoughts than it does the human thoughts. The chapter begins with telling readers a lot about those thoughts. We clearly see that Buck has a bond with Thornton that he hasn't had with any other human before; however, Buck is also afraid that Thornton might leave. Buck follows his master everywhere. Buck is also still feeling that "call of the wild," and his savagery comes out during a bar fight in which Buck ferociously protects Thornton. Everybody is really impressed with Buck, and a bet is made that he can't pull a 1,000-pound load. Fortunately for Thornton, Buck wins the bet for him. Thornton is offered a lot of money for Buck, but Thornton is not willing to sell his dog.

Chapter 7 begins with Thornton using his bet winnings to outfit himself for a gold expedition. Thornton finds it, and he's thrilled. Buck is thrilled too because Thornton is happy; however, being in the wilderness causes Buck to really desire embracing the wild feelings that he can't shake off. He makes friends with a wolf, kills a bear, and kills a moose. The chapter and book come to a close when Buck returns to Thornton's camp and discovers that he has been killed by natives. With that human bond now gone, Buck is free to fully go wild. He does so well in the wild that he becomes the leader of his own pack.

There are several conflicts in the book, but the main conflict is that Buck is kidnapped and held against his will.  It is resolved when he is rescued by John Thornton.  When John Thornton dies, Buck eventually joins the wild. 

At the judge’s home, Buck lived a life of luxury.  He was very happy because he had everything he needed and was never mistreated.  He was not really a working dog.  He sometimes accompanied the judge’s kids hunting, but that was it.  Then one day one of the judge’s employees walked him off, and he never saw home again. 

Buck was mistreated by most of the people he met.  These were various character vs. character conflicts.  Buck vs. Manuel (his kidnapper) was one conflict.  Buck vs. the man in the red sweater, who broke him, was another.  Buck vs. Perrault and François, the sled team drivers, was the next.  Buck’s worst conflict was with the incompetent group of sled drivers that consisted of Mercedes, Hal, and Charles.  With them he met neglect and abuse.  They did not know what they were doing. 

 In the nature of Arctic travel there was a reason why fourteen dogs should not drag one sled, and that was that one sled could not carry the food for fourteen dogs. But Charles and Hal did not know this. (Ch. 5) 

This group nearly got Buck killed, and they did get themselves and the others killed.  John Thornton rescued Buck.  They were beating Buck for resisting.  He was so exhausted he could not continue, and on some level he refused to let these people force him to pull the sled to his own death.  The people really had no clue, but Buck had instincts.  He was tired and hurt, but he was a strong dog.  He was more valuable to John Thornton than the people.

John Thornton stood over Buck, struggling to control himself, too convulsed with rage to speak.

"If you strike that dog again, I'll kill you," he at last managed to say in a choking voice. (Ch. 5) 

Ultimately, Buck does end up hearing and answering the call of the wild.  He joins the wolves, but only after he loses John Thornton.  He loved John Thornton, because he was the only human who ever loved him.  In the wild, Buck lives by instinct.

Throughout the novel, London anthropomorphizes Buck by attributing human characteristics and emotions to him. Therefore, Buck is the "Man" in the various conflicts he encounters. Buck must endure the harsh environment, survive malevolent humans and animals, and contain his natural instincts throughout the story.
Man vs. Nature: After being taken away from the sun-kissed, comfortable Southland environment, Buck must endure the harsh, cold weather of the Canadian wilderness. Buck risks freezing to death in the rough winter, falling through thin ice, and starving to death in the desolate environment of the Northland. Fortunately, Buck adapts to the rough conditions and ends up thriving in the Canadian wilderness.
Man vs. Man: Buck has to battle against the malicious lead-dog named Spitz. In chapter 3, Buck leads a group of dogs in pursuit of a rabbit when Spitz joins the chase and attacks the rabbit at the exact time Buck dives for it. Buck rams into Spitz and the two dogs end up fighting a brutal battle. Buck ends up breaking Spitz's legs before finishing him off in front of the other dogs.

Buck also has to survive the brutal man in the red sweater, who wields a club in order to break Buck and make him obedient. Buck quickly learns to capitulate and avoid any man wielding a weapon.
Man vs. Self: Buck's internal conflict concerns the suppression of his primitive instincts. Throughout the novel, Buck fights the urge to return to the wilderness and follow the "call of the wild." As Buck is ripped from civilization, he becomes increasingly savage. Towards the end of the story, Buck struggles to contain his primitive instincts and leave his loving master, John Thornton. After Thorton is murdered by Native Americans, Buck fully embraces his primitive nature and runs with the wolves in the wilderness.

Internal conflict refers to the psychological conflict within a character; this internal conflict usually stems from opposing emotions, goals, or desires. External conflict refers to the often physical or action-oriented conflict a character engages in; here, the character is basically confronting enemies who stand in the way of his/her goals.

In The Call Of The Wild, we see manifestations of both internal and external conflict as manufactured by the Law Of The Club And The Fang (incidentally, also the title of the second chapter). In Chapter One, Buck gets his first taste of the law of the Club. That's when the man in the red sweater first introduces Buck to the ' reign of primitive law.' Buck learns that a man with a club will always call the shots:

...a man with a club was a lawgiver, master to be obeyed, though not necessarily conciliated.

Now, the word 'conciliated' is very important here. 'Conciliate' simply means 'to make peace with.' Buck decides that he doesn't want to condescend to servile submission, nor does he wish to share the fate of another dog who would 'neither conciliate nor obey, finally killed in the struggle for mastery.' So, Buck's internal conflict is between choosing whether to conciliate, obey, or to do both in his struggle to survive under the Law of The Club. He decides (internal conflict) that he will outwardly submit in the external conflict with a man who wields a club but stubbornly refuses to make peace with any master who resorts to such violence to gain his respect.

On to the Law of the Fang. In Chapter Two, Buck witnesses the horrible death of the good-natured Newfoundland, Curly. When Curly tries to make friends with a Husky, she is ferociously attacked and torn apart by about thirty to forty Huskies.

This is Buck's introduction to the Law of The Fang: the fiercest and strongest survive; the weak are torn limb from limb. Buck learns that once a dog is down, he will never get up again. He resolves never to let that happen to him. The internal conflict is when Buck determines how to survive within the confines of the Law of The Fang; in the end, he decides to bide his time to wait for the best possible moment to take down the greatest threat, Spitz, in order to cement his position as head Husky. The physical conflict between Spitz and Buck is the external conflict.

This physical, external conflict for preeminence under the Law Of The Fang is described in the third chapter 'The Dominant Primordial Beast.' Buck bides his time until he is confident that he is Spitz's equal in 'strength, savagery, and cunning.' The final battle between Spitz and Buck results in victory for Buck, his ferocity, cunning, and imagination the hallmark of a fearless, primordial beast.