Top 30 Modern Classics - XVIII

Call of the Wild

Jack London

Call Of The Wild, written by Jack London, was published in 1903. The plot is set in Canada during the period of gold rush, when sled dogs were in high demand.

Buck was a large and strong St.Bernard and a pet of Judge Miller in California. The gardener's assistant, who was addicted to gambling, steals Buck and sells him. After another change of hand, Buck is sold to a pair of French-Canadian dispatchers from the Canadian government, François and Perrault, who take him with them Canada. There they train him as a sled dog. From his teammates, he quickly learns to survive cold winter nights and the pack society. Buck, ultimately, becomes the leader of the team.

The team is then sold to a Scottish man working the mail service. The dogs must carry a heavy load to the mining areas, and the journey they make is tiresome and long. 

Buck's next owners are a trio of stampeders. The trio were not accustomed to the ways of the wilderness. One day the trio meet Thornton, an experienced in the wilderness. Thornton notices the poor treatment meted out by the trio to the dogs. He warns the trio that they should not attempt to cross a river which had frozen. Ignoring his advice, the trio push on. Exhausted, starving, and sensing the danger, Buck refuses to move. One of the trio beats Buck. In disgust Thornton hits the man with the butt of his axe and cuts Buck free from his traces and takes possession of Buck. The trio try to cross the river, the ice gives way breaks and the three, along with rest of the team, fall into the river and drown.

Buck becomes close to Thornton as he nurses him back to health. He saves Thornton when he falls into a river. Buck wins a large bet for Thornton by breaking a 1000 pound sled free of the frozen ground and pulling it 100 yards. Thornton refuses a large sum of money for selling Buck. While Thornton and his friends continue their search for gold, Buck explores the wilderness and socializes with a timber wolf from a local pack. One night, he returns from a long hunt to find his beloved master and the others in the camp killed by a group of natives. Buck eventually kills the natives to avenge Thornton, and he then is attacked by an entire pack of wolves. Buck wins the fight, then finds that the same timber wolf that he socialized with is in the pack he fought. Buck then follows the wolf and the wolf's pack into the forest and answers the call of the wild.

This book stirs the heart. It is a classic tale of survival. 

Namaste

Prabir