The Call of the Wild is a novel by Jack London published in 1903. Buck, a powerful dog living comfortably in California, is stolen and sold as a sled dog in the Klondike during the gold rush. Facing cold, hunger and cruelty, he gradually rediscovers the instincts of his wild ancestors. It is one of the most widely read American novels.
The story
Buck is sold to dealers and shipped north, where he learns the law of club and fang. He becomes a sled dog, fights the vicious lead dog Spitz and takes his place.
He passes through the hands of several masters, some cruel and incompetent, until he is rescued by John Thornton, whom he loves deeply.
The call
Throughout the book, Buck hears a mysterious call from the forest, the memory of a primitive life older than civilization.
In the end, after Thornton's death, he joins a wolf pack and becomes a legend among the people of the region.
A dog's point of view
The story is told from Buck's point of view, without making him speak or think like a human, which was new at the time.
London drew on his own experience of the Klondike in 1897-1898, where he had seen the hard life of men and dogs.
Anecdotes
Sold outright
London sold the rights to the novel to his publisher for two thousand dollars, a large sum at the time, but he received no royalties from its enormous success.
Written in weeks
London had planned a short story of a few thousand words, but it grew into a novel, written in a little over a month in 1902.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Buck?
A large dog stolen from California and taken to the Klondike.
Who is John Thornton?
The master Buck loves most.
When was the novel published?
In 1903.