Teacher’s Guide
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The historical background for The Call of the Wild can be tied to the great Klondike gold strike in northwest Canada. The resultant mad rush for easy riches created a great demand for sled dogs, and this need was indirectly responsible for Buck’s illegal sale by Manuel. Had not the bootlegging of likely looking animals become a profitable business, Judge Miller’s pet might have lived out his days in the California sunshine instead of being kidnapped for shipment to mining areas.
The first claim in the Klondike was staked out by a prospector, Robert Henderson, in 1895. Sharing the secret was George W. Carmack, who made a huge strike on August 17, 1896, along the Bonanza Creek. Then the panic was on. The gold fever gripped men in all parts of the world, and soon the Canadian, and later the Alaskan wilds became meccas for get-rich-quick adventures.
Cities like Juneau and Skagway sprang up seemingly overnight as the need for lodging, food, and supplies grew. It is said that more than five hundred homes were built in less than six months in Dawson City alone, and within a year this town became the center of one of the richest mining districts in the world.
With the exception of a few who struck it rich, life for the prospectors was not the romantic adventure it had promised before they set out. For every story of a man who returned to San Francisco after a few weeks of mining with $150,000, there were hundreds of tragic tales of death and disease on the trail. Jack London returned empty-handed too, except that at least he discovered a great treasure in his mind and pen.
It was not easy to endure the hardships created by the Klondike climate. Winter, with temperatures falling to fifty degrees below zero, reigns supreme for seven months of the year. The landscape is practically bare of vegetation, although plenty of fish and game are to be found. During the spring months and into the summer, from about May 15 to August 7, this is the “Land of the Midnight Sun”, with daylight being practically continuous. For the miners, recreation consisted mainly of gambling, carousing, and fighting in the numerous saloons that developed all over the territory as siphons to drain off the hard-won gold dust from the unwary or lonely prospector. With so much excitement and wild spending going on as routines of the day, it is no wonder that writers like London found an endless supply of material for the stories that told of heroic deeds by man and beast.
This was the savage, ruthless world into which Buck was thrust, snatched from the warmth of a peaceful fireside and kindly human companionship. That he survived, and even prospered, is the great tribute London pays to this magnificent animal.
IDEAS FOR DISCUSSION OR REPORT
1. Jack London continually questions the influence of heredity upon an individual. For instance, he writes of Buck: “His (feet) had softened during the many generations since the day his last wild ancestor was tamed by a cave-dweller or river man”. It might be interesting to review the biological theories of Darwin and the experiments of Gregor Mendel in order to see how London uses them in his work.
2. Just was important an influence as heredity on the individual is his environment. London raises many questions when he talks of the changes that occurred in Buck. What are the relative strengths of heredity and environment on the individual?
3. You might want to examine some of the theories of Marx and Nietzsche to see how much London drew upon them for his work. Marx’s Das Kapital will give you in detail Jack London’s sometime complaint against society and his interest in the “class struggle.” And Nietzsche’s desire for a self-determined race of “superman” might give you more insight into Buck and John Thornton.
4. ”Conditioning” is a learning process that evolves from reactions to stimuli such as repetition, punishment, or reward. For example, the man in the red sweater “conditions” Buck to the law of the club. How might Dave’s sickness be the worst results of this process? When is condition a benefit to an individual? When might it be disastrous?
5. When Buck reaches the peak of his potential in his power and cunning, what values of his “civilized” conditioning has he given up?
6. When Thornton bets that Buck can pull the sled, he risks serious injury to his pet. Would you have been willing to take such a gamble? What would you have done?
7. Some people keep lion cubs, leopards, cheetahs, and other very savage animals as pets. What qualities are necessary in both the individual and the animal to make such a relationship possible? You might want to read White Fang, by Jack London, to get some ideas on this subject.
You are
visitor
Thank you for visiting Jack London State Historic Park