In Call of the Wild we got to see and examine both humans and dogs alike in such a manner we could easily compare and contrast them. I would like to bring up some of the traits in dogs discovered from the novel that could be related to those in humans.
To kick things off we've got individualism. The descriptions of the dogs in Buck's team were by far the best I've ever read of, and did an excellent job of explaining them. "Dub, an awkward blunderer who was always getting caught, was punished for Buck's misdeed." (21) London improves the traits in these animals by applying them to situations. So Dub is pretty stupid when he ever attempts to steal food, and Spitz is more of the silent assassin type, which a lot is unknown but is very good at what he does. The traits in these dogs can easily be related to characters in the book, with early-on ignorant Buck being like his family at home, whom knew very little about the gold rush, and the dog Dave could be related to John Thorton, both being wise and not acting unless nessesary. However showing these traits may have been difficult, as the only way for dogs to communicate at all are through their actions.
Another thing London displays in the dogs is willpower. Some dogs like Buck and Spitz are simply stronger than others and are willing to do more for their cause. Spitz was one of the most important dogs to have when the sleigh was attacked by mutts. He charged right in and got bloody, while Curly on the other hand stayed out of the fight. While with the family going towards the gold rush, the remainder of Buck's teammates eroded away until very few of them were left, very few still had the will to go on. I think that may be one of the reasons for Buck to stand out, is that he tried so hard at everything he did, regardless of the outcome. The best example of this is pulling the weight in El Dorado with Thorton, where bets were riding on how hard Buck would try.
One thing I failed to find in the novel were any sorts of goals for the dogs other than to survive and please their masters. I think that the idea of working together made the groups of dogs into a sort of collectivist group, where together they can accomplish fulfilling their masters needs. However the dogs did have desires. They always wanted food, and so they became envious of the chow other dogs had and stole it. Spitz desired to fight others of his kind, and so he charged in and battled. In the end though Buck really wanted his world to end and to be reborn after the mourning of John Thorton. And so he collected himself and answered the Call of the Wild. to begin a new life.
Call of the Wild-The Slave Drivers
ReplyDeleteIn this section I would like to discuss when Buck and the rest of his sled team were sold to the two men from the states and Mercedes. When Buck and the other dogs were sold to them they had already gone several thousand miles without much rest and were exhausted from it. But then Charles and Hal (the two men from the states) tried to make them leave on a load that was mostly unnecessary and much too big (pg. 94). When the dogs were unable to move, they were called lazy and whipped repeatedly until the locals helped the dogs out by convincing the people to lighten the load. I think it is just cruel what those three are doing to those dogs and it astounds me the stupidity of the human race that there are people like that, even though this book was not based on a true story I do not doubt there are people like that in the real world. What do you think about this, do you think they should be forgiven for their ignorance, left to the mercy of the dogs for a few days and if they are still alive see if they want to continue on with the trip, or leave them in the middle of the wilderness to find their way back? But when things couldn’t seem to get any worse, the dog food started to run out due to Mercedes constant over feeding of the dogs. When all the food ran out including the people food, Mercedes then started to insist on riding the sled instead of running alongside it, making the dog’s job just about impossible. When the dogs started dropping from exhaustion and lack of food, Hal then started killing off his team as they were ‘no further use to him’. In my opinion, a person would make better time one the trails if they had a full team that was rested, even if they had to give up a few days, instead of a starved, under-staffed dog sled team that ran every day. Would you find this statement accurate or do you think making good time requires sacrifice? Finally Buck is saved by the man John Thornton who catches sight of Hal beating Buck to get him to move and beats him off because he can’t stand the sight, Hal frightened, rides off onto the trail just as the ice breaks (pg. 104-106). I find this as justice because the people who tortured the dogs for so long and seemed to be making their best effort to kill the dogs died by their greed, it’s only too bad John couldn’t save more of them and that out of the original fourteen dogs taken, only Buck survived.