“Call of the Wild” is a short adventure novel by American writer Jack London published in 1903.

The novel relates to Jack London's early work. Often it is classified as children's literature since the main here is a dog. However, the maturity and depth of the ideas of the novel make it relevant to adult readers. This animated story reveals such problems as survival of the strongest in wild nature, civilization, and nature, fate, and freedom of the will.

The action of the novel takes place in Yukon (Canada) during the gold fever. Then the demand for large and strong dogs was particularly high. The main hero dog Beck brought from a shepherd's ranch in California, falls into the harsh reality of a riding dog's life. The novel tells about the difficulties experienced by Beck, trying to survive, despite the severe behavior of the hosts, the cruelty of dogs and the severity of nature. An experienced tourist, John Thornton helps him to survive. After the death of Thornton, Beck leaves people, goes to the wolves and becomes the leader of a gang.

The novel is interesting to the skillful image of animals, a wonderful knowledge of their instincts and “psychology,” full of humanistic motives. But the content of this story is not limited to the statement that the dog is a friend of man. There are a lot more difficult problems here. One of them is the penetration of civilization into virgin spaces of the North. Man, like the animal, is an integral part of nature. Loss of relationships with nature has a detrimental effect on everything alive. Man can not erase his past from memory; he does not hear the “Call of the Wild.” But the dog Beck responds to this call.

“Call of the Wild” is a powerful novel about a domestic dog and his hard life in ruthless conditions. His predator instincts, which helps to survive and protect himself call for a lot of respect from the readers. Everybody will find something for him or her to take away in the book.

Author: Levi Jennings