Buck's Journey

My opinion on the book is quite a strong one. We are first introduced to Buck as the great dog - loyal, strong, and protective - as seen domesticated in everyday life. But he is more than that, as is every dog, as we see him not transform - but revert back to natural instincts as he truly responds to his call to the wild. We watch as he overcomes obstacles of both physical and mental exertion to his farthest limits and beyond, as he first learns the law of club and fang and as he finally conquers Spitz. Through rough but skilled hands of his first owners, to the incompetence of a group of three, and then finally, into the care of the loving John Thornton. John seems to be, metaphorically, the link between man and wolf, back to the first man taming a wild wolf all those hundreds of years ago. These ancient ties are revived in them both, as the story tells of Buck's internal struggle of fierce loyalty and love for John and his returning and natural desire for the wild conflicting with each other. Although in the end these ties are broken as John dies a tragic death, the readers get a sense of closure and understanding as Buck finally resides where he was always meant to be: in the heart, and call of the wild.

Many say that the climax of Call of the Wild is when John saves Buck from Hal. How? The climax should be the turning point, when you know what is now inevitable. When Buck chooses to ignore the desire to go back to John, and instead follows the animal to its death, he chooses the wild. Up to that point, it is still a question - domestication versus the wild. Buck chose the wild at that point. Finding John dead confirmed it for him, that he would no longer be domesticated, so that could be a continuation of the climax. John saving Buck is an exciting point in the story, but that is John's story - he made a choice. The story is not about John, it is about Buck.