The Call Of The Wild – Jack London

Jack London wrote The Call of the Wild in 1903. It is a short action-adventure story that takes place in Canada in the 1890s.

The story originally appeared in The Saturday Evening Post as installments and was released a year later in book format. It was incredibly popular when it was released and has never been out of print since then with it even being translated into over 40 languages! Download a free copy of The Call Of The Wild PDF by clicking the button below.

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The Call of the Wild Movies And Adaptations

There have been over ten Call of the Wild adaptations so far with the latest one being in 2020. It is a live-action movie combined with computer animation and stars Harrison Ford as Thornton. It follows the story quite closely but veers off towards the end of the movie. The movie received mixed reviews but ultimately didn’t do well financially. It was released in February 2020 and shortly thereafter the Covid-19 pandemic broke out affecting its success.

The Call of the Wild Summary

The Call of the Wild follows the story of Buck, a 140-pound St. Bernard and Scottish Shepherd mix.  The story begins in Santa Clara, California at the home of Judge Miller.  Buck lives a very comfortable happy life with his human family.  

One day gold is discovered in Canada’s Yukon Territory and sled dogs are in high demand.  Because Buck is a big strong dog one of Judge Miller’s gardeners steals him and sells him to dog traders. 

Buck is transported north suffering abuse at the hands of his handlers along the way.  Buck is sold as a sled dog to a pair of government couriers,  Perrault, and his assistant Francoise.  Along with their other dogs, Buck will deliver mail across the Yukon.    

Buck works well with Perrault’s team, with the exception of Spitz the lead dog.  The two fight several times until Buck finally beats him and replaces him as the lead dog. 

The team does very well with Buck as their leader but one day Perault is forced to sell the team and they are bought by a man who treats them incredibly badly forcing them to make long trips with heavy loads.  During this time Buck starts to reconnect with his wild side having memories of ancestors from the past.  Because of the excessive work, they are expected to do the dogs eventually become weak and exhausted and they are sold.

The team is bought by inexperienced gold hunters Mercedes, Charles, and Hal.  The group is completely clueless and they foolishly ignore any advice they are given.  Most of the dogs die during this time with only Buck and four other dogs left. One day they meet a man by the name of Thornton.  He warns them not to cross an unstable frozen lake but they ignore him. Buck however refuses to cross and Hal beats him.  Thornton rescues Buck but the other dogs are lost when the ice breaks and Hal, Charles, and Mercedes fall into the river and drown.

Thornton slowly manages to nurse Buck back to health and Buck becomes devoted to him.  They have many adventures together and Buck even saves Thornton’s life.  Over time Buck becomes more and more drawn to the wild and starts to disappear into the forest, even becoming friends with a wolf pack.  However, he always returns to Thornton. 

One day he returns to the campsite to find that Thornton and his group have been murdered by Native American Yeehats.  Buck is furious and he hunts and kills several of the Yeehats.  Realizing that he has no ties left to human society he joins the wolf pack.  He becomes known as the Ghost Dog by the Yeehats.  Even though he is now living completely wild Buck returns to the campsite every year to mourn the death of his beloved friend Thornton.

Conclusion

The Call of the Wild is an action-packed adventure story about the love and friendship between a dog and his human friend. It is a bit of an emotional roller coaster ride but it is perfect if you are looking for a short book that is quick and easy to read. Download a free copy of The Call of the Wild PDF here!

Next: The Great Gatsby by Francis Scott Fitzgerald