Call of the Wild Review

     The Call of the Wild by Jack London captured my attention at the beginning of the book and kept it all throughout the story with the unique array of different characters portrayed by the author. London really outdid himself making a believable character that fits almost every archetype that one could think of.
     Buck would be the hero. He finds himself thrown into the midst of something he never asked for or deserved and forced to do thing he would have never dreamed of and still made it out on top. He shows extreme bravery in many different situations such as when he fights for his life against Spitz, his rival, or when he jumps in to avenge the brutal murder of his favorite owner, John Thornton. He let nothing stand in the way between him and what he believed to be right.
     Spitz is the aggressive antagonist. He fought until his last breath against Buck and proved to be a formidable foe. Neither one would submit to the other and both wanted the position and the power and respect that came with it. Spitz would do anything and everything to fight or aggravate Buck, including stealing his food, intercepting his hunts, and purposefully stealing his bedding places. Both of these characters are believable because almost everybody has something or someone that gets on their nerves and fights everything they do. For Buck and Spitz, these people were each other.
     On the human side of things, Francois and Perrault are adventurers and tough guys. They practiced tough love when it came to their team of dogs. One had to earn their respect, not just expect to receive it. They were fair and just in their rule over the team, such as when they whipped Spitz for stealing Buck's food or when they scolded both Buck and Spitz for fighting. They didn't put up with any inappropriate or foolish behavior, but neither were they superfluously cruel or mean to the dogs. Though not very demonstrative, they made sure the dogs were healthy and well fed and that they were not suffering in their work. For example, when Buck was new to the team and his paws were all mangled and bloody from the amount of work he had done, they made makeshift shoes for him to wear so that he would not be in pain. Because of these ministrations, Buck was able to keep working at a pace that impressed everybody.
     London used lots of detailing and different personalities in his novel to create realistic and varied characters. I would recommend this exciting and interesting novel to anyone who enjoys animal books or even someone who just enjoys a good, short classic. I found this book enjoyable and I hope that you do too. :)