Buck's Influence In The Call Of The Wild

Buck had met people that influenced him greatly throughout his journey. In Jack London's The Call Of The Wild, Buck's major influences were The Man in the Red Sweater, Spitz, and John Thornton. When Buck first met the man In the red sweater he bet buck with a golf club. Buck later learned that people had control over him and there was nothing he could do. "He saw, once for all, that he stood no chance against a man with a club. He had learned the lesson, and in all his after life he never forgot it. That club was a revelation" (London 12). He taught Buck that as long as he has something that can hurt Buck by, Buck is no longer in control. When Buck received that betting he got a lot out of what was happening and learned from it. After that Buck met Spitz. Spitz was very immoral and all he cared about was leadership. They both wanted to be the leaders in pulling the sled. Spitz always wanted to start fights. Buck tried to stay out of them. When they got in that fight over the rabbit Buck attached Spitz's forelegs. "Buck did not cry out. He did not check himself, but dove in upon Spitz, shoulder to shoulder, so hard that he missed the …show more content…
John was a kind, warm hearted man. John discovered Buck in the woods. "He had a way of taking Buck's head roughly between his hands, and resting his own head upon Buck's, of shaking him back and forth, the while calling him ill names that to Buck were love names. Buck knew no greater joy than that rough embrace and the sound of murmuring oaths, and at each jerk back and forth it seemed that his heart would be shaken out of his body so great was its ecstasy. And when, released, he sprang to his feet, his mouth laughing, his eyes eloquent, his throat vibrant with unuttered sound, and in that fashion remained without movement, John Thornton would reverently exclaim, "God! you can all but speak!" (London 67). John was the only one Buck had loved