Darwinism In The Call Of The Wild

Jack London is the epitome of the Naturalist movement in American literature. Many of his works, including The Call of the Wild include the essentials of Naturalism such as, but not limited to: taboo topics, Darwinism, violence, animal and nature imagery, determinism and the struggle for survival. His novel The Call of the Wild is continually referred to as his greatest work and is still revered as a prominent element in American literature. Influenced by major philosophers such as Charles Darwin, Carl Jung, and various Socialist advocates, London’s work is full of evolution, theories of repressed memories, and Socialist ideas accompanied by his own personal experiences. The Call of the Wild is inspired by London’s many voyages to the frigid Northeast parts of Canada known as the Klondike in search of gold. London’s main character in The Call of the Wild is Buck, a pampered yet robust domestic dog of mixed breed in southern California. Buck is stolen amidst the Klondike Gold Rush in order to be sold as a sled dog in the colder Northern territories. Throughout his journey, Buck experiences atavism, or in simpler terms, he “devolves” with each encounter and hardship, to his basic, …show more content…
Buck’s primordial urges first began as he was in the hostile environment of the crate “and each time the joyful bark that trembled in Buck's throat was twisted into a savage growl.”(London, 6) There is a primordial urge for dominance, specifically between Buck and Spitz that ends in the death of the loser and the rise to power of the victor, just as it would have occurred in nature. Each conflict chips away at the domestic training installed through hundreds of years of companionship of man. Buck becomes less dependent of man and undoubtedly can survive on his own. His ancestral memories were becoming habits and he was transforming into the wild animal he was meant to be. One example is when Buck has visions of past