What would you do for a Klondike Bar…of Gold?
What would you do for a Klondike Bar…of Gold?
By James Romano
Greetings 1000 Bookies!
I have finished another book on the life-changing List of 1000
Books to Read Before You Die. In
this post, our book portal opens into the late nineteenth century during the
Gold Rush in the Klondike of Alaska and Western Canada. The Call of the Wild is one of
the classic novels and short stories written by Jack London. From a quick reading of the life of Jack
London, he seems to have been a nomad in search of getting rich quickly and of
adventure. As a teenager, London was an
oyster pirate and a hobo touring the country.
He spent time in jail in Buffalo, NY for vagrancy. After the Gold Rush began in Alaska, London
spent a year prospecting and The Call of the Wild was based on
his experiences.
The American Poet, Carl Sandburg once said that The
Call of the Wild was, “The greatest dog story ever written”. Obviously, Carl Sandburg has not read Clifford,
the Big Red Dog. The book is
about 150 pages long and from my perspective it was an easy read. I first encountered the works of Jack London
in my 7th grade English class.
I was not a fan then to be honest and I have avoided reading his works
till now. I was recently at the movies and
saw the trailer for the latest version of the story starring Harrison
Ford. I decided this was the time to
read the novel and then take my kids to see the movie on the big screen. After reading the book, I decided against taking
them to the movie. The story from my
perspective was fairly sad and violent.
While I realize the Call of the Wild is over a century old
the mistreatment of the dogs bothered me. By no means am I an animal rights activist,
but I would never beat dogs or cats for that matter. The story contains too much glorification of
killing and dying for my taste.
The hero of the story is Buck. Buck is a St. Bernard/Shepherd mix living a
fairly comfortable life in Santa Clara, California. He lives on a ranch as the companion to a
retired judge. One day, Buck is dognapped
by employees on the ranch and sold into slavery. There is a market for kidnapped dogs and
sending to Alaska for the Gold Rush. The
dogs are needed to pull the sleighs of prospectors and government entities such
as those delivering the mail. Buck is
starved and beaten on his trip up north.
He then learns that his life will never be the same when he encounters
the Man in the Red Sweater who beats him repeatedly with a club to break his
spirit and make him compliant. Buck
learns “the law of the club and fang”. London
gives human traits and characteristics to the canines in the story. Buck lets his feelings for his masters and
his other companions pretty much known to the readers as if they were human
characters.
The story is how Buck adepts and prospers in Alaska. I must admit if I was pulled out of my
comfortable surrounding and sold for slavery, I do not know if my instinct to
survive would kick in. Not only does
Buck’s instinct kick in, he thrives. Buck becomes the lead dog of his sled team,
after killing his archenemy on the dog team.
As time goes on, he embraces that life.
I kept thinking of Victor Frankel’s book, Man’s Search for Meaning. Frankel discusses adapting to your
circumstances, that even those in the most extreme suffering such as for
example at the concentration camps and work camps run by the Nazi regime learned
to adapt, such as learning to sleep on wood beds and straw. I kept thinking of Man’s Search for
Meaning when reading this book.
The book has some memorable characters both human and
canine. First Buck is sold to a pair of French Canadians—Perrault and
Francois. Buck speaks about how he
respected those gentlemen who treated the dogs well. Perrault and Francois saw the potential in
Buck to lead and his apparent ferocious tendencies. They are supportive of Buck when he
challenges Spitz. Spitz rules the team
with fear and torture. From the
beginning of Buck’s arrival on the team, he and Spitz starts a rivalry that only
ends when Buck kills finally him in a fight and claims the leadership of the
dog team.
At one point, Buck and the team are sold to Hal, Charlie
and Mercedes. These characters are
probably the most interesting in the story.
They are the most ill-prepared prospectors you could think of ever
coming across. Probably London met many
like that attempting to strike it rich quickly and having no idea what to do. Hal and his sister Mercedes along with her
husband want to strike it rich. However,
they have no idea what they are doing, and they will not listen to reason. They come to Alaska expecting great accommodations
and overloaded with non-essential clothing and items. They keep doing everything wrong—from
overloading the sled, to purchasing more dogs to pull the sleigh, to
overfeeding the dogs, to overworking the dog team. As the trip lengthens and the food runs out,
Hal starves and then beats the dog team.
Finally, as spring approaches Hal wants to cross a frozen
river with the team. Buck won’t budge
because he senses danger. Hal continues
to beat him until he is stopped by a good Samaritan—John Thornton. Hal, Charlie and Mercedes take off without
Buck only to break through thin ice. London doesn’t say if they drown or not, but I
guess it’s understood. The Good
Samaritan does not go running off the save them. So, their end in the story is
fitting.
Obviously, John Thornton is the most memorable human
character in the story. John saves Buck
as he is being mistreated and nurses him back to life. Buck and John are devoted to each other and
Buck will do anything for John including saving him several times and helping
John win a bet. Under John, Buck begins
to love and then embrace the life in Alaska and the great outdoors. He makes friends with the wolves and begins
hunting for his own food. Eventually Buck
joins a wolf pack.
The Call of the Wild is not the worst book
about dogs I have ever read. The book can be a fast read. If you love this specific genre of novels
then The Call of the Wild is for you. Reading this novel has enhanced my desire to visit
Alaska and visit the towns and trails mentioned. The scenery described sounds beautiful. Buck triumphs over his tragedy and charts his
own course. Enjoy the movie if you go to
see in the theaters.
Keep Reading My friends!
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