Keyword Guide · book-summary
This study guide gives a clear, student-friendly summary of Jack London’s The Call of the Wild. It highlights the plot, themes, and key ideas you’ll need for class discussion, quizzes, and essays.
The novel follows Buck, a domesticated dog taken from a comfortable life and forced into the harsh environment of the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush. As Buck faces cruelty, competition, and survival challenges, he gradually adapts to life in the wilderness. Over time, instinct replaces training, and Buck responds to the pull of nature that the story calls the “call of the wild.”
Buck is the protagonist whose transformation drives the story. Human figures, including various owners and drivers, represent different attitudes toward power and responsibility. Other dogs show the rules of survival, leadership, and loyalty within the sled team. Together, these characters shape Buck’s understanding of strength and survival.
The novel explores survival of the fittest, the conflict between civilization and nature, and the power of instinct. London also examines leadership, adaptation, and the impact of environment on behavior. Buck’s journey suggests that identity can change when circumstances demand it.
Focus on how Buck changes from beginning to end and what causes each shift. Track examples of instinct versus learned behavior. For essays, connect Buck’s transformation to the novel’s message about nature and survival. For quizzes, remember the order of Buck’s owners and what each experience teaches him.
It is about a domesticated dog who learns to survive in the wilderness and gradually embraces his natural instincts.
The story is fictional, but it is inspired by Jack London’s experiences and observations during the Klondike Gold Rush.
Buck’s change shows how environment and struggle can reshape identity, which is central to the novel’s message.
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