The book The Call of
the Wild was about a dog named Buck who was kidnapped from his home
in California. He was sold to gold miners to pull sleds. During
his "adventure" he experienced a lot of new and unexpecting moments.
These moments included clubbing, snow, wilderness, hunger, and violence.
I thought this was a pretty good story.
I liked that the story was realistic. It included problems that both people and animals might face everyday like coldness, hunger, and toil. Buck learned how to stay warmer at night by digging holes to sleep in. He was used to eating more than his share and became skin and bone until he learned to steal food. Buck worked hard everyday to pull the sled. The team of dogs got little rest and became very tired. Those were some story elements that I liked.
I didnít like how Buck was always the hero of the story. It was not real enough. I think it is impossible for the same animal to always be the hero. He saved peopleís lives, became the top dog, won prizes, and was the strongest dog in his pack. Buck saved his master, Johnís life when John was lining a boat down a strong rapid and fell downstream. Johnís friends attached a line to Buck and sent him in the water to save his masterís life. I didnít like how it was obvious that Buck was going to be the hero.
I recommend that some people read this book and others not. I recommend this book to people who like adventure, brutality, and wintry weather. Buck was whipped when he didnít obey and got into fights once he learned the law of the north, kill or be killed. I donít recommend this book to people who treasure animals or are disturbed by killing. Buck killed not only animals, but humans also. The animals in this book were clubbed, whipped, and killed. You make the choice whether you want to read this story or not.
A lesson I learned was that you arenít born with anything at all. If you want something you must work for it. You have earned yourself the reward of who you are today. This is not true for humans only, but animals too. Buck worked very hard pulling the sled. Each day he grew stronger and stronger. His fat gradually vanished and muscles emerged. This rewarded him leadership, strength, friendship, to be headstrong, and undefeatable. Buck earned his position of leader in his pack by finishing his opponent. He earned his master over $1,000.00 by walking a 1,000-pounds sled for 100 yards. Now I understand the importance of knowing that you must work to make you who you are.