Chapter 1 Into the Primitive
The Call of the Wild begins with an epigraph of
a John M. O'Hara poem that speaks of ancient, "ferine," and "nomadic"
yearnings, or "old [wild and wandering] longings" leaping forward,
chafing against "customs chains," and finally awakening into life from a
"brumal sleep," or wintery hibernation.
The narrator introduces Buck, the proud and prized pet of Judge Miller. Buck does "not read the newspapers," so has no sense of the "trouble" that might be "brewing" around him as he cavorts around the Judge's sprawling and "sun-kissed" estate in Santa Clara, or the Southland. The "trouble" "brewing" unbeknownst to Buck is the 1879 Klondike gold rush, which has created a great demand for and high price on strong dogs, like Buck.
No other dogs equal Buck's stature as the reigning king of Judge Miller's estate. Since his birth, Buck has ruled over this land, living a comfortable and carefree life that consists of sitting by the Judge's fireside and accompanying his grandchildren on playful hunting trips, or "wild adventures" to the edges of the estate.
Buck's world changes when Manuel, a gardener at the estate with a liking for "Chinese lottery," kidnaps Buck to pay off his gambling debts and support his wife and several children. Buck, unaware of Manuel's plan, naively accompanies him to the flag station, where an unnamed dog trader ties a rope tightly around Buck's neck. Driven by pain, anger, and humiliation, Buck attacks the man, but struggles against the rope's grip. Buck, subdued, is thrown into a crate, unconscious.
Buck gains consciousness and realizes, from previous trips he has taken with the Judge, that he is on a train. The dog trader approaches Buck, but he bites the man's hand, lacerating it. The man chokes Buck, throwing him back into a cage-like crate. Buck seethes and starves in his crate for two days and nights as the dog trader and other vagabonds taunt and harass him. He vows never to be tied down against his will again.
In Seattle, four men unload Buck's crate. A man in a red sweater breaks it open with a hatchet. Buck launches out of the crate, leaping towards the man. He's stunned when the man strikes him with a club. Buck lunges again and again, but is struck down each time. Buck has never been beaten before. Dazed with pain from the club's blows, Buck is introduced to primitive law by learning to obey the law of club and the men who wield it. The "lesson" is driven home when he witnesses the death of a dog, who refuses to submit to the man in the red sweater's club.
Buck watches as other dogs are bought and sold by the man in the red sweater. Buck along with a female dog, Curly, are bought by two French-Canadians, Franois and Perrault. Departing from Seattle, they take Buck and Curly to the Northland on a ship called the Narwhal. On board, Franois and Perrault acquire two more dogs, Spitz and Dave. At sea, Spitz steals some of Buck's food, but Franois whips Spitz before Buck can retaliate, thereby rising in Buck's esteem. Finally the small band of men and dogs arrives at their final destination, Dyea Beach in Alaska, where Buck steps onto something cold he's never encountered before: snow.
The narrator introduces Buck, the proud and prized pet of Judge Miller. Buck does "not read the newspapers," so has no sense of the "trouble" that might be "brewing" around him as he cavorts around the Judge's sprawling and "sun-kissed" estate in Santa Clara, or the Southland. The "trouble" "brewing" unbeknownst to Buck is the 1879 Klondike gold rush, which has created a great demand for and high price on strong dogs, like Buck.
No other dogs equal Buck's stature as the reigning king of Judge Miller's estate. Since his birth, Buck has ruled over this land, living a comfortable and carefree life that consists of sitting by the Judge's fireside and accompanying his grandchildren on playful hunting trips, or "wild adventures" to the edges of the estate.
Buck's world changes when Manuel, a gardener at the estate with a liking for "Chinese lottery," kidnaps Buck to pay off his gambling debts and support his wife and several children. Buck, unaware of Manuel's plan, naively accompanies him to the flag station, where an unnamed dog trader ties a rope tightly around Buck's neck. Driven by pain, anger, and humiliation, Buck attacks the man, but struggles against the rope's grip. Buck, subdued, is thrown into a crate, unconscious.
Buck gains consciousness and realizes, from previous trips he has taken with the Judge, that he is on a train. The dog trader approaches Buck, but he bites the man's hand, lacerating it. The man chokes Buck, throwing him back into a cage-like crate. Buck seethes and starves in his crate for two days and nights as the dog trader and other vagabonds taunt and harass him. He vows never to be tied down against his will again.
In Seattle, four men unload Buck's crate. A man in a red sweater breaks it open with a hatchet. Buck launches out of the crate, leaping towards the man. He's stunned when the man strikes him with a club. Buck lunges again and again, but is struck down each time. Buck has never been beaten before. Dazed with pain from the club's blows, Buck is introduced to primitive law by learning to obey the law of club and the men who wield it. The "lesson" is driven home when he witnesses the death of a dog, who refuses to submit to the man in the red sweater's club.
Buck watches as other dogs are bought and sold by the man in the red sweater. Buck along with a female dog, Curly, are bought by two French-Canadians, Franois and Perrault. Departing from Seattle, they take Buck and Curly to the Northland on a ship called the Narwhal. On board, Franois and Perrault acquire two more dogs, Spitz and Dave. At sea, Spitz steals some of Buck's food, but Franois whips Spitz before Buck can retaliate, thereby rising in Buck's esteem. Finally the small band of men and dogs arrives at their final destination, Dyea Beach in Alaska, where Buck steps onto something cold he's never encountered before: snow.