book review

　The Call of the Wild is London’s most-read book, and generally considered his best, the most masterpiece of his so-called “early period”。 The story was set in 19th-century Klondike Gold Rush, in which sled dogs were bought at generous prices. 　　Buck was a domestic dog in Judge Miller’s home and living a comfortable life until he was sold secretly by the poor gardener and became a sled dog. Buck was a Bernard dog weighed one hundred and forty pounds, tall, strong, and hea⼀vy muscled. He couldn’t accommodate to the harsh condition at first. And he wanted to fight, to escape, to go back to his cozy home, but in vain. 　　The man in red taught him the law of stick and club—one must first adjust himself to hissurroundings and learn the rules, and only after that he can do what he wants to do. The club of the man in red called back Buck’s nature as a dog. 　　When he firstly served for Fran?ois and Perrault, two couriers, he showed his superior ability to adapt to the environment and his smartness to learn everything he wanted to learn. Curly’s death astonished him and taught him to be cautious. And before he had recovered from the shock caused by the tragic passing of Curly, he was harnessed as a sled dog and step by step wanted to be the leader. But the leading dog, Spitz, was already an excellent one, who also considered Buck as enemy and potential competitor. At last, when Spitz once punished him, hurling backward Buck, he knew the time had come. He killed Spitz and took his place. 　　When they pulled into Dawson, Buck was sold as useless thing to three gold diggers, who weren’t veteran in sledding and even didn’t know how to get to their destination. Food was eaten up half way. So Charles, one of the three, decided to kill Buck when he couldn’t get up. However, when he aimed at Buck, John Thornton sprang upon him, knocked him down and told him that if Charles stroke Buck, Thornton would kill him. 　　Thus, Thornton took Buck away. He was the only true friend of Buck. But Buck was a thing of the wild, especially when the calling of wolf from the hills. Once when he came back from hills, he found that Thornton was killed by Indians. What would you do if you were Buck when your beloved friend was killed? Buck became a nut and killed those headsmen and stayed with Thornton for two days and nights, never lea⼀ving Thornton out of his sight. And then a nearby wolf howl captures his ears, and he follows the sound to an approaching wolf pack, battling several of these creatures to prove his worth.