The song of A unyielding life
The Call Of Wild, a book that narrates a story of A dog getting through lots of sufferings then morphing into a wolf-like creature, a king in the wild.
At the beginning, Buck is a civilized dog in Santa Clara Valley who lives a light-hearted life. Unfortunately, he has been kidnapped by a gardener’s helper, transmitted to the North, where he fought, learned, struggled to survive. Eventually, he made it at the expense of losing his kindness, his admirable John Thornton.
Buck’s shift is the highlight of the story. Every fight he fought, every scar he got contributes to the awakening of his latter savage. When Buck first met the law of clubs and fangs, he learned about how to hide his proud and cunning and to pretend to be obedient. The more obedience he shows, the more instincts arouses internally. Exposed to the wild, at first Buck acquired knowledge of living by himself. Later on, Buck felt surges in his veins that encouraged him to howl, roar, scratch, bite… Ups and downs fill up Buck’s life, in which Buck encounters his cruelest master as well as his beloved John. Along with bitters and sweets, Buck gradually gets the hang of tricks of survival in the dismal environment. He digs holes, balances dogs’ relationships, establishes his superior stateliness. He makes the most use of every pieces of food to squeeze the little energy. John’s appearance brought hopes and joys to desperate Buck, and Buck saves his life twice in return. John serves as the last chain to preserve Buck’s instincts, when this chain breaks Buck becomes a devil indeed, killing numerous Indians. After Buck’s beloved one passes, he is really separated from the civilization and lives with wolves, becoming a leader of regional wolves.
There are several times when Buck reminds himself of those old songs, I consider them as some ancient flashbacks in Buck’s blood. In those dreams, by the means of author’s imagination, Buck seems to go back to the old times, experiencing his ancestors’ lifestyle and feelings. His instincts and memories sometimes overlap, which mixes up to produce a fancy emotion. When Buck sings those old songs, I can feel his desire and anger. I should not regard Buck’s savage as evil, for instincts are innocent and natural. There is nothing wrong with Buck, because we are in human’s perspective to justify those issues, and Buck just insists on his own mind. Generally speaking, as for comforts, it lies in Buck’s new life, without restriants of instincts, keeping in bondage, fears of human… In term of that I am sorry for Buck because he would never trust or cherish the relationships between he and human, and he chooses a road full of blood and cruelty, a world evaluated a creature only by his strength and cunning. As far as I am concerned, Buck’s life is glorious but sad, for he makes the impossible possible as well as loses his deep-rooted love. At the beginning, Buck is obviously different from other dogs in attitudes and quests. For example, when other dogs enjoy toiling, Buck has already made up his mind to be lead dog. He dares to attack a person to protect his master. He even fights with people who hold clubs and spears. All these make him a splendid dog or a beast. He never loses his proud, when he gave in to the man in red sweater he kept proud, when he was teased by Spitiz he held his proud. When Buck knocked down Spitiz he howled for his proud, When Buck tore wide the throat of the last person he guarded his dignity. His life is so legendary, just like a warrior fighting with his fate. With no doubt, he wins and becomes the master of his own, attaining his freedom, breaking away from human’s restriction. However, he also loses so much, such as comfortable life in South and dear John. “No pay no gain” may be a low of nature, it is those hardships that makes Buck reborn also wakes up his sleeping instincts.
Buck is a contradictory character. He can love so deeply while he can hate so desperately. After my finishing reading this book, a scene often occurs to me that deep in the mountains, Buck chases after prey, as he rips prey’s throats wide open, feeling the warmth of blood. He would howl, not only for fever of instincts, but also for someone once appeared in his life. Through Buck’s eyes, I can see a different world.
京公网安备 11010802032529号