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The ESL Times / December, 2001
"Feeling of Freedom"
The Call of the Wild
Jack London
Scholastic Books 1994
By Leonardo Ariza
"The dog who had a heart of gold". How often in the different stages of our life can we learn something new about friendship with animals. The Call of the Wild should be read by everyone because it teaches many good things about the feelings between men and animals. The Call of the Wild is a semi-autobiographical adventure story about life in the wild in Alaska in the 1860s. The author, Jack London, symbolized the power of will because his books show his strong personality. London's vigorous stories of men and animals fighting against the environment, and their survival against hardships, were drawn mainly from his own experiences. The Call of the Wild taught me how strong a friendship between one man and one animal can be. The beautiful friendship between John and his dog Buck is an example about the universal harmony that we must all live with in nature.
The Call of the Wild shows how a dog and a man can become good friends. Friendship is a beautiful feeling, but the friendship between an animal and a human is really amazing; this kind of friendship is shown only with gestures of love. Words do not exist. Love is the only language that they have to communicate. The Call of the Wild shows the reality of affection for an animal:
"Buck knew no greater joy than that rough embrace and the sound of murmured oaths, and at each jerk back and forth it seemed that his heart would be shaken out of his body, so great was its ecstasy."
The Call of the Wild revolves around the life of a beautiful dog called Buck. Buck had had a happy and calm life with his family until he was stolen by a bad man who sold Buck to a prospector going to look for gold in Alaska. At one point, when Buck was nearly dying, he met John Thornton. Thornton wanted to help Buck when he saw how tired and injured the dog was. They became close friends; Thornton became Buck's only friend, and Buck loved John very much. They helped each other many times; and their friendship became strong and close.
In The Call of the Wild was exciting, and I would recommend it to other ESL students. After writing The Call of the Wild, London, became the highest paid and most popular novelist and short story writer of his day. His writing appealed to millions of people all around the world. Along with his books and stories, Jack London was also widely known for his personal exploits. He was a famous person, a colorful and notorious personality, who was often in the news. Generally fun-loving and good-humored, he could also be combative and was quick to side with the underdog against injustice or oppression of any kind.
Many of London's books deal with the world through an animal's eyes. In The Call of the Wild, and in The Sea Wolf, London showed his passion for animals and his concern for their treatment by men. He invited people to be friendly and helpful to animals. Both books are like directories about how our behavior with animals should be conducted .
The Call of the Wild is a literary treasure that everyone; young and old, should read. It can teach friendship, the importance of being kind, and can show you how animals feel in certain situations. The Call of the Wild shows the real face of the real, wild world; and London illustrates our own nature. He shows us how we show ourselves in the way we treat our friends.
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