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calingles 's review for:
The Call of the Wild
by Jack London
Somehow, unlike everyone else, I never had to read The Call of the Wild in elementary school. The book follows Buck, a St. Bernard and Border Collie mix, who goes from a comfortable life in sunny California to the treacherous, frigid climes of the far north, where he's made to serve as a sled dog.
Buck adapts swiftly to the change, and, although it's harsh, he develops a sense of belonging in the bitter, wild environment to which he's come. His behavior becomes less moral, and is instead governed by cold necessity, and the unscrupulous rules of survival. In short, Buck excels in his new life, as he is transferred from one master to another.
I am deeply grateful that I didn't have to read this as a child. Honestly, it nearly bored me silly these last few days. If I was still young and impressionable about literature, I would have been depressed to think that this was the best the classics had to offer.
Why? First, it's poorly written. I know it's over one hundred years old, but the syntax is PAINFUL. I haven't encountered such awkward phrasing in contemporary novels. Example:
"And women there are who become sad when the word goes over the fire of how the evil spirit came to select that valley for an abiding-place." Ugh.
Or, "The tent they had discarded at Dyea in order to travel light."
Or even, "Buck was knocked backward and the lash laid upon him again and again, while Spitz soundly punished the many times offending Pike."
Yep. Kids are forced to read this. I know, I'm nit-picking, but there are better books.
The theme itself, of a buried, innate desire for creatures to return to a primal past, does not translate well into our modern thinking. London was writing when people believed in a collective consciousness, and there are too many sappy-seeming moments in the novel when Buck discovers some new talent out of his ancient memory, or when he stares off into the distance, imagining himself beside a hairy man who squats beside a fire when he's not swinging through the trees (this is when Buck is "remembering" man's ancestors, and yes, his memory really includes the acrobatic ape-man). To me, such heavy reliance on the collective psyche for plot movement reads almost like a fantasy book: The story's primary points feel too far-fetched for me to accept them as real-world scenarios, which is what I believe London had in mind.
There were some glowing moments, including the descriptions of the horrible conditions in north, and the tough men who endured such misery, and also including Buck's relationship with John Thornton. I do think it's time to consider some stronger books for elementary school reading, however.
Buck adapts swiftly to the change, and, although it's harsh, he develops a sense of belonging in the bitter, wild environment to which he's come. His behavior becomes less moral, and is instead governed by cold necessity, and the unscrupulous rules of survival. In short, Buck excels in his new life, as he is transferred from one master to another.
I am deeply grateful that I didn't have to read this as a child. Honestly, it nearly bored me silly these last few days. If I was still young and impressionable about literature, I would have been depressed to think that this was the best the classics had to offer.
Why? First, it's poorly written. I know it's over one hundred years old, but the syntax is PAINFUL. I haven't encountered such awkward phrasing in contemporary novels. Example:
"And women there are who become sad when the word goes over the fire of how the evil spirit came to select that valley for an abiding-place." Ugh.
Or, "The tent they had discarded at Dyea in order to travel light."
Or even, "Buck was knocked backward and the lash laid upon him again and again, while Spitz soundly punished the many times offending Pike."
Yep. Kids are forced to read this. I know, I'm nit-picking, but there are better books.
The theme itself, of a buried, innate desire for creatures to return to a primal past, does not translate well into our modern thinking. London was writing when people believed in a collective consciousness, and there are too many sappy-seeming moments in the novel when Buck discovers some new talent out of his ancient memory, or when he stares off into the distance, imagining himself beside a hairy man who squats beside a fire when he's not swinging through the trees (this is when Buck is "remembering" man's ancestors, and yes, his memory really includes the acrobatic ape-man). To me, such heavy reliance on the collective psyche for plot movement reads almost like a fantasy book: The story's primary points feel too far-fetched for me to accept them as real-world scenarios, which is what I believe London had in mind.
There were some glowing moments, including the descriptions of the horrible conditions in north, and the tough men who endured such misery, and also including Buck's relationship with John Thornton. I do think it's time to consider some stronger books for elementary school reading, however.