Since last week we were talking about muckrakers in social studies, I decided to reread the call of the wild. Now that I have in mind that Jack London was an investigative journalist and a social activist, it changes my perspective on the story completely. When I first read this book I was probably in fourth or fifth grade and to me it was just a great story about dogs. But as I learned about the background information for the time period and the author, I realized that the book “isn’t really about dogs” as Ms. Maier said. It’s like the picture books we did, it’s an allegory, and it has a much deeper meaning than it seems to. The main character is a dog named Buck who had a very happy life in a California estate until he was kidnapped and sold to several men. Buck is forced to train as a sled dog and experiences brutality from man and beast and also nature. In his new environment there is “neither peace, nor rest, nor a moment’s safety”
The beginning (first chapter) is very easy going and calm. But then as soon as we enter the scene where Buck is kidnapped, we enter a whole new type of text. From here on, many parts of the book have a dark tone, and there are many violent scenes. I believe that these scenes with poor working conditions (for the dogs) and harsh environment and rules represent those factory workers in the progressive era, which also faced those kinds of issues. Not all of the dogs make it, only the strongest survive, there is absolutely nothing they can do about their current conditions, such were factory workers. There was little that factory workers could have done about their working conditions, no matter how much they protested, until the Triangle fire. It took the deaths of people in order for working conditions to change.
I think it’s useful for me to reread this book especially since now I can relate it to events that have happened in history. It’s a really great book, and it’s still interesting the second time through for me. :)
Wow, I really like this post! I love how you relate the book to different events,etc... From muckrakers, from social studies class, something that Ms. Maier said, to the Triangle Factory,etc. I also like how you restate parts of the book, but just enough to let the reader know abut the book. And I can go on and on, but I think you should reread the book over again as well, now that you know a lot more about the "related issues." Great job!
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