The Call Of The Wild, By Jack London

Jack London’s book, The Call of the Wild is about a domestic house dog who is thrown into the unknown and harsh life of a Klondike sled dog. This book was banned and removed from the high school curriculum for reasons that suggest animal cruelty, violent scenes, and dark tone and themes that are not suitable for younger children. Despite these reason, The Call of the Wild should remain in the curriculum because it also contains some reoccurring themes of perseverance and bravery that many could learn from. In any task Buck was put up to, he showed great perseverance and never gave up. Even at his lowest and weakest times Buck knew that “he was beaten…but not broken” (London 7). Many high-school students and young adults can learn from Buck
He shows that he is “fit to survive in the hostile Northland environment…his adaptability, his capacity to adjust himself to changing conditions, the lack of which would have meant swift and terrible death” (London 15-16). Even though Buck was taken from his home unwillingly, he was still able to adapt and learn the ways of the wild. He was able to overcome and survive the rough and brutal attacks of many people and some dogs, and came out stronger and smarter than before. In today’s world there are cruel people. “And when the going got tough…” Buck simply “got tougher” (Ashley 2). Verbal and physical abuse are things that could scar a person for the rest of their life. In order to overcome or simply avoid these situations, one must be strong and tough skinned, just as Buck was. We also must learn to adapt, because life is full of surprises and we never know what could be thrown our way. If high school students were given the opportunity to read this novel in class, they will learn how to deal with or adapt with challenging experiences that they may encounter in high school, and even college. The Call of the Wild is an excellent example of what it takes to adapt and
It is said that the book contains material that is too violent for younger readers, and this is why some people wanted the book banned from the curriculum. Seeing a dog on the front of a book may lead one to believe that the book is simply about a sled dog in the Klondike. The violent scenes in the book may be too graphic for elementary and even some middle school students. But by the time the students reaches 9th grade, the material is age appropriate. The novel should remain in the high school curriculum because, despite its violence and dark tones, it contains themes and ideas that one can learn a great deal