The Call of the Wild by Jack London Book Review

In the story, Call of the Wild,we are introduced to the main character ,Buck, whom I believe has changed from being a normal domesticated dog, into a feral beast because of his environment and circumstances. The theme nature and nurture has been shown throughout the novel but one of the times where I feel it was first demonstrated was when Buck is not given a substantial amount of food, so Buck,going back to his primordial instincts, steals the food from his owners. This is supported by the text when it says, “By watching the other dogs, he also learns to steal; his old morals, learned in Judge Miller’s sunny home, gradually slip away. Old urges and instincts, which belonged to his wild ancestors, begin to assert themselves.” This quote shows nature versus nurture because it shows  that in order to survive, Buck will have to resort to his feral instincts. Another time where I believe survival of the fittest is exhibited in the novel, is when Buck is getting beaten by the man in the red sweater because he tried to fight back, but then  he soon realizes that in order to survive he needs to show respect to the man with a club. This is proven in the passage when it states, “He was beaten (he knew that); but he was not broken. He saw, once for all, that he stood no chance against a man with a club. He had learned that lesson,...Also he saw one dog, that would neither conciliate nor obey, finally killed in the struggle for mastery.”This quote proves the theme Survival of the fittest is exhibited in the passage because it shows how Buck adapts to his environment/circumstances in order to survive. In conclusion, that is some of the many reasons how  the themes nature versus nurture and survival of the fittest is exhibited throughout the novel.