“Read this book and you’ll strain at the shackles that binds you to your normal way of life. You’ll want to break free, test yourself, become what you truly are – whatever that may be. - AVI “. Now that I have finished reading the book, I am in total agreement with these words.
HOW I GOT TO KNOW OF IT: “INTO THE WILD “is the movie where I first noticed COTW in the hands of Chris. When a person abandons everything in the world, including home, family and money, to be the part of the wild and still carry a copy of COTW with him (a true story), the fact should be good enough to make you grab the your own copy of it. Later, reading of COTW reviews on MS, only reinforced my decision.
ABOUT THE STORY: COTW tells the story of Buck, a St. Bernard and Scotch shepherd mix dog, who after being stolen from the an easy and comfortable home life from sunny California had to live the ruthless and difficult life of a sledge dog in frozen forests of northern America. Once stolen he is shipped to Alaska, and passed on to multiple owners - some harsh and cruel; and some very caring and loving - but each of them teaching him important lessons of life and each them helping him to bring out the best in him; a strong, cunning, bold and feared leader.
But it’s not only human beings that Buck has to embark upon in his struggle for life during his hard days as sled dog. After being introduced into the team of dogs to pull the sled, he faces the harsh world of husky dogs where there is no place for mercy; where when two contenders fight for the throne, one must die; and if one succeed in this game of life and death, it’s not an easy job afterwards, one has to set an example for others to follow. Spitz, a husky dog, the leader of the team on Buck arrival feels challenged by him and Buck reciprocates all emotions equally. Both use their strength and cunning equally in their rivalry to overcome each other until one day, Buck kills Spitz and becomes the leader of the pack.
But it was under the loving care of John Thornton, buck’s last owner, that Buck learns the real meaning of love (man he cared about more than any other). John saves Buck’s life at the hands of his previous owners and that’s well paid back by Buck by saving Johns life twice and by helping him win a huge sum of money.
With all these incidents turning Buck into strong and feared leader, Buck cannot escape the lure of wildness and he must answer the Call of the wild ringing into his ears more frequently with each passing day. At the same time the love of his master (John) stops him from permanently succumbing to his basic nature. So, what wins in the end, Love of a man or the call of the wild; read the book to find it out.
Along with Buck’s tale, it is also a story of people who struggle with life at its rawest, as they searched for the Gold in the Northlands of America at the end of 19th Century.
Some of the scenes that really stole my heart are:
Fight between Buck and Spitz for domination,
Buck’s saving of John’s life,
Buck’s pulling thousand pound weights and helping John win thousands of dollars,
Ultimate test of Buck’s patience while waiting for his kill(a wild Bull) to die,
and finally the revenge of Buck against Yeehats.
ABOUT THE BOOK: First published in 1903, COTW is somewhat based on the experiences of Jack London during his own Gold rush days. It is told in a very rigid manner, which may seem little awkward, with number of old-fashioned words, that may require you to consult dictionary at times (Don’t mind that).
It’s a story where protagonist is a dog, and is narrated from the 3rd person’s point of view. But don’t be under the impression that you’ll find talking dogs here, making lots of fun statements. Actually there isn’t much fun here and it’s more about the hardships of life –be it a life of a dog or a man – and now I know, why they say “I am living the life of a dog.” Ha Ha. The way the emotions of dogs – towards humans and among themselves - are portrayed through words is very impressive. Human characters seem to be second to dogs in this story, as if they are there only to shape their lives.
Writer has tried to create a tale bigger than the life itself. He has attempted to create a myth, a kind of fable on a grand scale and he has succeeded big time, and the book is now a classic with a genre of its own. It’s COTW that provided him an everlasting life in the world of literature. Most of his works, like COTW, are the tales of survival, mostly influenced by travels and explorations.
It’s a very short book with a life of 170 pages only; as it progresses it gets more and more hard and shrewd, with episodes that can shake the very core of your being; and I guess it somehow remind us, we humans, which being the supreme creature of this planet cannot run away from our responsibilities.
MY LEARNING: All animals are born to be wild; be it a dog, cat or Horse and it’s a bad on the part of humans to tame and domesticate them, to confine them of their natural way of life. And it doesn’t matter if they are happy among humans or sad, if they listen to their heart they can always hear THE CALL OF THE WILD.
Similarly, I believe we humans are born to be free; this freedom is not only in terms of freedom of speech or freedom to dream, to do what you want to do and be what you want to be; this freedom is bigger than all of these. What I am talking about is the freedom from this world of Maya (Good and Bad; Angels and Demons); freedom of our soul from the hands of mind to dissolve into its creator, The God. And when we listen to our soul – not mind – and follow the path that leads to Him, we can always hear THE CALL OF THE GOD.
LAST WORDS: Read this book for the love of nature, for the adventurer lying quiescent deep within you, waiting for a sign of awakening, the Call of the Wild. By the time you’ll finish COTW, you’ll have a completely different perspective towards the dog, and the next time you’ll see some dog, a question will raise in your mind – What he might be thinking about me??
P.S : Two extracts from the book are given in the comment section, to provide better idea about the contents and style of writing.
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Take Care and Keep Writing
VIKKY GURAL
PYAR HUMEIN PHIR MILAAEGA...