Call of the Wild

John London's book Call of the Wild astounded me with the way he used anthropomorphism.


Jack London believed in Herbert Spencer's theory of "survival of the fittest," which means basically that an organism or group that is better suited to an environment will have a better chance for survival than an animal or group that is less suited. In other words, Spencer suggested that learning did not play a great role in the survival of a species. London shows that he believes in that by having Buck take leadership of the pack by defeating the top dog. Throughout the story the author makes you think that Buck and the other dogs are actually human by giving them such human traits, and making them talk as humans would do. Buck makes you like him a lot and whenever he is mad/sad it makes you feel a different way. Whenever Buck gets kidnapped and taken to the snow, he acts differently and he has to use his instincts and react differently than when he was in his old home.

This is a great book to read if you are trying to find yourself.