The Call of the Wild: Difference between revisions
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In May 2011, an original adaptation of The Call of the Wild will be staged at the Oxford Playhouse. It will be produced by Mark Heath. <ref>{{cite web|last=Norris|first=Barney|title=FEATURE: How I Made Call of the Wild (and Today’s Politics) My Own|url=http://www.oxfordtheatrereview.com/2011/02/25/feature-how-i-made-call-of-the-wild-and-todays-politics-my-own/|publisher=Oxford Theatre Review|accessdate=9 March 2011}}</ref>. |
In May 2011, an original adaptation of The Call of the Wild will be staged at the Oxford Playhouse. It will be produced by Mark Heath. <ref>{{cite web|last=Norris|first=Barney|title=FEATURE: How I Made Call of the Wild (and Today’s Politics) My Own|url=http://www.oxfordtheatrereview.com/2011/02/25/feature-how-i-made-call-of-the-wild-and-todays-politics-my-own/|publisher=Oxford Theatre Review|accessdate=9 March 2011}}</ref>. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 12:36, 28 March 2011
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2010) |
 First edition cover | |
| Author | Jack London |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Nolan Gadient |
| Cover artist | Evan Adkins |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Adventure novel |
| Publisher | Macmillan |
Publication date | 1903 |
| Publication place | Canada |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 172 pp |
| ISBN | NA Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
| OCLC | 28228581 |
The Call of the Wild is a novel by American writer Jack London. The plot concerns a previously domesticated dog named Buck, whose primordial instincts return after a series of events leads to his serving as a sled dog in the Yukon during the 19th-century Klondike Gold Rush, in which sled dogs were bought at generous prices.
Published in 1903, The Call of the Wild is London's most-read book, and it is generally considered his best, the masterpiece of his so-called "early period".[1] Because the protagonist is a dog, it is sometimes classified as a juvenile novel, suitable for children, but it is dark in tone and contains numerous scenes of cruelty and violence. The Yeehat, a group of Alaska Natives portrayed in Call of the Wild, were a figment of London's imagination.[2]
Plot
Buck, a Saint Bernard shepherd dog, lives a comfortable life in the Santa Clara Valley with his owner, Judge Miller. One day, Manuel, the Judge's gardener's assistant, steals Buck and sells him in order to pay a gambling debt. Buck is shipped to Alaska and sold to a pair of French Canadians named Francois and Perrault, who were impressed with his physique. They train him as a sled dog, and he quickly learns how to survive the cold winter nights and the pack society by observing his teammates. He and the vicious, quarrelsome lead dog, Spitz, develop a rivalry. Buck eventually bests Spitz in a major fight, and after Spitz is defeated, the other dogs close in, killing him. Buck then becomes the leader of the pack.
Eventually, Buck is sold to a man named Charles, his wife, Mercedes, and her brother, Hal, who know nothing about sledding nor surviving in the Alaskan wilderness. They struggle to control the sled and ignore warnings not to travel during the spring melt. They first overfeed the dogs, then when their food supply starts running out, they do not feed them at all. As they journey on, they run into John Thornton, an experienced outdoorsman who notices that all of the sled dogs are in terrible shape from the ill treatment of their handlers. Thornton warns the trio against crossing the river, but they refuse to listen and order Buck to mush or move on. Exhausted, starving, and sensing the danger ahead, Buck refuses and continues to lay in the snow not moving except for breathing and blinking. After being beaten by Hal, Thornton recognizes him as a remarkable dog and is disgusted by the driver's beating of the dog. Thornton cuts him free from his traces and tells the trio he's keeping him, much to Hal's displeasure. After some argument, the trio leaves and tries to cross the river, but as Thornton warned, the ice gives way and the three fall into the river along with the neglected dogs and sled.
As Thornton nurses Buck back to health, Buck comes to love him and grows devoted to him. Buck saves Thornton when the man falls into a river. Thornton then takes him on trips to pan for gold. During one such trip, a man makes a wager with Thornton over Buck's strength and devotion. Buck wins the bet by breaking a half-ton sled out of the frozen ground, then pulling it 100 yards by himself, winning over a thousand dollars in gold dust. Thornton and his friends return to their camp and continue their search for gold, while Buck begins exploring the wilderness around them and begins socializing with a wolf from a local pack. One night, he returns from a short hunt to find his beloved master and the others in the camp have been killed by a group of Yeehat Indians. Buck eventually kills the Indians to avenge Thornton. After realizing his old life is a thing of the past, Buck follows the wolf into the forest and answers the call of the wild.
Development
Buck, the main character in the book, is based on a saint bernard/shetland sheep sled dog which belonged to Marshall Latham Bond and his brother Louis Whitford Bond/Louis, the sons of Judge Hiram Bond, who was a mining investor, fruit packer and banker in Santa Clara. The Bonds were Jack London's landlords in Dawson City during the autumn of 1897 and spring of 1898; the main year of the Klondike Gold Rush. The London and Bond accounts record that the dog was used by Mayo.
Adaptations
Several films based on the novel have been produced. The 1935 version starring Clark Gable and Loretta Young emphasized the human relationships over Buck's story. The 1972 The Call of the Wild starred Charlton Heston and Mick Steele. A television film starring Rick Schroder was broadcast in 1993 that focused more on the character of John Thornton.
Another adaptation released 1997 called The Call of the Wild: Dog of the Yukon starring Rutger Hauer was narrated by Richard Dreyfuss and adapted by Graham Ludlow. There was also a Call of the Wild television series broadcast in 2000.
A Japanese anime television series adaptation, Anime Yasei no Sakebi, consists of 22 episodes and is based on the novel produced by Wako of Australia. There was also an anime movie made in the 1980s, and animated by the Japanese company Toei Animation.
On June 12, 2009, Vivendi Entertainment released "Call of the Wild in Digital Real-D 3D". The family-oriented adaption was a feature-length film and was rated PG. The 14 theaters equipped for Digital Real-D 3D showed the film in 3D only. The movie performed poorly at the box office (although the 3D element limited its release) making around $750 per screen in its opening weekend. The film was released in 3D on DVD September 28, 2009. The DVD includes 3D glasses to watch this version of the film.
The TV special What a Nightmare, Charlie Brown! has a plot similar to that of The Call of the Wild.
In May 2011, an original adaptation of The Call of the Wild will be staged at the Oxford Playhouse. It will be produced by Mark Heath. [3]. fack
References
- ^ London, Jack (January 8, 2002). "Introduction". The Call of the Wild, White Fang & To Build a Fire. introduction by E.L. Doctorow. Modern Library. p. xi. ISBN 978-0375752513.
- ^ London, Jack; Dyer, Daniel Osborn (1997). The Call of the Wild: Annotated and Illustrated. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. p. 101. ISBN 9780585145129. OCLC 44955471.
- ^ Norris, Barney. "FEATURE: How I Made Call of the Wild (and Today's Politics) My Own". Oxford Theatre Review. Retrieved March 9, 2011.
External links
