From Weakness to Strength: The Call of The Wild - Jack London

 

"Old longings nomadic leap,

chafing at custom's chain;

Again from its brumal sleep

Wakens the ferine strain" 

        We all have a wild nature within us, a hidden voice that urges us to take that brave leap, make that bold decision, a voice that tells us to follow our own path. The sedentary life of civilization more often than not suppresses that wilderness within us. But it is never completely lost. We can tap into it, if we are brave enough to make that choice, and use the strength of that wilderness to accomplish great things. This voice is wild, it follows no rules except its own. It shuns the shackles of civilization and norms and yearns to be free, going where wind takes it.

        Buck's story in "The Call of The Wild" by Jack London is a tale of transformation where Buck, initially a civilized and domesticated dog, finds the wilderness within him and learns to follow his own path. Buck, after being kidnapped from his comfortable life in the Southland is sent to toil heavily in the Northland. In the toils of the trails, Buck's learns to accept the cruel reality of life, Through acceptance he learned not to complain, but to work harder, build strength and fend for himself. He learned that no man or dog will show him any mercy. He learned that as soon as he provides no more value, he will be put down in cold blood. He adapted to the situation, he could do anything, eat anything and bear anything. 

"His muscles became hard as iron, and he grew callous to all ordinary pain." 

He learned from everything he experienced, from his fish getting stolen because he was too slow to eat, to seeing a dog get killed by its own kind because it showed a moment of weakness. He learnt to steal food without getting caught, he learned to never forego an opportunity and he learned to never show weakness.

“He had learned well the law of club and fang, and he never forewent an advantage or drew back from a foe he had started on the way to Death. He had lessoned from Spitz, and from the chief fighting dogs of the police and mail, and knew there was no middle course. He must master or be mastered; .......Kill or be killed, eat or be eaten, was the law; and this mandate, down out of the depths of Time, he obeyed.”

 And as he learnt, the wilderness within him grew stronger and stronger. The wild instincts began to takeover, because to survive in the cruel reality of life, Buck needed his wild instincts. 

        However, despite his inner wildness coming forth, Buck did not completely lose his civilized nature. This showed when Buck, despite suffering at the hands of the three incompetent treasure hunters, still trusted John Thornton, the man who rescued him and Buck was whole heartedly loyal to him. Buck balanced between his wild and civilized nature in that phase of his journey. John Thornton was Buck's sole link to the civilized world. He was the only anchor that kept Buck attached to his old, civilized self.

        The final phase of Buck's transformation came when John was murdered. Buck's last link with his old, civilized self was shattered.

"John Thornton was dead. The last tie was broken. Man and the claims of man no longer bound him."

After killing John's murderers in a frenzy of rage, Buck realized that he had killed man, the noblest game of all, and they were easier to kill than a husky. John's death completely detached Buck from his old self. Buck's inner wildness completely overpowered his civilized nature. Buck no longer feared anyone, no human or animal, and he obeyed no law or norm. He was his own king, and he was the king of the valley. He established his dominance over himself firs, then over the wolf pack, the valley and all its animals.

"He was a killer, a thing that preyed, living on things that lived, unaided, alone, by virtue of his own strength and prowess, surviving triumphantly in a hostile environment where only the strong survived."

        Buck's story is a perfect analogy of man's journey to finding strength. It is one of the answers to the question "What does it mean to be strong?' Buck was not strong initially. He was big, but not strong. It was the acceptance of the law of the club and fang that made Buck strong. It was the suffering of the trails that made him strong. And finally, it was the choosing of his own path that made him strong. For us, for mankind, we are led to the path of strength when we accept the cruel and bitter reality of life. And then comes suffering. Suffering makes us strong. We shall suffer in life no matter what. You cannot leave God's earth without having suffered in one way or another. We can choose to suffer actively, where we know we are suffering and instead of complaining, we try our best to gain strength from it while enduring it, or we can suffer passively, where we do nothing but complain till the suffering goes away or we give up. Suffering actively makes us strong, while suffering passively makes us weak, depressed and suicidal. What would you rather be? As was the case for Buck, physical suffering not only makes us physically strong, but mentally too. Just as the toils of the trail made Buck's muscles hard as iron, it also turned his mind into an impenetrable wild forest. In the same fashion, we can gain strength, both physical and mental, by putting ourselves through physical suffering in the form of grueling training regimens. In our lives that is our only possible first tangible step towards gaining strength. Because putting ourselves through training regimens is something we are completely in control of, it is a decision we can independently make for ourselves. And indeed, strong decisions breed a strong mind.