While Manuel receives only $50 for his part of the transaction, Buck will later bring a price of $300, and later on, he will bring even larger sums. In fact, вЂњover this great demesne Buck ruled.вЂќ Later in the North, Buck will also rule, in effect, as the вЂњkingвЂќ of the dogsled group, but he will have to fight - literally fight for his life - in order to have the right to rule over the other dogs.Д«uckвЂ™s gigantic size makes him a special prize for the dognappers.

We must always remember the contrast that London is utilizing in this novel: Buck comes not only from civilization, but also from a life of unusual ease and comfort, where all of his food is provided for him he is not accustomed to killing in order to eat. These dogs will later be sold to gold prospectors in the North. This change comes about because one of Judge MillerвЂ™s servants, Manuel, has amassed significant gambling debts and in order to repay the debts, Manuel sells Buck to some traders dealing in dognapping. Having established Buck, then, as a product of civilization, London will, as his chapter title вЂњInto the PrimitiveвЂќ indicates, now show the contrast between Buck, the civilized dog, and the dog he becomes when be is suddenly thrust into a life completely different. The fact that London chooses the Judge for BuckвЂ™s master strongly underscores the fact that we are to be aware of civilizationвЂ™s laws, its customs, and all of the machinations of order. London writes that Buck вЂњhad lived the life of a sated aristocrat.вЂќ BuckвЂ™s master was the gentle and kind Judge Miller, the epitome of a highly civilized society. While Buck is a very large dog - his father was a huge Saint Bernard and his mother was a Scotch shepherd - Buck has lived a comfortable life of ease in very civilized surroundings. Buck does not know that there is a вЂњyellow metalвЂќ recently discovered in the Far North and that strong, powerful dogs are desperately needed and will bring a rather large price.

To emphasize his essential theme, London has the dog Buck being born on a large estate in the Southland (Santa Clara Valley, California). Other qualities will also be pointed out as we progress through the novel. In one instance, we will see him possessing such qualities as loyalty, love, revenge, ambition, and other qualities usually associated with human beings. (Anthropomorphic simply means attributing human qualities to an animal.) For example, throughout the novel, Buck will be seen to possess various types of qualities that are traditionally attributed only to human beings.

In conjunction with the above ideas, London will use Buck, the enormous, extraordinarily powerful dog, as an anthropomorphic example of similar qualities for all of humankind. The вЂњbrumal sleepвЂќ refers to these forces that are hibernating and which will, at the proper moment, awaken and assume their bestial qualities. The concepts of Naturalism are summarized in these first four opening lines - that is, within every individual, however civilized, there lies deep within a вЂњferine strain,вЂќ which means that there is a вЂњprimitive beastвЂќ within each of us that can emerge at any particular moment, and it will emerge more quickly in periods of extreme stress. As noted in the section at the end of this study guide, entitled вЂњCritical Theories,вЂќ we see that London is writing in a certain literary tradition and under the influence of a literary philosophy called Naturalism. The four-line poem that begins the novel summarizes the essential theme of the entire work.

Into the wild book chapter 1