HANOI UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

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FL3283 British and American Literature

Class 124130
K63
TOPIC TITLE

The similarities between “The Call of the Wild”

and “Love of Life” themes

by
Fullname of student Student
code

Vũ Ngọc Ánh 20183040

August,
2021
Table of Contents

Introduction………………………………………...
1

Body

1. The similarities between “The Call of the Wild”

and “Love of Life” themes..............................1,2
2. The differences between “The Call of the Wild”
and “Love of Life” themes………………...2,3,4
3. Suggestion……………………………………...4

Conclusion……………………………………………4

References…………………………………………….5
Introduction

When referring to the realism of American Literature, we do not only mention Mark
Twain, O’Henry, but also do mention Jack London. It is undeniable that Jack London is one
of the greatest American writers. His hostile childhood and difficult life make the writer
with many works embody realism and humanism. Two of the most striking stories are “The
Call of the Wild” and “Love of Life” whose themes have resonated with readers. In this
essay, I will analyse the similarities and differences in themes between “The Call of the
Wild” and “Love of Life”.

Body

1. The similarities between “The Call of the Wild” and “Love of Life” themes

The first similarity that needs to be said is setting. One should note here that “The
Call of the Wild '' and “Love of Life” are some works of 20 th century American Literature
when people started gold-rush adventures to find gold in hope of becoming rich (English
and American Literature, 2016). In “The Call of the Wild’’, the background is described
through the story about a dog named Buck, while “Love of Life” setting is shown by the
itinerary of two gold prospectors with food starvation and many challenges. The context of
two stories that Jack London chooses is in the winter with the harsh wild environment and
snowy weather “..., it was apparent to Buck that the weather was steadily growing colder”
(p.14, “The Call of the Wild’’) and “A cold wind was blowing and snow was whitening the
hilltops” (p.52, “Love of Life”). Words like “colder”, “cold wind”, “snow” and “whitening”
which prove to serve coldness accentuate naturalism in Jack London’s stories. In addition,
there are some difficulties like many wild animals and a scarce amount of food and water.
For example, the main character’s feet in “Love of Life” were painful, so he was left lonely
by a companion without food or water “...the hurt was lost in the pain of his hunger”(p.50,
“Love of Life”). Or on the route with Hal and Charles, Buck was provided enough food and
water “He did not mind the hunger so much, but the lack of water caused him severe
suffering and fanned his wrath to fever-pitch.” (p.10, “The Call of the Wild’’).

The second point is survival. In “The Call of the Wild”, according to Cao (n.d.),
when Buck was roped, he tried to strongly antagonize dog dealers and the man in the red
1
sweater.  Buck was scared about what was happening when Hal forced him to pull the sled
so that he had to obey Hal (Cao, n.d.). Moreover, Cao indicates that surviving wolves and
other dogs, Buck had to adapt to the dog sled team peacefully. Buck learned “the law of the
club”, initiation and response (Mambrol, 2019). Likewise, in “Love of Life”, the man made
his effort to survive even though he was tired and hungry “Through his restless sleep he
dreamed of feasts and of food served in all imaginable manners” (p.52). Jack London is
very skilful to integrate a strong mental picture of the main character. The man dreamed of
a good meal and imagined food to keep going and not give up. Furthermore, he fought and
overcame the wolf to get survival “He waited… Slowly, while the wolf struggled weakly,
the other hand moved across the wolf’s body…the whole weight of the man’s body was on
top of the wolf” (“Love of Life”, p.61, p.62). In this sentence, Jack London used descriptive
and straight words namely “slowly”, “weakly” or “hand’’, “other hand” to help readers
imagine clearly about the dramatic struggle between the man and the wolf. Then again,
survival is the best power of humans to win an animal tactfully.

In short, the reason why two works have similarities origins from realism and
naturalism in Jack London’ writing. That is the most common in his stories.

2.    The differences between “The Call of the Wild” and “Love of Life” themes

Besides related subjects, “The Call of the Wild” and “Love of Life” have some
specific themes. Firstly, if the theme in “The Call of the Wild” is the desire to be free, to be
wild, the theme in “Love of Life” is love of life. To give an illustration, in “The Call of the
Wild”, Jack London wrote “...he was doing it again, now, running free in the open, the
unpacked earth underfoot, the wide sky overhead”(p.76). This sentence is long with short
syntax that consecutively expresses Buck’s happiness for his freedom and nature. The tone
in here is so quick that readers associate Buck with a cheerful face and big leaps. There is
no doubt that Jack London is such an animal lover that he can understand and write
wonderful words about an animal like that. We can catch this love in Jack London’s other
works as “White Fang”, “The Sea-Wolf”.

By contrast, the protagonist in “Love of Life” was left lonely and continued his way.
However, he did not give up “He tried to believe that Bill had not deserted him” (p.48). He
tried to encourage and remind himself to make the best effort to live. The man always
2
hopes and believes despite dealing with so many challenges “He waited for the thing that
was to feed upon him and upon which he wished to feed...he waited for…” (p.61). The
literary device which was applied is repetition “he waited for” to emphasize the
protagonist’s patience with the hope that can win the wolf. Hence, it can be said that the
love of life can push all personalities' humans to help them survive under circumstance. 

Another point worth noting is loyalty in “The Call of the Wild” and determination in
“Love of Life”. According to Cao (n.d.), Buck is a faithful dog. He always stands by John
Thornton who saved Buck’s life from the man in the red sweater. Buck gave the special
love for John “Love, genuine passionate love, ...But love that was feverish and burning, that
was adoration, that was madness, it had taken John Thornton to arouse.” Jack London
combined adjectives with romantic nouns to show Buck’s delirious passion for John. What
is mentioned is that until the end of the story, when Buck knew John was dead, he was
deeply upset (Cao, n.d.). To cite an example from “The Call of the Wild” (p.83) “...he knew
John Thornton was dead...It left a great void in him, somewhat akin to hunger, but a void
which ached and ached, and which food could not fill.” Jack London is successful in
personification to couch Buck’s feeling that is like a broken heart. It can be said that the
more Buck loves John, the more he hurts. Hence, 

On the other hand, in “Love of Life”, the next theme is the protagonist's
determination. Writer (2020) states that the protagonist overcame moments of terror,
misery, and starvation.  Furthermore, he deluded the wolf “The man’s waiting was no less
awful. For half a day he lay without motion, fighting off sleep” (p.61, “Love of Life”). He
did not give up and continued stepping in snow and each step helped him reach life
(Studymoose, 2016). Besides that, viewed from different sides, “The Call of the Wild” still
has other themes like good leadership, perseverance, and friendship (Gockley, 2017). While
courage and intelligence are the themes that audiences can comprehend after reading “Love
of Life”. 

In general, even though two stories differ from some themes, that creates special
feelings and meanings and shows Jack London’s talent. He is not only an author, but he
also is a sympathetic and compassionate person. That is why people call him the great
American writer.

3
3. Suggestion

What we take after investigating the similarities and differences in themes “The Call
of the Wild” and “Love of Life” is a great number of lessons. Firstly, we must maintain a
good attitude in the face of any stress or challenges in our lives (Cao, n.d.). For instance, we
can learn from survival or love of life themes to make efforts like Buck in “The Call of the
Wild” or the protagonist in “Love of Life”. Moreover, according to Cao, only attitude is not
enough to deal with complicated situations, we need to have necessary skills. Suppose that
we faced to face with a wolf like the man in “Love of Life”, we would have patience,
courage and determination to overcome and win it. Applying those attitudes and skills in
our life now, we can deal with covid-19 pandemic and adjust to this circumstance.
Therefore, we can overcome this difficult period and appreciate normal life. 

 Conclusion

To sum up, the similarities and differences of themes between “The Call of the Wild”
and “Love of Life” illustrate Jack London’ writing style that has both stable and creative
expression. Thanks to Jack London, we can comprehend many meaningful lessons
and develop some vital qualities. The success of Jack London contributes to American
Literature and impresses American people and citizens around the world in general.

4
REFERENCES

Cao, P. (n.d.). The themes of the Call of the Wild. Retrieved from
https://www.academia.edu/18479435/
The_Theme_of_the_Call_of_the_Wild
Mambrol, N. (January 3rd, 2019). Analysis of Jack London’s Novels.
Literary Theory and Criticism. Retrieved from
https://literariness.org/2019/01/03/analysis-of-jack-londons-novels/
Gockley, L. (November 17th, 2017). Novel Analysis: The Call of the Wild
(Jack London). Retrieved from https://www.bulbapp.com/u/novel-analysis-
the-call-of-the-wild-jack-london~5
Jack London. Love of Life. Retrieved from
https://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/love-of-life.pdf?
fbclid=IwAR1sceRxzSQ0SLtWcPdADkpVl235IsoqajGH1cwLGUrOv-
ZBqo9x4AfcE_k
Jack London. The Call of the Wild. Retrieved from
https://www.ibiblio.org/ebooks/London/Call%20of%20Wild.pdf

Studymoose (2016). What does Jack London mean by "The Love of Life"?
Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/what-does-jack-london-mean-by-the-
love-of-life-essay
 Writer. S. (April 11th, 2020). What Is a Summary of "Love of Life" by Jack
London? Reference. Retrieved from
https://www.reference.com/world-view/summary-love-life-jack-london-
127ee2791f1bdffe