Essay about Analysis of the Call of the Wild by Jack London

The book I selected to read during this semester is the literary classic The Call of the Wild, a 1903 novel by award-winning author Jack London. I chose to read this story because it is a classic novel and the heroic tone of the novel appealed to me. The novel tells of an initially pampered dog, Buck, and the progression of his tendency to revert to the inner instincts of fierce violence and extreme competition instilled in him. In the process, Buck goes through several different masters before finally landing with the right one. The Call of the Wild is made interesting by the literary devices used in the novel, the simple and robust tone used by London, and the process that the protagonist Buck undergoes in reverting back to his†¦show more content†¦For example, a theme of survival of the fittest is presented when Buck first joins the sledding team, as there is a constant power struggle between characters, particularly Buck and Spitz. On the other hand, incidents such as Bu ck’s initial beating at the hand of his master symbolize Buck’s departure from his pampered life at the estate to his survival-based situation as a sled dog. These literary devices add a crucial element to the book and enhance the story for the reader. Another important component of The Call of the Wild is the distinct tone London uses in the story. He primarily uses a simple and robust tone, such as on page 56 when Buck is physically drained from pulling the sleds. On page 56 London writes: â€Å"All that stirring of old instincts which at stated periods drives men out from the sounding cities to forest and plain to kill things by chemically propelled leaden bullets, the blood lust, the joy to kill-all this was Bucks, only it was infinitely more intimate. He was ranging at the head of the pack, running the wild thing down, the living meat, to kill with how own teeth and wash his muzzle to the eyes in warm blood. This blatant and robust tone compliments the untamed se tting and violence in the plot of the story. Perhaps the most important aspect of the novel was the progressive shift back to instinctive qualities of Buck. When the story begins, Buck is living as a pampered housedog at a large estate,Show MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Jack London s The Call Of The Wild 1306 Words   |  6 Pagesdifferent literary movements. Authors choose the writing style they want, and whether or not to be in a movement. Jack London was one of these authors. He chose to be a part of the naturalism movement. Naturalism is a literary movement with the belief that humans and animals being shaped by their environment. He then chose to use indirect discourse in one of his most popular books The Call of the Wild. Free Indirect Discourse is when the reader knows the thoughts of the main character while having a thirdRead MoreLiterary Analysis Of Jack Londons The Call Of The Wild707 Words   |  3 PagesThe Call of the Wild Literary Analysis Have Have you ever read The Call of the Wild? The Call of the Wild by Jack London it is a story about a dog name Buck that transformation from a pampered pet to a fierce,masterful wild,animal, and this transformation naturally means that the canine protagonist gradually separates himself from his human masters on his way to achieving a final independence. Nevertheless, The Call of the Wild ultimately offers an ambiguous,rather than negative, portrait of Buck’sRead MoreA Analysis of Jack London Novels2925 Words   |  12 PagesA literary Analysis of Jack London three most recognized works, Sea Wolf; The Call of the Wild; and White Fang. Jack London lived a full life, even though he died at the young age of forty. In his life time he experienced many things, and I believe that these experiences were the catalyst of his novels. Jack London was an oyster pirate, a government patrolman in San Francisco Bay, a sailor and an agrarian reformer, a seal hunter in the North Pacific and a gold prospector in the frozenRead MoreCall Of The Wild Analysis773 Words   |  4 PagesThe Call of the Wild Literacy Analysis â€Å"Buck stood and looked on, the successful champion, the dominant primordial beast who had made his kill and found it good.† (London, 43). In the adventure novel by Jack London, The Call of the Wild, a huge 140 pound Saint Bernard/Scotch Shepherd named Buck goes through internal and external challenges that leaves him retrogressed and more wild than ever. He adapts to the wild Northland environment that he had never experienced in the sunny state of CaliforniaRead MoreSummary Of The Call Of The Wild By Jack London1908 Words   |  8 Pages Ms. Stone English 10 H 11 November 2016 Journal Entry #1: The Call Of The Wild, by Jack London 1. Section Summary A large dog, named Buck, lives on a big estate in the heart of Santa Clara Valley. While in the midst a famous gold rush in Klondike, Canada, many men need sled dogs to get around on the snow. Buck does not realize the great fear that he is in while living during this time. Manuel, a gardener on the estate that Buck lives on, gambles Buck to another man and loses. Buck beginsRead MoreProcess Analysis : Esl 4071140 Words   |  5 PagesEssay Draft 2: Process Analysis ESL 407 – L06 Felicia Lim Lixue No matter what stresses you face in daily life, a good book transports you to a completely different world, allowing you to lose yourself in a great story. Reading expands your horizons, pushes your imagination, and improves your writing skills. However, it is unfortunate that many find reading can be a chore; it is frequently done during exams as a way to absorb information and being tested for it. Therefore, it is critical to realizeRead MoreAnalysis of The Man with the Twisted Lip, The Adventure of the Speckled Band, and The Red Room2090 Words   |  9 PagesAnalysis of The Man with the Twisted Lip, The Adventure of the Speckled Band, and The Red Room The Victorian era was a time of great change; industrialisation, imperialism, scientific discovery. These changes reflect in the new topics of contemporary literature. In this essay I am going to look at the effect created by Arthur Conan Doyle and H G Wells in three short stories, analysing how this effect has added to the plot, setting and atmosphere. In order to fullyRead MoreA Critical Analysis of Oscar Wildes Importance of Being Earnest3101 Words   |  12 PagesIdentity 8 The Critique of Marriage 8 Idleness of the Aesthete and the Leisure Class 9 The Plot vs. Characterization 9 The Analysis of Character 9 The Structure Analysis of Plot 10 The Title of the play 11 Conclusion 12 Critiquing Play Introduction The play, The Importance of Being Earnest, is written by Oscar Wilde and was first performed in London at St. Jamess Theatre on fourteen February of the year of 1895. In order to escape burdensome social obligations, fictitious personalRead MoreThis Boys Life Critical Analysis Essay1965 Words   |  8 PagesCritical Analysis- A Struggle with Identity This Boys Life is the autobiographical account of teenager. Toby and his mothers search for financial stability and a peaceful life. Toby’s family was split down the middle as a child, leaving his father and older brother on the East Coast and, for the most part, uninvolved in Toby’s life. The story begins when Toby and his mother, Rosemary, leave her abusive boyfriend in Florida to take their chances at becoming rich on uranium mines in Utah. They areRead MoreAnalysis Of Where I m Calling From By Raymond Carver2284 Words   |  10 PagesArtapong Intapatana September 16, 2014 English Literature: Critical Thinking and Composition Prof. Jennifer Smith Where I’m Calling From Analysis â€Å"Where I’m Calling From† by Raymond Carver is a short story about a man’s struggle with Alcoholism, and his encounters at a drying-out facility or treatment center. The story itself seems very straight forward in the way it’s presented, 3rd person perspective, narrative writing style, realism (ENotes.com), but in actuality there’s a lot more to the story

themes in lost horizon Essay - 769 Words

What is Paradise? Throughout history man has sought to create, find, or at least image a paradise on earth, a place where there is peace, harmony, and a surcease from the pain that plagues our lives. On the eve of World War II, James Hilton imagined such a place in his best-selling novel, Lost Horizon. The story itself begins when an evacuation of Westerners is ordered in the midst of revolution in Baksul, India. A plane containing four passengers is hi-jacked and flown far away into the Keun-Lun Mountains of Tibet. The plane crashes and the passengers are welcomed to the valley of the Blue Moon, and the lamasery of Shangri-la. Here they see an isolated monastery shrouded in mystery, which combines Christianity and Buddhism with a focus†¦show more content†¦Almost immediately Conway feels he is ideally suited to their way of life. He meets other lamas who have been at Shangri-la for a long time, including Lo-Tsen, with whom he quietly falls in love with. All the newcomers desire to stay, except for Mallinson. He and Lo-Tsen fall in love with one another and makes plans to leave. Conway warns Mallinson not to take Lo-Tsen back with him, knowing her extreme old age will cause her to die immediately. Mallinson doubts Conway’s knowledge of Shangri-la, which in turn lead s Conway himself to doubt and eventually consent to leave. After their departure from Shangri-la, the story is unresolved. We are lead to believe that there was truth to the story and that Lo-Tsen rapidly ages then dies, we are never definitively told the fates of the her, Conway and Mallinson following their departure from Shangri-la. A theme found in Lost Horizon is the desire to leave and apparent utopia in favor of a former home, however flawed. This is comparable to Odysseus who wanted to leave the utopian island of Kalypso to return home to Ithaca and his wife. The British youth Mallinson is similar to Odysseus in this respect. While Conway, Barnard and Miss Brinklow find Shangri-la a satisfying place to live, Mallinson intensely desires to leave and return home to his family, friends, and country. The other characters’ lack of connections to the outside world causes the difference in their attitudesShow MoreRelatedVenice: A Lagoon City1208 Words   |  5 Pagesimpending death. As he approaches Venice, he mentions that the â€Å"Sky was grey, wind was damp.† This clearly foreshadows Aschenbach’s impending death as he nears Venice. We also see that the weather plays a very important role in the setting and the theme of death in the novella. The entire novella is shadowed by a tangible gloom and a foreboding, and this is partially influenced by the writer’s description of the weather as soon as the protagonist arrives in Venice, â€Å"sky and sea remained leaden, withRead MoreA Womens Search for Identity in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God729 Words   |  3 Pagesâ€Å"It’s uh known fact, Pheoby, you got tuh go there tuh know there†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Hurston 192). The theme of identity can be seen throughout Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, of a story of a women’s journey for self-identification. Through symbolic imagery, such as the pear tree, Janie’s hair, and the horizon, Hurston ultimately shows a women’s quest for her identity. As a young teenager, Janie becomes infatuated with the idea of an idealistic romance: â€Å"She saw a dust-bearing bee sink into theRead MoreAnalysis of Anzia Yezierskas The Lost Beautifulness825 Words   |  3 Pagesï » ¿Q1. The lost beautifulness by Anzia Yezierska In Anzia Yezierskas short story The lost beautifulness, the protagonist Hanneh Hayyeh scrimps and saves to be able to paint her apartment white to make it look respectable for her son Ady when he comes home from fighting World War I. Hayyeh wants some kind of hope to cling to in her desperate immigrants life. Although the dialect of the characters is Russian-Jewish and the setting is in an early 20th century urban environment, the idea of immigrantRead MoreMiltons Telescope Trope: Vision and Spiritual Wisdom1569 Words   |  6 PagesMilton’s Telescope Trope: Vision and Spiritual Wisdom Throughout Milton’s Paradise Lost, figures are depicted watching a view, often fluctuating, the outlines of which dissolve while they are being watched. These visual scenarios, often constructed through a Miltonic simile, include the moon observed through Galileo’s telescope (I, 287–91); Satan surveying the cosmic panorama of the created world (III, 555–73); Galileo’s telescope that reappears â€Å"less assured† (III, 588–90; V, 261–3); and finallyRead MoreA Neo Aristotelian Analysis Of President Obama s Oval Office Address On Bp Oil Spill Energy 1613 Words   |  7 PagesDiana J. Park Professor Eleanor A. Lockhart Rhetorical Criticism 2 October 2015 A Neo-Aristotelian Analysis of President Obama’s: Oval Office Address on BP Oil Spill Energy On June 15, 2010, President Barack Obama formally addresses the Deepwater Horizon oil spill to inform people of his plans to contain the oil spill and the nation s need for clean energy. The purpose of this paper is to analyze President Obama’s speech on the BP oil spill using Foss’ neo-Aristotelian method of rhetorical criticismRead MoreEssay about Sillouette779 Words   |  4 Pagesslowly consumed by the loss of the land and his people. As the land begins to evaporate around him he becomes the dark shadow-like shape that once the leader of his tribe. In silhouette the setting is very important to the development of the theme. The image of change and decay is already present in the first line The sky-line melts from russet into blue from beginning the Pauline Johnson has created the image of change by placing the poem in the archetypal setting of dusk. Throughout theRead MoreAnalysis Of Sonya Hartnett s The Ghost s Child 1561 Words   |  7 PagesSonya Hartnett s The Ghost s Child, is a compelling and elaborate story that follows the path of the protagonist Matilda. The most prominent theme in the book is love and how its consequences shape Maddy s life. Maddy s experiences with love in her early childhood influence how she shows her love to Feather and the fay. As a result of this, Maddy s greed for Feather to change for her, had cursed their relationship from the very beginning. After cracks had appeared in their relationship, MaddyRead MoreA Civilization Falls Apart Essay1167 Words   |  5 Pagesfundamental theme must firs t be disposed. This theme...is that African peoples did not hear of culture for the first time from Europeans; that their societies were not mindless but frequently had a philosophy of great depth and value and beauty, that they had poetry, and above all, they had dignity. It is this dignity that many African peoples all but lost in the colonial period...The writers duty is to help them regain it by showing them in human terms what happened to them, what they lost. (Achebe/KillamRead MoreThe Political Development Of The Soviet Union934 Words   |  4 Pageswas the powerhouse of the West and the Soviet Union was the powerhouse of the East. It was no surprise that these two countries would eventually come to clash. Two themes that appear from Berkin’s book would be: the political development of a nation and the relationship of the United States to other nations. The first of the two themes is the political development of a nation. In this case the political development of the Soviet Union would be a good example. The United States was a huge part ofRead MoreLife Without Hope Analysis871 Words   |  4 PagesLife without hope is a journey without a compass. In  The Road  by Cormac McCarthy there are numerous instances that occur in which all seems lost, but in those moments hope carries through and thrives. The dystopian novel narrates the tale of a man and a boy who are trying to survive in a world where moral and order have disappeared, driving humans to commit acts of cannibalism and murder. It also shows the strong bond between an unnamed father and his son. The man’s son and the appearance of colour

The Great Escape Movie and Real Story Free Essays

The movie The Great Escape was based on the escape of many prisoners from a Nazi prison camp during World War II. Unfortunately, only a couple of the escapees made it to safety before being captured again. Once the prisoners were captured, they were sent to a Nazi prison camp called Stalag. We will write a custom essay sample on The Great Escape Movie and Real Story or any similar topic only for you Order Now If they had done nothing except passing their time patiently they would have been able to make it through the war safely. However, the Germans were rather dependent upon their adversaries not putting up resistance. They had to be defeated and this would take a collective effort. The men who are the real heroes are those that took the risks and made the sacrifices. The â€Å"Great Escape† was showing the prisoners of war (POWs) resistance towards the fascist state of Germany and this is what made this prison break so much different than that of any other Hollywood movie involving a prison break. Even though the plan that they had set forth failed, that isn’t the point the point was that they took it into their own hands and tried as hard as they could to escape. The movie was based off of a true story about a group of Allied POW’s that attempted to escape from what was thought to be an impenetrable Nazi prison camp during World War II. At the beginning, the Nazi’s gather some of the most devious and troublesome POWs and placed them into a prison camp. Soon after arriving there, they are already plotting their escape. They plan on building three separate tunnels that they refer to as â€Å"Tom†, â€Å"Dick†, and â€Å"Harry†. One of the ways that the men removed dirt from the tunnels in progress was by hiding bags in their trousers to spread the dirt over the camp, under the guard’s noses. On the first day there were many failed attempts at escaping, eventually they settled in. one of the men is told that if he tries to escape one more time he will be shot, and is placed back with the rest of the POWs. Being locked up with every escape artist in Germany, one of the men tries to plot a way to break 250 prisoners out of Stalag. The intent of this operation was to confuse the enemy to the point of them moving as many troops from the front lines to search for all of the escapees that it would be a waste of resources and troops. The prisoners ere at work on the three tunnels and two of them were discovered before completion. Eventually tunnel â€Å"Tom† was completed but was found to be 20 feet short of the woods, due to this, only 76 men were able to escape. Almost all of the POWs were either recaptured and/or killed. Only three of the men made it to safety. The real story of the â€Å"Great Escape† was â€Å"the mass escape of 76 Allied POWs from Stalag Luf t III in March of 1944. † It all started when and Allied aircrew was shot down during World War II. The war camp was being run by the Luftwaffe, called Stalag Luft which was short for Stammlager Luft. The camp was opened May of 1942. The German Luftwaffe had respect for their fellow flyers and their treatment of the prisoners should not be confused with that of the SS or Gestopo. The Luftwaffe treated the POWs well even though there was a very inconsistent supply of food. The security was very strict but life was not intolerable for the prisoners. The camp grew to hold 10,000 POWs, was 59 acres and had 5 miles of perimeter fencing. Food in the camp would have been a major issue if it weren’t for the International Red Cross. Most people would think that the guards got plenty of food, but realistically they weren’t too much better off. Also; the Red Cross provided the prisoners with replacement clothing, shower items, coffees and teas, jams, meats, sugars, and all of these were distributed equally amongst the people. There was prolonged starvation and if it weren’t for the Red Cross parcels things would have been much worse. Some of the captured officers were paid an equivalent of their pay and were able to purchase things, but it was strictly forbidden to be in possession of the real German currency, and this was a vital aid in escape. Another thing that was strictly forbidden was civilian clothing. Most prisoners were commonly dressed in uniforms and any footwear they had, and any man that had civilian clothing was sure to keep it safe. One thing that was vital was to carry and aircrew badge, otherwise upon escaping they could be thought to be a spy. Some of the finest escape artists of the Allied forces were placed in Luft III, and one of those men being Squadron leader Roger J Bushell who was shot down May 1940 during the Battle of France. He collected the most skilled forgers, tailors, tunnel engineers and surveillance experts and told them his plan of sending 250 men outside of the wire fences of Stalag. He knew that this would cause tremendous problems for his enemy because it would divert both men and resources to capture the escapees. His plan wasn’t really intending to return men to their homeland but to cause a major problem with the Germans. He decided to go through with this plan although he had already been told that if he escaped or tried to escape again it would result in him being shot. Security at Stalag was intended to be the best, but there were some flaws with it, one of these flaws being that the Germans were known around the world as being â€Å"goons†. They recived this name because they were definitely not the ‘cream of the Luftwaffe’ and were well known for shooting first and asking questions later. They could also be considered ‘trigger happy’ since there were many incidents of unnecessary use of firearms. The German guards that were highly skilled at detecting escape were called â€Å"ferrets†. They had the ability to enter the compound when they please and search any hut without any given warning. They’d normally search for bright yellow sand because that was an indication that a tunnel was in progress. When they found a tunnel, they would allow it to keep being built until it was close to completion then they would drive heavy vehicles around the camp grounds to collapse the tunnel. The prisoners had three tunnels going and they were named â€Å"Tom†, â€Å"Dick†, and â€Å"Harry†. â€Å"Tom† was started in Hut 105, â€Å"Harry† was in Hut 104, and â€Å"Dick† was concealed beneath a shower drain under Hut 122 and would be under several feet of water, and the Germans never found it. The sudden ‘pounces’ by the ferrets caused consistent nightmares for the tunnel diggers, during one occasion the door to Harry was replaced and fully camouflaged in twenty seconds leaving no sign of a tunnel entrance. The formation of these tunnels wasn’t the easiest because they were under ground and there is limited space to displace the dirt removed to create the tunnel. On method of removing the dirt from the tunnel areas was by filing long thin bags that the men slipped inside their trousers and would walk around losing the sand through a hole in the bottom of it. These men were known as ‘penguins’. Unfortunately, one of the men was careless and was spotted by a ferret when he was walking around the compound so they knew that a tunnel was under way, they just didn’t know where. The process of tunneling was very dangerous, because if a tunnel caved in there was only enough time to cover your head and wait for the ‘number two’ to dig you out. No one ever died, but a few many were forced to stay off work due to suffocation. In order to make these tunnels dependable, they used approximately 4,000 bed boards to form the shoring. These bed boards came from the beds of the prisoners. Most of them became used to sleeping on the barest of supports. The size of the tunnel depended upon that of the boards, so the tunnel is approximately 2 feet square. A wooden railway was put into the tunnel to remove sand along the tunnel. One of the men had spotted an 800 foot coil of electrical wire and took it to use it for lighting through the tunnel. The Germans were aware that something was going on but they were never able to find anything. Eventually they moved 19 of the top suspects which had included 6 of the key men in this operation to another prison camp only weeks before the escape was planned to take place. Luckily, Bushell’s role in the escape was well camouflaged and the Germans had left him behind. When the men were transferred without warning the work didn’t stop. Soon â€Å"Dick† was abandoned because the area that it was to exit at there was a new prison camp built there. Issues arose with the displacement of sand and â€Å"Dick† was eventually used for disposal of sand. When â€Å"Tom† was near completion, it was discovered by a ferret and the Germans destroyed it all, so all work was shifted to â€Å"Harry†. In March of 1944, â€Å"Harry† reached a length of 336 feet. Upon completion, Flight Lieutenant Johnny Bull had discovered that the tunnel was well short of the tree line and was within 30 yards of the nearest watch tower. During this time snow was laying on the ground so it was near impossible to not leave a trail and this caused the escape to slow down greatly and the situation was worsened by the occurance of an air raid. The Germans were forced to shut off all power, so there was no light in the tunnel. Instead of one man a minute the escape was reduced down to only one dozen per hour, so any man with an escape number higher than 100 had no chance of getting out this night. By dawn, only 76 men had escaped and made their way beyond the woods. One man tugged at the signal rope, meaning â€Å"stay put† but the man making his way through the tunnel though that it meant the opposite signal, so he emerged from the tunnel right under the feet of one of the guards. For some seconds he did not see the tracks in the snow and body-heat steam drifting upwards from the tunnel mouth, but he eventually noticed the signs, raised his rifle, and fired a wild shot at the man trying to escape and blew his whistle. The man that preceded him was waiting in the woods and decided to run for it and so did so did the man that was coming out of the tunnel, but the next man in the tunnel was apprehended at rifle point, stood up and surrendered. All the men who had been waiting in the tunnel managed to return to Hut 104, burned their false papers, and ate their carefully saved food rations because the Germans were sure to confiscate them. The ferrets didn’t find the entrance to the tunnel, and by the time they reached the hut, the men were sound asleep. In the darkness of the night few of the escapees had found the railway station and missed their train and were waiting on the platforms trying to avoid each other. Most of the men were captured before they were even able to leave the area. This movie was very accurate in comparison to the real story, which I find quite surprising for a Hollywood film. This was a great movie of an escape plan that didn’t quite work as well as it could have, but none the less it was for sure a great escape. How to cite The Great Escape Movie and Real Story, Papers