The Call of the Wild by Jack London, takes place during the Klondike Gold Rush, which was full of freezing nights and malnourishment. This greatly affected the lives of Buck and his pack due to the savagery that was needed to survive during that time. With little success rate and high death toll, The Klondike Gold Rush was a gruesome event in history. The Klondike Gold rush was a gold rush that took place in Yukon and Alaska. On August 1886 Skookum Jim Mason, Dawson Charlie, and George Washington Carmack found gold in the Klondike River of Canada. This started one of the greatest Gold Rushes in history. Many people headed north, with the thought of a rich future in their head. Unfortunately, it was not what they expected. There were around …show more content…
This is because of the malnourishment that took place. Prospectors going on the tail usually brought a year's worth of food, which wasn’t enough to last during this two -year gold rush. This caused many in Buck's pack to die due to lack of food. The cold also affected many during this time. The temperatures in Yukon ranged from" –20 degrees Fahrenheit, all the way to –50 degrees Fahrenheit." (The Klondike Gold Rush - University of Washington Libraries) It was very hard for Buck and many others to stay warm, which caused a lot of them to die. The rough terrain was also a huge problem not only for the people, but for the animals too. "The prospectors would beat their animals, overload them with carry-ons, and force them on these deadly trails. One known trail known as The White Pass Trail, took the lives of many animals and their bones still lay at the bottom of Dead Horse Gulch." (What Was the Klondike Gold Rush? - NPS.gov). Stealing between packs was also a problem during the gold rush. People would try to steal food from other packs. This happened to Buck and his pack which lead to Thorton's death. Disease was also a common problem during the gold rush. Diseases such as such as measles, smallpox, pneumonia, and typhoid plagued the trails and caused many deaths of gold-hungry prospectors and their animals. The Klondike Gold Rush impacted people's lives for either good or bad.