The Banning Of Jack London's The Call Of The Wild

The Call of the Wild

All over the world books are getting banned with the intention of protecting people, but most importantly protecting children from inappropriate things. People such as librarians, parents, teachers, and others give their opinions about the content in books, which leads to the banning of a book or titled as challenged. Jack London 's book The Call of the Wild got banned between the 1920 's and 1930 's in Yugoslavia and Italy. Besides being banned, it also was burned in Nazi Germany. They said that the socialism in the book angered and threatened them. Also, the animal cruelty made them think that London was accepting of it (Banned Books). Due to this book London was called a "nature faker" by President Theodore

He began writing in 1893. In 1984 he was imprisoned for vagrancy in New York. That event moved him to become a socialist. It started with a writing contest that his mother pushed him to enter and he won. At age nineteen London enrolled into Oakland High School as a freshman. He quit and then studied hard to try to get accepted into the University of California at Berkeley. Due to low income London had to drop out after a semester. His brother- in- law invited him to join the Klondike Gold Rush in Yukon. Although they didn 't find gold, that experience made him realize the stories he could tell, and it became his inspiration to write The Call of the Wild. Jack London said, "Having decided that I was a failure as a writer, I gave it up and left for the Klondike to prospect for gold. It was in the Klondike that I found myself. There nobody talks, Everybody thinks. You get your true perspective. I got mine." His poverty and seeing others struggle made him want to embrace socialism (Jack). London began publishing in 1899 in Overland Monthly. The Call of the Wild brought London fame and fortune. It was considered his best book of all, a masterpiece. He published over 50 books in a 16-year span. Besides being an author, he was a journalist as well. He covered a war story and introduced America to Hawaii and surfing. He suffered from kidney disease and passed on November 22, 1916

Jack London 's writing is harsh poetry. He describes scenes in such detail. Reading his work makes you picture how the scenes look in your head. He shows a deeper meaning in the events of his stories(Napierkowski). The point of view of the story is third person limited omniscient. The narrator is as if he 's in Bucks ' head throughout most of the story. It helps the readers understand how Buck feels and why he acts the way he does. The tone of the story is very reflective. Throughout the plot, London stops to show what Buck is thinking, the things he has learned, how he has changed, and what that lifestyle means to Buck. The story takes place in the Southland and Northland. The difference in climates and environment creates different obstacles and things that have to be learned in order to survive in the wild(Napierkowski). Besides just the setting he also had to face the wild. A theme of the story is civilization vs. the wild. His life was changed over a period of time. The title itself says “The Call of the Wild”. Buck is being called into the wild. His life events changed who he was and sent him free in spirit and body. Once Thornton was kill Buck was able to be free and just be a wild dog with the others (napierkowski). In my opinion, this book shouldn’t have been in the category of banned and challenged books. Although it does contain some intense scenes, it also helps readers understand a way of life. It gives an idea of how life was back then.