Historical Context in The Call of the Wild

Hydrophobia, meaning literally a fear of water but referring to a sudden resistance to drinking fluids of various kinds, is a symptom of rabies, which the man fears after having been bitten by a dog. Although the first rabies vaccine was introduced in 1885, rabies was still often fatal in the 19th century, especially because access to doctors was not always immediate. A better vaccine was developed in 1908, after London’s novel was published.

The word “chinked” here is an example of onomatopoeia. Something else to notice here (especially in connection with being led by a rope around the next, as Buck is described in the next paragraph), is the echo of the historical context of chattel slavery. Slave narratives also sometimes began with a scene of abduction. The Civil War had been over for decades, but many of London’s contemporaries, such as Charles W. Chesnutt, were also still telling stories about slavery because of the ongoing political developments of Reconstruction. As a socialist, London would have drawn connections between the economic structures of the American South and the broader dynamics of a capitalist enterprise such as gold mining. Buck’s heritage has already been tied explicitly to European breeds, so he is not directly symbolic of African Americans. But the suggestion that even such a proud figure could be treated like an African slave would resonate a bit outrageously.

In this passage, London’s political themes are beginning to emerge. Distinctions between the strong and the weak (drawn partly from Friedrich Nietzsche) combine with a sense of social power to produce a kind of thinking called Social Darwinism, which actually distorts principles of Charles Darwin despite its name. Social Darwinism is a set of ideas used to justify individual and even societal or national winners and losers on the basis of “natural” or “inherent” qualities. It involves taking a phrase such as Herbert Spencer’s “survival of the fittest” out of context to argue that anyone who does not succeed is not fit to succeed. The following few paragraphs continue developing Buck’s internalized sense of superiority.

This setting is notably idyllic and pleasant—positive words like “sun-kissed” appear throughout the paragraph. And the wealth and status of Judge Miller allow for luxuries that allow the boys to mitigate any harsh effects of the environment such as “the hot afternoon,” as air conditioning allows today. Although cultures around the world had used different architectural means to help airflow in buildings, the first modern air-conditioning mechanical system was invented by William Carrier in 1902, the year before London published The Call of the Wild. The first uses of the technology were industrial, however; air-conditioning wouldn’t be used for human comfort until the 1920s.

This refers to the Klondike Gold Rush (1896–1899). The portion of the Klondike River where the Rush was concentrated is in Canada’s Yukon territory, but many prospectors passed through Alaska to get there. Also note the use of “groping,” which means here to mean “to attempt to find something by feeling about as in the dark or as a blind person.” This blind searching characterizes the men as overpowered by their environment.