This sheet must be included at the front of your formal essay. I will not accept any essays without this document fully completed and included at the beginning of the essay (before the title page).
_5_ I have used brainstorming (generating ideas) techniques addressed during class. (5 points)
_5_ I developed at least a basic outline or blueprint before composing the story. (5 points)
_5_ I wrote a rough draft that followed the blueprint I developed. (5 points)
_5_ I had at least one other person read my story and offer suggestions. (5 points)
_5_ I reread the story at least twice for grammar, punctuation, and spelling issues. (5 points)
_5_ I used the spellchecker. (5 points)
_5_ The story is presented in the format described in the assignment guidelines. (5 points)
_5_ A reader of my story could easily tell what the “moral” of the story is. (5 points)
_10_ The moral of the story is clear and easy to understand. (10 points)
_10_ All paragraphs of my story are fully developed (at least 5 sentences in length) and the story meets the length requirement. (10 points)
_10_ All paragraphs/media demonstrate connectedness with transitions and/or linking images/audio. (10 points)
Source material component (if applicable)
_10_ If MLA-style documentation is required, I formatted entries using the Rules for Writers text. (10 points)
_10_ I carefully presented paraphrased and quoted passages with quotation marks (if applicable) and in-text citations. (10 points)
_10_ I used narration when necessary to smoothly introduce my source materials. (10 points)
Name
Name
English
6 May 2022
Multi-media Story Re-telling
Call of the Wild by Jack London tells a story of a dog returning to primitivism and discovering a new way to express his inner animal by abandoning the vices that we know today. Throughout his journey, Buck learns to rely on his friends. He becomes the leader of the pack among his dog comrades. The story shows the loyalty and dedication of Buck to his previous master, John Thornton. The valley where John was murdered becomes an eternal symbol that keeps the Yeehats – a Native American tribe – from re-entering the valley. While returning to being a wild beast, Buck shows how resilient anyone can become, man or beast, by abandoning the shackles of modern society.
Quicken Loans. Fireplace. 2022.
The story begins with Buck living in a pampered setting with his first owner, Judge Miller. This setting shows the luxury that modern living might afford us all. ‘Here he was born, and he had lived for the four years of his life. It was true, there were other dogs, there could not but be other dogs on so vast a place, but they did not count. They came and went, resided’ (London 9). This place is befitting of a pampered dog that does not know the harshness that life might afford, and Buck has no idea of the adversities he will soon face. This beautiful setting has been his home for the short four years he has lived. He could relax here and had no worries. Buck might sit by the warm fireplace and enjoy the good times in life, but it is not a challenging life (Quicken Loans). However, his peace he experienced was short lasted with Buck stolen by assistant gardener Manuel. Sold off to become a sled dog in Alaska, Buck is thrown out of his comfort zone and imposed to conform to a new, tough life in the bitter cold.
123RF. Winter River. 2022.
The short winter days become Buck’s new life as a sled dog, and he must instantaneously fight for his very life. Buck is now living with a new family of another dog and is part of the sled crew which creates a vicious rivalry with the pack leader, Spitz. It is an immense change from his previously pampered life, where Buck was enjoying leisure time in front of the warm fireplace and had plentiful food from his family of owners. Buck saw an opportunity to become the pack leader by fighting to death with Spitz and killing him. The pack is slowly thinned out over time, with one of the pack, Dave, being shot after becoming terminally sick. Eventually a foolish man from the American Southland named Hal becomes their new owner. Hal decides to change the team of dogs to have fourteen dogs pulling the sleds and makes many dangerous decisions. The crucial moment is when the group comes to a frozen river, where Hal decides to go over the ice against the advice of experienced outdoors man John Thorton (123RF). Buck is personally wearied as Hal beat him to death with his whip. An appalled Thornton hits Hal and cuts Buck loose, shortly before Mercedes, Charles, and dog sled team falls through the ice and dies.
John Thorton becomes Buck’s new owner and nurses him back to health. Buck is near dead from enervation, and the beatings suffered from his old life as a sled dog. The beat shows the resilience of Buck, but also the ruthlessness of man to animals that Hal would treat the animals this harshly. Despite being a rugged outdoors person, Thornton is a kind man and takes pity on Buck for all the terrible things he has experienced. Buck becomes friends with Thorton and helps him pan for gold in the wilderness. Thornton starts to grow a tremendous deal of respect for Buck. This friendship is more potent than any other relationship Buck has experienced throughout his life. His pampered life with Judge Miller may have been comfortable living, but was it true life? Buck had experienced hardships but had earned his happiness with Thornton. It is complex how ‘there is an ecstasy that marks the summit of life, and beyond which life cannot rise’ (London 28). Buck’s life shows that struggles make someone stronger, and that unfair treatment can be defeated through relentless work and grit.
Randy Newman. Strange Things Are Happening To Me. Toy Story. 1994.
For Buck, it is a new experience, and strange things are happening to his emotions (Newman). It might be a case of mistaken identity for Buck not knowing how to react by the way he has always lived on the extreme ends of struggling or being pampered. This is the closest thing to everyday life since his time with Judge Miller. The relationship he builds with Thornton is more robust than any previous friendship or family, including Miller, the other previous owners, and the dogs in his sled team. It is represented by gold as a motif: these are the best years of Buck’s life, and they will inspire the rest of his existence. It is an existential message; it is not only about his life but about what Buck’s effect on the world will become, even after death. Buck’s existence had no substance before he knew Thornton. He will be eternally grateful to Thornton for giving him a purpose that is not taking advantage of allowing him to live in peaceful comfort, but where he is not really experiencing life. However, this peace would not last. It is another message of how these intermittent times without conflict are temporary.
Lovemoney. Gold Panning. 2022.
The gold will represent the time just before the most significant conflict for Buck’s life yet; however, that is unusual though he does enjoy a streak of good luck. Gold panning is about discovering the best parts obscured in the dirt (Lovemoney). Buck’s life is much the same: constantly looking for the good in a challenging experience and trying to make the best of a tough situation. Thornton wins a friend’s bet because of Buck and refuses a $1200 offer from a ‘king of the Skookum Benches’ for Buck, exhibiting his dedication and loyalty to the dog. However, part of the story summits as Thornton pays off debts with his winnings but chooses to keep panning gold. On the trip, Buck finally answers the call of the wild and goes out with wild dogs to search the wilderness, remembering ancestral memories of being with a ‘hairy man.’ It shows how Buck remembers being with his wild brethren as part of a pack.
Nobuo Uematsu. Aerith’s Theme. Final Fantasy VII. 1997.
Buck returns to the campsite where Thornton and his friends had been panning gold and murdered by The Yeehats, a Native American tribe. This event is the saddest in Buck’s life and represents a shattering moment that swells up a feeling of sorrow worse than any before (Uematsu). The death of Thornton is the last human link that Buck had, and so he becomes a stray dog and returns to his primitive environment. For a dog that began as a pampered pet of a wealthy judge, the transformation is incredible: he has become a wild animal, but he is more than that. Buck joins with a wild wolf pack and becomes the ‘Ghost Dog’ among Native Americans. He returns once a year to the campsite and reminisces Thornton and the other humans and dogs they killed. The legend of Buck continues for years and shows the impact Buck’s life has on the world.
Works Cited
123RF. Winter River. 2022. https://previews.123rf.com/images/bborriss/bborriss1602/bborriss160200140/54418332-winter-river-in-the-bitter-cold.jpg
London, Jack. The Call of the Wild. KTHTK, 2022.
Nobuo Uematsu. Aerith’s Theme. Final Fantasy VII. 1997. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CK2hx377iU
Lovemoney. Gold Panning. 2022. https://loveincorporated.blob.core.windows.net/contentimages/gallery/09dae5f3-953e-47f7-b7a3-2bd7ad2db9b2-Panning_for_gold_Robert_Gubbins_Shutterstock.jpg
Quicken Loans. Fireplace. 2022. https://www.quickenloans.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/iStock_Fireplace-Cozy-Blanket-Small-e1538059656817.jpg
Randy Newman. Strange Things Are Happening To Me. Toy Story. 1994. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CnIcESafXU
