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- Reading time of the complete text: about 3 hours
- Reading time of the summarized text: 4 minutes

"The Call of the Wild" is a short adventure novel by Jack London, published in 1903 and set in Yukon, Canada, during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush. The story follows Buck, a powerful St. Bernard-Scotch Shepherd mix, who is stolen from his home in California and sold into service as a sled dog in Alaska. Buck becomes progressively more primitive and wild in the harsh environment, where he is forced to fight to survive and dominate other dogs. The book's great popularity and success made a reputation for London. The story is an example of American pastoralism, in which the mythic hero returns to nature. The story reflects human nature in its prevailing theme of strength, particularly in the face of harsh circumstances. The veneer of civilization is thin and fragile, and London exposes the brutality at the core of humanity and the ease with which humans revert to a state of primitivism. The story was written as a frontier adventure and in such a way that it worked well as a serial. It has been published in 47 languages and secured London's prospects as a writer.