While there are certainly modern authors out there writing good fiction for men they are few and far inbetween. However the classics offer up plenty of great books. One of the best and one of my favorite books from childhood is the Call Of The Wild by Jack London. Call of the Wild starts out telling the story of a young dog that lives in a life of luxury. However this dog (Buck) is eventually captured by cruel owners and is thrust into the real world.
Buck soon learns of the many laws of the real world and slowly resavages himself as he adjusts to this new world, the real world as well as learns about the various type of men who inhabit it. The book itself is very short, almost more of a novella than a book but contains lots of good lessons for men and is worth a read.
As a quick aside I’d also recommend the works of Jack London as a whole. It was rumored that he wrote the Might Is Right book under the pseudonym Ragnard Redbeard. He had much to say on masculinity, strength, the surival of the fittest, and the threat of too much “civilization”. Something else that is covered in Call Of The Wild.
Sheltered Life Vs. Real Life
As I mentioned at the start at the beginning of the book Buck lives a sheltered happy life on a judge’s estate. There he is treated well and has pretty much free reign to do as he pleases. He lives a sheltered life far from the harsh realities of the real world. Realities that will be thrust upon Buck when he is captured off the estate and sold.
When Buck is captured and sold he soon finds that not all men are like the judge and that there is cruelty in the world. He is beaten and beaten until he learns the “law of club and fang” or the strongest survive. He also soon learns the harshness of not just the men but of the world around him in general as well as other dogs.
Buck being strong is able to survive this immersion but not without acquiring a fair amount of scars and experience a large amount of pain along the way. He is able to survive, learn from, and even profit from the harsh lessons that the world is more than eager to give him. Eventually he is able to adapt and even in a way thrive in the new environment, or at much as one can thrive in such an environment.
Earning One’s Spot
Another large aspect of Call of the Wild is earning one’s spot. Whether it’s one’s position on the sled team or a spot in the world in general. The world where Call of the Wild takes place is one that is harsh and unforgiving. Foolishness is quickly punished and sometimes permanently so. Money, status, and power does nothing against the primal forces of nature and the world. Nor the law of club and fang.
This is illustrated later in the story with a group of three adventurers that take Buck as a sled dog. They are foolish, petty, and civilized almost beyond repair. And they meet with a fitting fate, one that drags many with them who have no choice in the matter, and Buck is barely spared by. Buck must not only earn his spot in this harsh world by being wise, strong, and a good many other things but also on the sled team.
There are rival dogs, the team in general, and owners not noticing him that get in Buck’s way and he must challenge and overcome them all to take that spot he feels he must. This requires strength but also patience, planning, cunning, perseverance, wisdom, and many other things that one must possess and/or learn to make it in the harsh world.
Do You Hear The Call?
Ultimately though Buck has to go through hell he ends up more fulfilled than when he started his journey. He has more scars and wounds yes, but he also ends up closer to where his soul wants him to be and where he is called to be. Not the prima-donna dog of a rich judge but living in the wilderness closer to his primal state and in the wild.
In many ways Buck represents man’s own soul. Does he stay a sheltered pup who while “safe” will never be free and never be able to live the life he was created to live. Or does he plunge himself into the world and all of its harshness to come out the other side a complete and “refined” being? To come out on top? While some males have the journey thrust upon them for others it is a choice. What will you choose?
