Call Of The Wild A Zeitgeist Of Naturalism - 1243 Words

Jack London’s The Call of the Wild is a novel written during the literary era of Naturalism. It is about a pampered dog, Buck, who was thrown into the Alaskan wilderness and becomes part of a team of sled dogs. Eventually, he becomes the leader of a wolf pack. Naturalism takes place during a time in America known as the Gilded Age. During the Gilded Age, the ideas of Social Darwinism take hold. Social Darwinism is â€Å"a term scholars use to describe the practice of misapplying the biological evolutionary language of Charles Darwin to politics, the economy, and society† (â€Å"Social Darwinism in the Gilded Age†). But how is London’s novel a zeitgeist of Naturalism? Jack London’s The Call of the Wild is a zeitgeist of Naturalism with its usage of†¦show more content†¦It is during this time that â€Å"call of the wild† strengthens in Buck, and he goes into the forest and befriends a wolf. When Buck returns, he finds out that Yeehat I ndians have killed everyone at the campsite. As a result of Buck’s sheer rage at finding Thornton dead, he kills some of the Yeehats and then becomes the leader of a wolf pack. According to the article American Naturalism: A Webliography and E-Anthology, determinism is a common theme in Naturalism. It is the belief that actions and events are determined by outside forces. Atavism can arguably be one of these forces, as it is the tendency to revert back to the primitive (â€Å"Atavism†). Another theme in Naturalism is Darwinism, which stems into Social Darwinist beliefs. One of their beliefs is in laissez-faire capitalism, which is a type of economy in which the government does not interfere with businesses with matters such as tariffs and regulations. They advocated it because â€Å"they believed that government should not interfere in the ‘survival of the fittest’ by helping the poor†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (â€Å"Social Darwinism in the Gilded Age†). The survival of the fittest plays a big role in Social Darwinism because they believed that â€Å"businessmen and others who were economically and socially successful were so because they w ere biologically and socially ‘naturally’ the fittest† and that â€Å"...they reasoned that the poor were ‘naturally’ weak and unfit†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (â€Å"SocialShow MoreRelatedOrganisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 Pagesextract from YES MINISTER  © Jonathan Lynn and Antony Jay Copyright agent: Alan Brodie Representation Ltd, 6th floor, Fairgate House, 78 New Oxford Street, London WC1A 1HB, info@alanbrodie.com; Guardian Newspapers Limited for extracts from ‘AA to log call centre staff’s trips to loo in pay deal’ by David Hencke published in The Guardian 31st October 2005, ‘Fall of the arrogant’ by Madeline Bunting’ published in The Guardian 28th January 2002, ‘Volkswagen targets Euros 10bn savings as director’ by David