The Call of the Wild

Character Guide

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Buck

A large, powerful dog raised in comfort at Judge Miller's estate in California, who is stolen and sold into the harsh life of a sled dog in the Klondike.

Judge Miller

Buck's original owner, a wealthy man in the Santa Clara Valley whose estate Buck ruled over before being stolen.

Manuel

A gardener's helper on Judge Miller's estate with a gambling habit, who betrays Buck by selling him to pay off debts.

Perrault

A French-Canadian mail courier for the Canadian Government who buys Buck to serve as a sled dog; described as fair and impartial.

François

Perrault's half-breed partner and dog-driver, who trains and disciplines the sled team alongside Perrault.

Curly

A good-natured Newfoundland dog who travels north with Buck and quickly learns the brutal realities of the northern dog world.

Spitz

The fierce, cunning lead dog of Buck's sled team, who bullies and antagonizes Buck as a rival for dominance.

Dave

A gloomy, solitary sled dog who wants only to be left alone and takes great pride in his work in the traces.

Sol-leks

Another sled dog on Buck's team, blind in one eye, who works with quiet pride and dislikes being approached from his blind side.

John Thornton

A man who rescues Buck from mistreatment and becomes his beloved master, showing Buck genuine care and kindness.

Glossary

Husky

A type of hardy northern sled dog, often semi-wild, used for pulling sleds across snow and ice in the Klondike.

Klondike

A region in the Yukon, Canada, where a gold rush in the late 1890s drew thousands of prospectors and created massive demand for sled dogs.

Traces

The straps or lines connecting a sled dog to the sled or to other dogs in the team.

Wheel-dog

The sled dog positioned closest to the sled, responsible for steering and bearing much of the load's weight.

Lead-dog

The dog at the front of the sled team who sets pace and direction, a position of dominance and pride among the dogs.

Moccasins (for dogs)

Small protective foot coverings made for sled dogs to prevent their paws from being cut or worn raw by ice and snow.

Yeehats

A Native American tribe encountered in the later part of the novel, involved in a violent confrontation with John Thornton's party.

Atavism/atavistic

The reappearance of ancestral traits after generations of absence; used to describe Buck's reversion to primitive, wolf-like instincts.

The Law of Club and Fang

The novel's term for the brutal, survival-of-the-fittest code governing life among sled dogs, enforced by human violence (the club) and animal violence (the fang).

Borealis

Short for aurora borealis, the Northern Lights, referenced in the novel's closing imagery of Buck running beneath them.

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