This chapter introduces London’s second, or parallel, theme of the novel. As a matter of historical and scientific information, the late nineteenth century had seen the emergence of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, a theory which had become, by the time of London’s novel, one of the most controversial scientific theories ever advocated. In a nutshell, the essence of Darwin’s theory concerns the evolution of mankind—that is, was Man born as he is today? Or is he the end result of a series of evolutions from a more primitive species of life? In other words, in a more popular conception, is Man descended from apelike creatures? This theory, then, is further emphasized by London’s use of the “survival of the fittest” (which also carries the opposite connotation of the elimination of the weakest). This chapter introduces Buck into the concepts of the survival of the fittest, and we will see how Buck is able to confront new and different situations, and how he is able to maintain his mastery of life—even in the most adverse conditions. In fact, at the very beginning of the chapter, London emphasizes this contrast: during Buck’s first day, London tells us, “every hour was filled with shock and surprise. Buck had been suddenly jerked from the heart of civilization and flung into the heart of things primordial. No lazy, sun-kissed life was this, with nothing to do but loaf and be bored.” In fact, Buck learned the law of the club rapidly in the previous chapter; now he will learn the “law of the fang.” London is emphasizing that the respected laws of civilization have to be discarded if a man or a beast is to survive in this primitive situation. Buck learns immediately that he must be “constantly alert, for these dogs and men were not town dogs and men; they were savages.” In this new society, Buck intuitively recognizes that only the strongest will survive. This is illustrated by the death of the good-natured dog called Curly, who, once he is wounded and down, is surrounded by thirty or forty other dogs, anxiously waiting to close in upon Curly, waiting for the primitive kill. What Buck witnesses is so unexpected and horrible that he is stunned by the entire episode, and, in fact, as he sees Curly’s limp and lifeless body lying in the bloodied snow, he realizes that there is “no fair play” in this world, and that “once down, that was the end of you.” In Buck’s later life, he will often remember this gory, unjust scene; it will “trouble his sleep” many times. (We can thus anticipate that Buck’s memory of this scene will cause him to hold his ground in later dog fights and to be savagely alert and bold.)
When Buck is harnessed to a sled by François, he is placed between Spitz, the lead dog, and Dave, “an experienced wheeler.” (A “wheeler” is the dog nearest the sled.) At first, Buck resents being placed in a harness, as though he were merely some “draft animal” that he remembers from civilization, but Buck is too wise to rebel against this treatment, because he knows that François is “stern in demanding obedience, and Buck [knows] that he would not hesitate to use the whip.” For the code of the Far North, the whip is tantamount to what the club was in Buck’s first lesson concerning the “law of the club.” Buck learns his duties very quickly, and one of the important laws of the primitive world is that one must learn quickly if one is to adapt to new situations and survive. For example, after his first day as a sled dog, Buck learns to “stop at ‘ho,’ and to go ahead at ‘mush.’”
Buck’s next learning experience involves the three new dogs that Perrault acquires. Two of these dogs, Billee and Joe, are huskies and brothers, but they are quite different in temperament. The third dog, however, Sol-leks (meaning “the angry one”), is blind in one eye, and he does not like to be approached on his blind side. Once, when Buck forgetfully approaches Sol-leks from the blind side, Sol-leks hurls himself upon Buck and slashes Buck’s shoulder to the bone. Forever afterward, Buck avoids Sol-lek’s blind side. Thus, continually, Buck learns an entirely new way of living and existing. Yet he and Sol-leks are not enemies because of the episode mentioned above, and until the death of Sol-leks, he and Buck are good friends.
