Having established Buck, then, as a product of civilization, London will, as his chapter title "Into the Primitive" indicates, now show the contrast between Buck, the civilized dog, and the dog he becomes when be is suddenly thrust into a life completely different. This change comes about because one of Judge Miller's servants, Manuel, has amassed significant gambling debts and in order to repay the debts, Manuel sells Buck to some traders dealing in dognapping. These dogs will later be sold to gold prospectors in the North. We must always remember the contrast that London is utilizing in this novel: Buck comes not only from civilization, but also from a life of unusual ease and comfort, where all of his food is provided for him; he is not accustomed to killing in order to eat. In fact, "over this great demesne [Judge Miller's estate] Buck ruled." Later in the North, Buck will also rule, in effect, as the "king" of the dogsled group, but he will have to fight — literally fight for his life — in order to have the right to rule over the other dogs.
Buck's gigantic size makes him a special prize for the dognappers. While Manuel receives only $50 for his part of the transaction, Buck will later bring a price of $300, and later on, he will bring even larger sums. In Chapter 6, for instance, $1200 will be offered as a buying price for Buck.
At present, Buck is a trusting dog, and he has no idea what fate holds for him; therefore, he has no inkling of Manuel's treachery: "he had learned to trust in men he knew, and to give them credit for a wisdom that outreached his own." But now that Buck is tied by the throat by strangers and is treated violently, he becomes enraged, and in his "unbridled anger," he closes his jaws on the hand of the man who is holding him, and Buck does not let go until he is tied around the throat so tightly that his senses are choked out of him and he collapses.
Eventually, Buck regains consciousness, but every time he resists his tormenters, he is thrown down and choked repeatedly. He is totally confused by the meaning of such brutality from these strange men and is "oppressed by the vague sense of impending calamity."
