Here, London alludes to the duality within Buck’s mind. He was sounding the deeps of his nature, and of the parts of his nature that were deeper than he, going back into the womb of Time. He entered into “the heart of things primordial,” a metaphor for the Yukon Territory in which he eventually heeds the call of the wild. This single line of text describes how the main character of Jack London’s novel was taken from his civilized home and thrust into the wilds of the north with barely time to consider what was going on. He had been suddenly jerked from the heart of civilization and flung into the heart of things primordial.

It’s not until the novel’s end, after John Thornton dies that he finally gives in. Here, the narrator depicts how throughout the novel, Buck feels the “call” that was “sounding” and felt to him “mysteriously thrilling and luring.” It compelled him to turn away from humanity into plunge into the forest. Thus far, throughout his life, he lived in “ghostly winter silence” and is now a “great spring murmur” of “awakening life” budding with him.ĭeep in the forest a call was sounding, and as often as he heard this call, mysteriously thrilling and luring, he felt compelled to turn his back upon the fire and the beaten earth around it, and to plunge into the forest, and on and on, he knew not where or why nor did he wonder where or why, the call sounding imperiously, deep in the forest. This beautiful lyrical line of text uses two different seasons as images to describe the awakening of Buck’s instinctual, wild heart. The ghostly winter silence had given way to the great spring murmur of awakening life. Below, readers can explore a few of the best quotes from Jack London’s masterpiece, ‘ The Call of the Wild.’ These touch on themes like civilization versus the wild, survival, violence, and the natural world’s power.

Quotes from wild at heart book