An Analysis Of Buck’s Character From Perspective Of Jung’s Psychoanalysis

Jack London is a famous author in American modern times. He is known as the "American Gorky." He is the most popular novelist and short story writer of his day. The Call of the Wild is one of his most outstanding works. This novel takes place on the wasteland of northern America, where there is no exploitation. The novel is mainly about a dog called Buck, who lived in the warm, comfortable California, escaped to uncivilized world by the compelling of human beings from civilized world. After experiencing some horrifying experiences, he regained his wildness and became a real wolf. The novel can be known as not only about a dog, but also a reflection of human society and Jack London’s own life.At present, the researches on The Call of the Wild at home and abroad are mainly analyzing Buck’s destiny by using the Naturalism and Darwinism. This thesis tries to analyze Buck’s character based on Jung’s psychoanalysis, which can make the reader understand more about Buck’s intelligence and find the source of his wildness, and know more about the hidden personality of human beings.The full thesis is divided into five chapters:Chapter1is a brief introduction of Jack London and his novel The Call of the Wild. It introduces the author’s life, major works, the plot of the novel, and a literature review of this novel.Chapter2mainly introduces the theory of Jung’s psychoanalysis and the introduction of consciousness, personal unconscious and collective unconscious.Chapter3introduces the experiences of Jack London and Buck, from which the readers can realize that the life of Buck is just a reflection of Jack LondonChapter4is the main body of the thesis, combing through the subjects of the previous chapters, this chapter focuses on analyzing the character of Buck in different periods, by using Jung’s theory of consciousness, personal unconscious and collective unconscious, and indicates that Buck is the reflection of Jack London.Chapter5is the conclusion. The author of the thesis indicates that whether be a pet or a sled dog, Buck could always show his extraordinary ability to survive. The reason is not only from the influence of the environment, but also the instincts which he inherited from his ancestor—the wolf. By analyzing the process of Buck from a pet to a wolf, we can understand Buck’s character better. Under the pressure of the cruel society, Buck decided to leave human society just the same as Jack London, and eventually, he accomplished Self transformation.