We have all gone somewhere for the first time where we wonder what to do. In The Call of the Wild, a dog faces this same situation. Buck is taken from his small village and is put into a bizarre and unusual atmosphere. Being placed in a harsh environment is hard for Buck and makes his adaptation to the Alaskan wilderness violent and instinctual.

The distinction between Buck's two environments ultimately leads to his adaptation of his new and uncivilized world. For example, while in his first day at Dyea beach, he "had been jerked from the heart of civilization and flung into the heart of things primordial." Buck changes from being the leader of his "sun-kissed life" to a new dog in a place of "confusion and action." His adaptation to the cold climate has to be quick and easy so that he can survive in the...