Despite its fame, I had somehow avoided learning anything about Jack London's 'Call of the Wild' up until I read it for the first time earlier this year. This was to the extent that I was caught off-guard midway through the first chapter, where I suddenly realised that the main protagonist (from whose point of view the novel is written) is a dog.
A few themes are floating around the periphery of Buck's adventure through the Alaskan wilderness. Most notable is a type of ontology of nature that London weaves together throughout the book, drawn from his own experience as a frontiersman during the Klondike Gold Rush. Nature takes on an almost Hobbesian tinge, with frequent reminders of the harshness and unfairness of the Alaskan winter - the 'state of nature' is savage. On the micro-level, within the dog sledding group hierarchy is imposed through violence and strength ("might makes right"). In the aggregate, however, teamwork and cohesion turn out to be the true predictors of survival. People often claim that this is an allegory for socialism - "to each according to their needs, from each according to their abilities" - and while this is one reading (and a likely one as London was a noted socialist) I took it more at face value. Obviously, one is more likely to survive in harsh conditions if they are in a group (provided there is no 'dead weight'), and obviously, those who can do more should do more - there's little room for ego on the frontier (as demonstrated by the unbecoming end of Hal and Mercedes).
Despite its length (and purported audience of children), London is raising some interesting questions about the nature of work, purpose, and potential.
The most notable thread running through the book was one of self-actualisation. Buck's discovery of his true nature was hard-won and in no small part due to luck. Although a common trope, it didn't feel misplaced. The novel ends with the severance of Buck's final ties to the 'real,' and his subsequent metamorphosis into his true nature with his entry into the 'other' that is the wild.