Wednesday, November 12, 2008

My Response to 2

What does it mean that our life is merely a small piece of something bigger?  You ask what is bigger than life?  I think London's making the point that it isn't life in general, but the individual lives we have each constructed for ourselves that should be serving this bigger picture.  Those lives--the going to school and work, hanging out with friends, caring about who said what to whom and who wore what to where--that is the life that we need to reject.  Buck does, or at least he begins to reject this life in Chapter 2
If Buck let himself be distracted as we are by our personal lives, he would be distracted from survival.  He would be spending too much time worrying about how to get back and Manuel for kidnapping him or the man in the red sweater for beating him and not enough time concentrating on the truly important--staying alive in the harsh world.  In a sense, if Buck were to succumb to the personal life, he would get eat alive by the actual world.  We too need to give into the bigger idea of life, not as in our own personal ones, but in the whole idea of life as it extends to all humanity.  
For Buck, as the, "ancient song surged through him and he came into his own again," he let go of all that baggage from his personal life (London 30).  Now, we readers will see the True Buck emerge, the one who is not bound by personal issues, but by a strong desire to live a life of a free-willed dog.  We can hope to do the same--tap into the ancient song and find our true calling--our True Self.  

4 comments:

Ron.Patterson said...

I never thought of it that way, it makes sense because I think it Buck was worrying about how he was going to get home or what the judge was doing at home he would probably be dead by now!

Anonymous said...

i truely agree with what was just said. we all do need to find our true calling and stick with it. and if that calling doesnt work we have to ability and choice to find another calling and do what we want to do. the question is though how do you find our true calling? the way to find it is by trying what you like and trying different things. for example, me, i wouldnt have never known i could write until i started to express myself through poetry. if i didnt get good grades in english by applying myself in english i would have never known that i am a good writer. and i am happy that i have found my true calling.

musicjunkie said...

i do believe that this is true. One reason why i say that is becaue we all live life not knowing what tommorw or the next second may hole, their are many thing in life the we do take for ganted and never seem to look at the bigger picture. Everyone wather you believe it or not has thier own specal taltent and ther is a reason for every thing, i just believe that its up to us to figure out what that reason is. i also believe that what was said in this sort eassy was verry true.

*J.ANDREWS* (BORN A STAR) said...

The statement that was just said was truly true. I can speak for myself on this, I didn't have a clue back in high school what I wanted to do and prosue in my career. But looking back over the year's I came to realize my calling is for music. My passion for music goes beyond the mountain and over the sky's I love music. Also when you do find your calling in life you will know.