Ch.2 summary

This chapter introduces Buck into the concepts of the survival of the fittest, and we will see how Buck is able to confront new and different situations, and how he is able to maintain his mastery of life even in the most adverse conditions. Buck learned the law of the club rapidly in the previous chapter; now he will learn the “law of the fang. London is emphasizing that the respected laws of civilization have to be discarded if a man or a beast is to survive in this primitive situation. Buck learns immediately that he must be “constantly alert, for these dogs and men were not town dogs and men; they were savages.” In this new society, Buck intuitively recognizes that only the strongest will survive.