As Buck transforms over time into a wild dog, his visions of the caveman strengthen. The caveman represents dog's primordial master, but also alludes to Buck's yearning for his primeval past. In his final vision, Buck and the caveman hunt and scavenge in unison, symbolizing the perfect harmony of man and beast in the wild. It is a relationship that is pure and untainted, but also ancient and foregone. The ephemeral and dreamlike nature of Buck's encounters with his primordial master signal the irretrievable quality of this forgotten past.
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Caveman Visions Symbol Timeline in The Call of the Wild
The timeline below shows where the symbol Caveman Visions appears in The Call of the Wild. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 4: Who Has Won to Mastership
...and wearing, but in the evenings, Buck begins to have visions of a "hairy," "short-legged" caveman, clad in animal skins, squatting by the fire.
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Chapter 7: The Sounding of the Call
...Buck spends "long hours musing by the fire," dreaming of hunting and gathering with the caveman. One night, Buck awakens from this dream to encounter a real life timber wolf, who...
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