Songs of a Sourdough · Question
How does Songs of a Sourdough develop the theme of The Call of the Wild?
Answer
Songs of a Sourdough by Robert W. Service develops The Call of the Wild across the chapters the companion marks for this theme.
The book repeatedly portrays the wilderness as a powerful, almost spiritual force that lures individuals away from civilization, offering both freedom and a harsh, unforgiving test of character.
The Yukon calls for strong, resilient men, rejecting the weak and unfit.
The entire poem is a direct expression of this theme, urging the listener to answer the wild's summons and leave behind societal constraints.
The poem personifies the Lone Trail as a lure that draws the traveler away from safety and into the unknown, echoing the primal call to adventure.
Evidence in the book
- The Law of the Yukon
The Yukon calls for strong, resilient men, rejecting the weak and unfit.
- The Call of the Wild
The entire poem is a direct expression of this theme, urging the listener to answer the wild's summons and leave behind societal constraints.
- The Lone Trail
The poem personifies the Lone Trail as a lure that draws the traveler away from safety and into the unknown, echoing the primal call to adventure.
- The Heart of the Sourdough
The speaker is irresistibly drawn to the untamed North, describing it as 'the olden lure' and 'the golden lure' that calls to his heartstrings.
- The Three Voices
The wind bids the narrator to keep free from gold-lust and cling to nature, echoing the pull of the wild.
- The Lure of Little Voices
The entire poem is a direct expression of the irresistible pull of the wilderness, personified as 'Little Voices' that haunt and compel the speaker.
- The Cremation of Sam McGee
Sam's inexplicable pull to the gold fields despite his hatred of the cold echoes the irresistible lure of the wild and the promise of fortune.
- The Rhyme of the Remittance Man
The narrator has answered the call of the wild, leaving behind civilization for a life of freedom in nature.
