# The Call of the Wild in Songs of a Sourdough

> Theme guide for Songs of a Sourdough by Robert W. Service.

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.

## Where it surfaces

- [The Law of the Yukon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/chapters/the-law-of-the-yukon): The Yukon calls for strong, resilient men, rejecting the weak and unfit.
- [The Call of the Wild](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/chapters/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.
- [The Rhyme of the Restless Ones](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/chapters/the-rhyme-of-the-restless-ones): The poem's central theme is the irresistible pull of a wild, wandering life, as the restless ones reject domestic stability for adventure, roaming from Alaska to the South.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/themes/the_call_of_the_wild
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/themes