The Conflict between Buck and Spitz

26 one night and Pike, the malingerer, does not appear. Through the night until morning Pike is securely sleeping in his nest under the snow. Francois looks for him in vain, while Spitz in his wrath starts to make Pike frightened in his nest. When Pike appears, Spitz launches at him and about to punish him when Buck comes in between them. Pike, who had been trembling abjectly, took heart at this open mutiny, and sprang upon his over-thrown leader. Buck, to whom fair-play was a forgotten code, likewise sprang upon Spitz. But Francois, chuckling at the incident while unswerving in the administration of justice, brought his lash down upon Buck with all his might p. 47. From the quotation above, it is known that the trigger of the fight this time is Spitz’s arbitrary attitude toward the other dogs. Buck stands for Pike, because as a leader of the team Spitz does not bring any comfort for the team. Francois comes in the middle of the fight and put an end to the fight before it begins. Buck’s decision to strike Spitz is not based on the things that Spitz does to him, but also to the other dogs. The other dogs are too scared to take a stand to their leader, but Buck is not scared. Since then, the other dogs are not scared anymore with Spitz, which leads to a condition where Francois backs up Spitz with his club, while Buck backs up the rest of the dogs. Even though Buck really wants to challenge Spitz and his leadership status, he knows that he cannot start a fight in front of Francois and his club. One day, at the mouth of Tahkeena, the last fight between Buck and Spitz breaks. Buck leads the pack, sixty in total, with the fifty huskies of Northwest Police, whose camp is a hundred yards away, in a hunting of rabbit in the woods. Buck is chasing a rabbit when all of a sudden Spitz comes in 27 front of him and catches the rabbit. Without any hesitation, Buck launches himself at Spitz. He did not check himself, but drove in upon Spitz, shoulder to shoulder, so hard that he missed the throat. They rolled over and over in the powdery snow. Spitz gained his feet almost as though he had not been overthrown, slashing Buck down the shoulder and leaping clear. Twice his teeth clipped together, like the steel jaws of a trap, as he backed away for better footing, with lean and lifting lips that writhed and snarled p. 51. Hammond 2010 claims that a conflict is the centre of a novel which is capable of telling the character’s struggle to overcome any conflicts he encounters. The conflicts between Buck and Spitz are the conflicts which play a strong role in the novel, the conflicts are described in detail by the author, and how Buck and Spitz cannot stand each other. All those conflicts of Buck with Spitz lead Buck to challenge Spitz’s leadership status of the team. Buck is waiting for a chance to defy Spitz, to finish him once and for the last time. The quotation above shows that Buck finally finds his chance, there is no Francois or Perrault around to come between them. Moreover, Buck is in fury because Spitz is meddling in his rabbit hunting. Both Buck and Spitz are looking forward to fight each other. Buck is eager on beating and defeating Spitz so that he can seize the leadership status and prevent the team of sled-dogs from getting into a worse condition. Buck fights not only for himself but also for the other dogs. Hammond 2010 states that an external conflict is a conflict which mostly is in a form of a fight between one character and another, and Buck’s conflicts with Spitz are mostly fights and physical violence. As they circled about, snarling, ears laid back, keenly watchful for the advantage, the scene came back to Buck with a sense of familiarity. To 28 Buck it was nothing new or strange, this scene of old time. It was as though it had always been, the wonted way of things p. 51. Buck starts to realize that he is a fighter, circumstances in his new life force him to be one. Facing Spitz does not make Buck scared, on the contrary, Buck feels eager to have a last fight with Spitz. However, on the one hand, Spitz is a good fighter, he knows when to attack and how to harm his opponent. On the other hand, Buck might be strong, but he rarely learns how to fight. Fang clashed fang, and lips were cut and bleeding, but Buck could not penetrate his enemy’s guard. Then Buck took to rushing, as though for the throat, when, suddenly drawing back his head and curving him in from the side, he would drive his shoulder at the shoulder of Spitz, as a ram by which to overthrow him. But instead, Buck’s shoulder was slashed down each time as Spitz leaped lightly away p. 52. The quotation above shows Buck’s non-stop efforts in fighting Spitz. It is also clear that Buck is left behind in fighting skill, compared to Spitz. Spitz has strategies, while Buck does not have any. As a house-dog in Judge Miller’s house back in California, Buck never learns how to fight, let alone learns any kind of strategies in fighting. Even though Spitz has not launched any strikes yet, he is two steps ahead of Buck. There is one time when Buck almost knocks down and the other sixty dogs are ready to finish him. Spitz was untouched, while Buck was streaming with blood and panting hard. The fight was growing desperate. And all the while the silent and wolfish circle waited to finish off whichever dog went down. As Buck grew winded, Spitz took to rushing, and he kept him staggering for footing. Once Buck went over, and the whole circle of sixty dogs started up; but he recovered himself, almost in mid air, and the circle sank down again and waited p. 52. Buck is starting to lose some blood and getting bruised all over his body. He is starting to get tired. The sixty dogs circled around Buck and Spitz is waiting 29 to finish the defeated dog. Hammond 2010 mentions that a character can have an external conflict with society. In this conflict Buck almost deals with society, which is the Northwest Police’s team of dogs. The other sixty dogs are waiting for either Buck or Spitz to fall down. The fight among dogs is harsh. The fifty dogs of the Northwest Police do not care which one between Buck and Spitz will be the loser, they are eager to participate to finish the loser even though they are not the part of the pack. The ten dogs, of which Buck is also fighting for, also are not standing up for anyone, not even for Buck. The ten dogs know that Spitz is not a good leader, but if Buck lost those ten dogs should take part in finishing Buck. Therefore, Buck realizes that he cannot lose the battle, because once he is down the other dogs will finish him. His tooth closed on Spitz’s left fore leg. There was a crunch of breaking bone and the white dog faced him on three legs. Thrice he tried to knock him over, then repeated the trick and broke the right fore leg. Despite the pain and helplessness, Spitz struggled madly to keep up. He saw the silent circle, with gleaming eyes and lolling tongues, and silvery breaths drifting upward, closing in upon him as he had seen similar circles close in upon beaten antagonists in the past p. 52. Buck is a tough fighter, seeing that he is left behind in the fight, he starts to think for the best ways to infiltrate Spitz’s strong defense. Following his instincts, Buck starts to plan his next moves. Buck learns so many things by his own since the day he is kidnapped, and this fight is not any different. Buck realizes that all his attempts are in vain so far, therefore he decides to change his ways. The fight is starting to take a turn when Buck starts to camouflage his attacks. After some moves, Spitz finally is getting weaker, two of his legs are PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 30 broken. When Spitz is getting impossible to fight any longer, the circle of the sixty dogs is starting to close in around him. Only Spitz quivered and bristled as he staggered back and forth, snarling with horrible menace, as though to frighten off impending death. Then Buck sprang in and out, but while he was in, shoulder had at last squarely met shoulder. The dark circle became a dot on the moon-flooded snow as Spitz disappeared from view. Buck stood and looked on, the successful champion, the dominant primordial beast who had made his kill and found it good p. 53. The quotation above shows the final encounter between Buck and his enemy, Spitz. Buck succeeds to defeat Spitz, and therefore gains the leadership status of the team. Despite of the harms Spitz brings for Buck, at the same time he forces Buck to learn to survive through the wild things of Buck’s new world. Buck learns how to control his anger, to act with a plan, and to give empathy toward others, by looking out for the other dogs when they are in trouble with Spitz’s arbitrary behavior.

e. The Conflict between Buck and Hal

In the city called Skagway, Buck bids goodbye with Francois and Perrault. Buck and the rest of the sled-dogs then are taken by a Scotch half-breed driver and his mates. Buck and the rest of the dogs are with the Scotch driver for around fifteen days. By the time Buck and the rest of the dogs back at Skagway, they are in terrible state. Buck is losing weight, Pike is suffering from a hurt leg, Sol-leks is limping, and Dub is suffering from a wrenched shoulder blade. Four days after their arrival, two men from the States, Hal and Charles is how they called each other, buy the team. Travel along with Hal and Charles is Mercedes, she is Charles’s wife and Hal’s sister. However, four days are not enough for Buck and PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 31 the dogs to rest. With most of the dogs are injured, the team is not in a good condition. The eight of them, Buck, Billee, Joe, Sol-leks, Pike, Dub, Teek, and Kona, are in need of a long rest. Furthermore, Hal, Charles, and Mercedes pack too many belongings, they do not know the rule which said, “Half the load and twice the dogs.” One evening, Hal and Charles buy six other dogs, three short- haired pointers, one Newfoundland, and two mongrels. However, those dogs are not sled-dogs, they do not have any experience, and those dogs only make the situation worse. At one point, Buck’s health is decreasing, and he is no longer can pull a sled. Hammond 2010 states an external conflict in a form of physical violence between one character and another is often exist, and Buck encounters this kind of conflict when he meets the man in the red sweater. This time, from Hal, Buck gets another toughest external conflict. He pulled when he could, when he could no longer pull, he fell down and remained down till blows from club or club drove him to his feet again. The hair hung down, limp and draggled, or matted with dried blood where Hal’s club had bruised him. His muscles had wasted away to knotty strings, and the flesh pads had disappeared, so that each rib and every bone in his frame were outlined cleanly through the loose hide that was wrinkled in folds of emptiness p. 71. The quotation above shows Buck’s terrible condition. This time, Hal is the worse master than any masters of Buck before. Hal strikes the dogs with a club when they cannot seem to get on their feet and pull the sled. Buck receives most of the strikes because he is the leader and the pull of the team. Hal keeps on torturing Buck, however, Buck does not give up yet, he still insists to pull when he can. A few days past, and in the mouth of White River, where the team stops near John Thornton’s camp, is the point where Buck gives up. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 32 This was the first time Buck had failed, in itself a sufficient reason to drive Hal into a rage. He exchanged the club for the customary club. Buck refused to move under the rain of heavier blows which now fell upon him. Like his mates, he was barely able to get up, but, unlike them, he had made up his mind not to get up p. 74. Buck gives up for the first time in his life. Hal’s club keeps falling down on him and Buck does nothing to dodge the strikes. He is tired and cannot rise to his feet, all of his energy is draining from his body because of the non-stop works. Hal, being an ignorant master, does not think about anything other than tortures Buck. Hal beats Buck with a club over and over again and if not for the rescue from John Thornton, Buck may be dead. He refused to stir. So greatly had he suffered, and so far gone was he, that the blows did not hurt much. And as they continued to fall upon him, the spark of life within flickered and went down. It was nearly out. He felt strangely numb. As though from a great distance, he was aware that he was being beaten. The last sensations of pain left him. He no longer felt anything, though very faintly he could hear the impact of club upon his body. But it was no longer his body, it seemed so far away p. 74. The quotation above shows another toughest external conflict of Buck in a form of physical violence, such kind of conflict has been stated by Hammond 2010. Buck is about to die when John Thornton saves him from Hal’s rage. This conflict is tougher than Buck’s conflict with the man in the red sweater, with the man in the red sweater Buck decides to surrender and the blows stop. Moreover, Buck is not in a terrible condition that time and the man in the red sweater demands Buck’s obedience only. This time, however, Buck cannot do more work because his physical condition is not capable to do so, there are too many damages done to his body. The blows from Hal’s club are inevitable, Buck is no longer able to fight for his own sake. The quotation above shows the 33 heartbreaking part of the novel, the struggle of a dog to keep alive after being kidnapped. As if all the violence that Buck receives is not enough, still Buck is beaten almost to his death. Fortunately, Buck is saved by John Thornton, he is also Buck’s true and last master before he goes into the wild.

f. The Conflict between Buck and Black Burton

John Thornton takes Buck with him and helps Buck to recover and gain back his strength. Unlike Buck’s previous masters, John Thornton does not use Buck as a sled-dog. He rarely harnesses Buck’s strength to pull a sled, only several times. He considers Buck as one of his dogs, and especially as his friend. Buck even gets along with John Thornton’s two dogs, Skeet and Nig. From the day John Thornton saves Buck from Hal’s rage, Buck grows to be fond of him. With John Thornton, Buck is back being a dog like he used to be in Judge Miller’s house, he plays with John Thornton himself and with Skeet and Nig, plays in the woods, river, and around the camp. He accompanies John Thornton everywhere, never lets him get out of his sight. Buck grows to love John Thornton that he is willing to do anything for him. One time, John Thornton is stepping into a fight with Black Burton to defend a man at the bar. Black Burton is an evil-tempered and malicious man. As usual, Buck always follows John Thornton everywhere, he is lying in the corner watching his master’s every action. And they saw Buck’s body rise up in the air as he left the floor for Burton’s throat. The man saved his life by instinctively throwing out his arm, but was hurled backward to the floor with Buck on top of him. Buck loosed his teeth from the flesh of the arm and drove in again for the throat. This time the man succeeded only in partly blocking, and his throat was torn open p. 81. 34 The man called Black Burton wakes up the sleeping lion inside of Buck. Throughout the year, John Thornton is the man whose Buck’s life revolves around on. After a long time, Buck gets another external conflict in a form of physical violence, as Hammond 2010 has stated. However, Buck is not the recipient of the physical violence this time, John is, and Buck defends John and attacks Burton. Buck’s loyalty toward John Thornton is strong. As a year past on, Buck grows to be a more mature and stronger dog. He has learned both the ways of house-dog and sled-dog. As a house-dog, he is demanded to be loyal to his master and has a good nature. As a sled-dog, he is demanded to be strong enough to pull a sled, and to attack at times when he needs to. As a grown-up dog, he is getting better at switching between the two automatically. Buck’s encounter with Black Burton shows that even a year without a fight or any threat, Buck is still a fighter.

g. The Conflict between Buck and the Yeehats

Months come and pass, and in the fall of the year, John Thornton, his mates, his dogs, and Buck are looking for the Lost Cabin, a place of which legend speaks about its gold mine. While John Thornton and his mates are working on the gold, the dogs do not have something to do. Buck entertains himself by hunting and wandering in the woods. Sometimes, he spends the night in the woods, but he always comes back to the camp when the night falls, for Buck cannot seem to be far away from John Thornton. One time, Buck spends four nights in the woods because this time his prey is big and it takes time for him to kill the prey. Buck comes back to the camp to find the rest of the team is slaughtered. From the center of the camp itself Buck hears the sound of many