37 when someone is intrinsically motivated he enjoys the process of achieving the
goal while determined to make himself more competent and qualified. In the story, Buck gets an intrinsic motivation in a form of a hairy man from his own
imagination which makes him to want to go into the wild.
a. Buck wants to be Free like the Hairy Man
Buck gets his first imagination of the hairy man when he is with Perrault and Francois. The imaginary hairy man always comes when he rests by the fire.
That time, he only sees the physical appearance of the hairy man. However, the second appearance of his imaginary hairy man comes when he is with John
Thornton. The imagination comes strong in Buck’s mind, every detail of the man and his behavior.
Did they walk by the beach of the sea, where the hairy man gathered shell- fish and ate them as he gathered, it was with eyes that roved everywhere
for hidden danger and with legs prepared to run like the wind at its first appearance. Through the forest they crept noiselessly, Buck at the hairy
man’s heels; and they were alert and vigilant, the pair of them, ears twitching and moving and nostrils quivering, for the man heard and
smelled as keenly as Buck p. 91.
According to Thompson 2014, an intrinsic motivation is always followed by an enjoyment that will be experienced by the character. From the first time
Buck starts to imagine the hairy man, Buck always enjoys watching the hairy man and all his activities. Buck’s imagination of the hairy man is so vivid. The hairy
man himself resembles Buck in many ways. The hairy man hears and smells as keen as Buck does. The hairy man eats fish straight from the sea, without cooking
it. The hairy man, in short, is how Buck imagines himself, he is the reflection of Buck. While the skills and behavior resemble Buck a lot, the freedom felt by the
38 hairy man does not resemble Buck. Thus, the imaginary hairy man encourages
Buck to go in to the wild. Even though Buck is with John Thornton and he is not suffering anymore, he has not got his truly freedom yet. Buck’s vivid imagination
shows in the quotation expresses Buck’s desire to go into the wild, to feel the freedom, to live freely as he wants, and most importantly to experience the wild
world outside by himself.
2. The Extrinsic Motivations of the Main Character
Thompson 2014 states that an extrinsic motivation is a motivation that comes from outside of a character. She also claims that when a character is
extrinsically motivated, he acts based on a reward that he will get when he achieves his goal, the rewards are, for example, money, a prize, or a feeling, such
as, happiness and freedom. In the story, the main character Buck gets two extrinsic motivations, namely from a timber wolf and a pack of wolves.
a. Extrinsic Motivation of Buck from A Timber Wolf
While Buck is recovering from the damages done to his body in John Thornton’s camp, he often plays in the woods and wanders around. One time, he
hears a howl from the wood, a long-drawn howl comes from a wolf. Buck follows the sound of the howl, and meets a timber wolf in the woods. After understanding
each other, side by side with the timber wolf, Buck wanders around the woods. In this part, the theory of external motivation by Thompson 2014 is applied, Buck
gets an extrinsic motivation from outside of himself. Buck gets it from a timber PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
