Side note : Jack London, the prospector

This post is more of a side note than an actual post. I just wanted to write down some observation about Jack London's work which I tried to keep in mind during my studies and the comparition with the adaption.

Jack London in the Klondike,

 around 1897

AKG Photo, Paris.

Jack London, who wrote The Call of the Wild in 1903, and White Fang in 1906, both stories which takes place during the Klondike Gold Rush and both focus on the point of view of a animal (a sledge dog and a wolf) also participated in the journey in the North. Jack London was indeed part of the migration to the Yukon, he was, like many, a budding prospector that looked for gold. If he didn't find the gold he was looking for, he found a environment that inspired him. In the two novels I quoted, the period of the Canadian Gold Rush are not the main focus of his stories, however, it serves as background. The geographical location mentioned in his stories are historicaly correct, every cities existed, and was well-known at the time. (Dawson City, Skagway, the White Pass, the Chilkoot Pass...)

Since this two novels had been written closely after the historical period I study, it can not be considered as historical novels. But when I compared the novel and the movie, it is hard to find clear differences or big inconsistencies. The main action, the main subject are treated in both the novel and the film. However, the feelings conveyed by the novels is different from the movies.
I've focus my research on the novel and movie The Call of the Wild. The novel is linked to the wild life and the relation between the animals and the wild. The human character are present, but are almost treated as another part of the background. The movie, even if it follows the adventure of Buck, gives more importance to the human character. It can be easily explained by the importance of the narrator in the novel. It is obviously easier to show the intentions and feelings of human character than animals in a movie. But because of that focus, London's intentions cannot be fully transcribed in the movie.

Therefore, we can see a shift in the general atmosphere. The historical context, used only as a background in the novel, became more central in the movie. It seems that the movie is more interested in showing the historical context of the Klondike Gold Rush, and pictures more the journey of a stampeder from Seattle to Dawson City, passing through the emblematic Chilkoot Pass, than the internal journey of Buck.

According to my research, the representation of the movie are mostly correct.