Conclusion

These posts helped us drawing a general view of the Klondike Gold Rush, from the first gold discovery to the stampeder's arrival to the Yukon territories. At the end, the Gold Rush seemed to ended as quickly as it had started, for most of the gold seekers, it ended before it could actually begin. The stampeders, exhausted, disappointed, (dead) or financially ruined, stop their adventure, and went home for those who could still afford it.But as short as this Gold Rush had been, it had still marked the continent, and is still well established in the American culture Many books had been written about the experiences of former prospectors and journalists, photographs had been taken and published, novel had been written then adapted in movies. The adventure of the Gold Rush had been studied for it had, for a time, created a specific sort of society, with an economy focused around that event.

This general picture had been made through the study of the movie The Call of the Wild which - even if considered as a  " rather poor adaptation of the 1903 literary classic by Jack London" according to the Contemporary British and Irish Film Directors: A Wallflower Critical Guide (p. 12) - is a pretty good representation of the historical aspect of the time. For some representation, we could say that the movie must have faced technical difficulties; the visual representation of the Chilkoot Pass for example was disappointing compared to the impressive photographs diffused by the journalists, but and some historical facts had been cut. This aspects, such as the several ascention that a stampeder must do to carry all of his supply past the mountain or the men offering to carry the supply for money, were part of the historical context and the financial benefits made from the Gold Rush. By not showing it, the movie focused on the representation of a journey, with the Chilkoot Pass as a mere obstacle. This is the main downside of this adaptation in my opinion; the direction seemed to put the main focus on the adventure, and because of that, the movie sometimes differs from the novel, and overcome some historical aspect. 

However, it must be said that the focus of the movie, compared to the novel, is understandable. The novel is mainly focus on the evolution of Buck character, his relationship with the wild. It would be extremly difficult to conveys an animal inner thought in a movie without using narration for example, which would have been seen as shallow. Probably because of this difficulties, the movie chose to focus on two humain characters, and by doing so, the historical context and the interaction between other human being -used only as a background in the novel - became also more important than the animals and the wild. Indeed, this has an impact on the quality of the adaptation, however, the movie could still be used as a good historical support. 

Indeed, throughout my research, some important aspect that came out were treated in the movie, or at least mention at some point. The importance of dogs and experience in the Klondike is explicitely explained and represented in the movie, and the role of the mail men appeared more clearly than in the novels. The absence of more complex aspect of the Gold Rush are however something that can be noticed. The representation of the Klondike Gold Rush in this movie is a vision already shared by most of the Americans, and the vision of this movie will not enlighten the spectators about the new economy, or the psychological impact of the wildlife on the stampeder.