In The Call of the Wild, Buck, the protagonist, is presented with the difficult choice of living amongst society or satisfying his urge to return to the wild. Buck, however is a dog, and is personified to be the main character. Kidnapped from his comfortable home on an affluent estate, he is taken from the only life he has known, and sold into a world that is totally foreign. Forced to be a sled dog in the frigid north during the Klondike gold rush, he is surrounded by a brutal world dominated by violence and a need for self sufficiency and strength. He feels an eternal attachment to this world, and that it is where he was meant to be. He is presented with a great conflict where he must decide, if he will submit to life among humans, or satisfy his urge to retreat to the wild, where he feels he belongs.
The conflict within Buck of feeling trapped in a certain way of life out of familiarity is felt within many people. While not necessarily being the urge to run wild in the frigid north, the conflict between conformity with society versus individualism is a common literary theme. Buck confronts this as he traverses the snow covered expanses with the sled team, forced to toil long hours and surrounded by a place that was trying to call him home. He learns to forget the life he left behind and let himself be guided by what he feels within. He must make the choice, is it to remain as he is, or leave society behind, the only world he has ever known.