Jack London's merciless take on the survival of the fittest as set in the Alaskan wilderness during the Klondike Gold Rush was enthusiastically received in a time when Western society was eagerly interpreting the world through Darwinian eyes. The story became an instant classic, and insofar as humanity continues to wrestle with the implications of a naturalistic outlook on human affairs, "The Call of the Wild" remains relevant with its stark portrayal of nature, red in tooth and claw.