Circle, Alaska

Small community on the Yukon River in Alaska, a mining town in the 1890s. In The Call of the Wild Buck attacks ‘Black’ Burton in its bar to defend Thornton.

At a glance

Source	Author	Role	In one line
The Call of the Wild	Jack London	turning point	Buck tears at Black Burton’s throat to defend Thornton.

The Call of the Wild — Jack London (1903)

Source: Original · Readwise highlight

It was at Circle City, ere the year was out, that Pete’s apprehensions were realized. “Black” Burton, a man evil-tempered and malicious, had been picking a quarrel with a tenderfoot at the bar, when Thornton stepped good-naturedly between.

• Role: turning point
• In the book: Black Burton picks a quarrel with a tenderfoot at a bar in Circle City and knocks Thornton down when he intervenes. Buck leaps for Burton’s throat and tears it open; a miners’ meeting rules the attack justified and Buck is discharged.
• Why it matters: Buck’s reputation spreads through every camp in Alaska, and it is his first killing of a man in defence of Thornton.