Jack London’s The Call of The Wild, and John Steinback’s The Grapes of Wrath are widely considered to be some of the greatest American novels. Even though they have their differences, they still have a lot in common.
Even though both books take places in different times and even different countries, they still have plot similarities. Both plots revolve around travel and journeys for similar reasons. Both books revolve around traveling as a way to find money. The Call of The Wild taking place with travelers using sled dogs to travel to find gold. The Grapes of Wrath taking place in the Great Depression, where a family tries to find work in California.
There are also certain similarities in the type of characters. Just like in The Call of The Wild, some of the owners, Buck, the protagonist experiences are good, yet he experiences abusive ones as well. Similar to the flaws that some of the characters show in The Grapes of Wrath. The book shows corrupt car salesmen and farmers trying to prevent unionization in California as awful human beings. Yet, people like Jim Casy are still shown in the book. People who are willing to help others even at risk of their own.
Even though these two books are considered “Great” in their own regard. They still have similarities that have caused them to be regarded as classics for more than 90 years.
Great American Novels 