London, Jack, "The Call of the Wild", Airmont Books, New York,NY, 1964
What is the Subject of the Novel?
A young dog named Buck is kidnapped from the luxury of living on a ranch to
the formidable life of a sledding dog in the great arctic.
Find and state (in the author's words) a "defining" passage,
one which best summarizes the direction of the novel- its theme.
"It marked his (Buck's) adaptability, his capacity to adjust himself
to changing condition, the lack of which would have meant swift and terrible
death."P.34
Paraphrase this passage (in your own words):
Buck learned the true meaning of survival of the fittest.
Paraphrase three subsidiary, supporting ideas, images or symbols using
complete sentences.
1. Buck's undying faith and love for his master John Thorton.
2. The natural superiority within Buck that ruled over all other dogs.
3. Despite Buck's loyalty to man, he never could rid of a yearning inside
him for the wild.
Make a list of and name the characters you have found in the essay, supply
a characterizing quotation and tell why you think the author used the character.
1 Buck- "His cunning was wolf cunning, and wild cunning; his intelligence,
shepherd intelligence and St. Bernard intelligence; and all this, plus an
experience gained in the fiercest of schools, made him as formidable a creature
as any that roamed the wild." P.113
Buck was used to show the struggle between loyalty to man and freedom in the
wild that Buck had to overcome.
2 Spitz- "He went out of his way to bully Buck, striving constantly
to start the fight which could end only in the death of one or the other."
P.37
Spitz was one of the main antagonists that tested Buck's strength and intelligence
that was needed to survive.
3 John Thorton- "And often, such was the communion in which they
lived, the strength of Buck's gaze would draw John Thorton's head around,
and he would return the gaze, without speech, his heart shining out of his
eyes as Buck's heart shone out." P.89
John was the tie that kept Buck from fully pursuing his instincts for the
wild.
4 Wolf Brother- "Every moment advertised commingled threatening
and overture of friendliness. It was the menacing truce that marks the meeting
of wild beasts that prey." P.109
This character represented the call of the wild that grew stronger inside
Buck.
Summarize the plot, noting the complications, climax or crisis and resolution
of the piece:
One day Buck follows his desire for the wild and leaves Thorton's camp. A
few days later he returns to find the camp destroyed and all of the dogs and
men dead including John by the Yeehats (Indian Tribe). Buck kills the Yeehats
to avenge his master's death. Since Buck's last tie with man is broken he
is free to run with the pack of wolves and join the wild.
Explain your view on the issues raised in the book. Do you agree, disagree
or partially agree with the author? Give at lease three reasons you believe
as you do.
1. I agree that in the setting Buck was put in, he had to kill to survive
or be killed.
2. I partially agree that Buck had the will inside him to survive his near
death situations. It was not very realistic for Buck to be a wonder dog all
the time.
3. I agree that Buck had a natural instinct in him to join the wild.
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