The Call of the Wild: Ch. 1
Do all the starred questions plus TWO MORE.
1. Analyze the epigraph (quotation that starts a book) (3). Look up any words you
don’t know, and summarize its meaning here.
2. How did Buck come to be the “top dog” at Judge Miller’s? What were the pros
and cons to Buck’s life at Judge Miller’s estate?
3. Why did London choose a Judge as Buck’s original master? What might a Judge
symbolize?
4. What does London mean by Manuel’s “faith in a system”? (5)
5. How did Buck’s upbringing fail him when Manuel sold him to the stranger? (6)
6. What causes Buck’s building anger and change into a “raging fiend”? What
would a parallel situation be (in which a person changes from well-behaved to
enraged) for a human? (9)
7. What does the man in the red sweater symbolize? Give evidence from the text
for your explanation.
8. What does London mean by “beaten…but…not broken”? How does Buck feel
toward the dogs who are beaten by the man in the red sweater and then wag
their tails and lick his hands? Why won’t Buck do this? (12)
9. Why does Buck’s respect for François grow after the incident with Spitz? (14)
10. Buck doesn’t know why, but why do YOU think he felt ashamed at the end of the
chapter, during his first snow? (15)
11. What does “primitive” mean? Why do you think London chose this title for this
chapter? Explain thoroughly.
The Call of the Wild: Ch. 2
Do all the starred questions plus TWO MORE.
1. How is the law of “fang” different from the law of “club”? In other words, compare
and contrast what Buck learns from the man in the red sweater and what he
learns from Curly’s death. (16-17)
2. Why do you think Dave and Spitz (and later Sol-leks) punish Buck for his
mistakes? (18)
3. Why do you think Billee shows Buck affection and how to get warm for the night?
(20)
4. If Buck “of his own experience knew no trap and so could not of himself fear it,”
why does he still feel afraid when he wakes up? (21)
5. Why would insouciant [indifferent] Dave and angry Sol-leks become lively when
they are bound by traces (harnesses)? (22)
6. Buck starts to steal food from his “masters” (humans) and lets another dog, Dub,
get punished for it. (24-25) Answer the following questions:
a. If Buck didn’t steal food, what would happen to him? Explain.
b. Did Buck do the right thing? Is the right thing in this new environment
different from the right thing in his previous life? Explain.
c. What message might London be giving about dogs and about humans?
Back up your opinion with examples from the text and/or another situation.
d. What would be considered an “immoral” act by a dog in Buck’s new
world?
7. Explain and analyze the following passage: “Thus, as token of what a puppet
thing life is, the ancient song surged through him and he came into his own
again” (26)
8. Explain how you think each dog came to have his personality:
a. Dave (takes no interest in anything)
b. Spitz (bully; laughs when Curly is killed)
c. Billee (good natured)
d. Joe (sour, introspective, belligerent)
e. Sol-leks (angry, keeps to himself)
9. In this chapter, has Buck developed more, or retrogressed more? Explain.
The Call of the Wild: Chs. 3-4
Do all the starred questions plus THREE MORE.
Chapter 3
1. Why don’t the wild dogs obey the “Law of Club”? (29) Why doesn’t Buck stop
attacking Spitz when François whips him? (36)
2. Why does the “warm taste of [blood] in his mouth” make Buck get more
aggressive with the remaining wild dogs? (30)
3. Why is Spitz more concerned with showing dominance over Buck than getting
away from the wild huskies? Relate Spitz’s behavior toward a modern political
situation. (30)
4. How can patience be considered primitive? Be specific, using an example from
the book. (34)
5. In this chapter, what does London think about leaders and followers? Are
leaders born or made? Explain. (35) What does “imagination” have to do with
leadership? (42)
6. How does Buck cleverly take advantage of situations to antagonize Spitz
indirectly? Give an example from the chapter. (35-39)
7. Find an example of Buck’s return to “his” primitive nature in the chapter. (37-41)
8. Analyze the quote on page 39: “There is an ecstasy…and it comes as a
complete forgetfulness that one is alive.”
9. How is killing Spitz and becoming the “dominant primordial beast” (43) different
than the status of being the “top dog” at Judge Miller’s?
Chapter 4
1. What does Buck’s insistence that he be the lead dog show about his
understanding of “right” and “wrong” in the wild? (44-46) At this point in the story,
has Buck completely mastered his environment? Explain.
2. Why does London play with the rules of storytelling and allow Buck to have
“visions” of prehistoric human and dog life? (49-51)
3. How does the story of how Dave becomes ill, refuses to do anything but go back
to his place, and finally is left behind and shot (to stop his misery) similar to
people? Why does Dave act this way? Dave is not the lead dog, but what
characteristic(s) of a natural leader does he possess?
The Call of the Wild: Ch. 5
Do all the starred questions plus ONE MORE.
1. What do Charles’s mustache and Hal’s revolver and knife have in common?
What point is London making in describing the men this way? (56-57)
2. How does Mercedes’ reaction to having her items discarded (including what she
does to her husband’s and brother’s items) say about her? (61)
3. List the reasons for dog food problems on the trail. (63)
4. Paraphrase the following: “The wonderful patience of the trail which comes to
men who toil hard and suffer sore, and remain sweet of speech and kindly, did
not come to these two men and the woman.” (64)
5. London writes, “Mercedes nursed a special grievance—the grievance of sex….
It was her custom to be helpless.” (65-66)
a. What is London implying about Mercedes, and what may he be
implying about women in general?
b. What could overloading the sled with possessions and then adding
Mercedes’ weight to the sled symbolize?
6. As Buck struggles to lead the team (66-67):
a. How has the Law of Club changed? (See page 70 also)
b. Why does Buck’s heart stay unbreakable, and how does that relate to
the man in the red sweater?
7. In describing John Thornton, what does London mean by “he knew the breed,
and he gave his advice in the certainty that it would not be followed” and “two or
three fools more or less would not alter the scheme of things”? (69)
8. Refer to the beating of Buck: (70)
a. What does Buck have that his masters lack, as shown in the beating of
Buck?
b. How does Buck’s behavior relate to civil disobedience (i.e. Rosa Parks,
Martin Luther King, Jr., Mahatma Gandhi)?
9. What words and phrases would London use to characterize “civilization,” as
symbolized by Hal, Charles, and Mercedes?
10. At this point in the story, how is Buck more powerful than humans, and how is he
still dependent on them?
The Call of the Wild: Chs. 6-7
These are study questions for the last two chapters. You don’t have to turn these in.
Study them in preparation for the final test.
Chapter 6
1. Why does Buck follow John Thornton around? How is Buck’s relationship with
Thornton different from his relationship with Judge Miller? How did London
contrast John Thornton with Hal, Charles, and Mercedes? (76)
2. What are the multiple meanings of “call” of the wild? Why doesn’t Buck follow
the “call” in Chapter 6? (77-78)
3. Why does Buck try to jump over the cliff? How does this foreshadow the bet
(that Buck can pull the 1,000-pound load)? When Pete says he wouldn’t want to
be “the man that lays hands on you while [Buck’s] around,” what does this
foreshadow? (78-79)
4. London writes that the onlookers after Buck pulls the sled were not “indiscreet
enough to interrupt” the “love” ritual between Thornton and Buck (88). Why does
London spend time in the story developing the relationship between Buck and
Thornton? Consider both Chapters 6 and 7.
5. How does the relationship between Thornton and Buck mirror the relationship
between the “hairy man” in Buck’s visions and his dog.
Chapter 7
1. What is the primary reason that Buck goes into the wild more? (92)
2. When the wolf and Buck play with each other in a “nervous, half-coy” way, what
is London’s message to the reader? (95)
3. When Buck kills a bear, what does it show in terms of his relationship to nature?
What about his relationship to humans in general? (96-97)
4. Buck is “marching” while in the human camp, but stealthy when in the wild. What
does this show about Buck? (98)
5. How is the motif of patience, first introduced in Chapter 3, shown again but in a
different way in Chapter 7? (100)
6. What is ironic about Buck’s reason for his first human kill (the Yeehats)? How
has the Law of Club and Fang changed for Buck now that he has succeeded
against a set of humans? (105)
7. How is Buck’s final howl significant to this particular part of the story, and to the
book as a whole? (107)
8. The last phrase of the book is “the song of the pack.” How does this contrast
with Buck’s journey up until this point? What is London showing with this
ending? Is there a “song of the pack” in human civilization, too?
9. Compare and contrast Buck’s status at the beginning and end of the book.
The Call of the Wild: Final Test Review
The test will be short-answer style. You will have to respond to five quotes. You will
choose one quote out of two possibilities. The quotes on the test will be those you have
discussed in class before with me (hint hint). The best way to study is to make sure you
have read the book (!) and reviewed your questions sheets.
In your response to each quote (about 4-5 sentences) you must include:
1. A brief explanation of what part in the story the quote is taken from,
2. A summary of what the quote means, and
3. Why the passage is significant/what it shows in the story.
These guidelines will also be printed on the test.
NOTE: Do NOT just rephrase the words in the quote; go beyond what’s already written
to show me what you know about the book and the author’s intent. ALSO, for part 3 of
each response, do NOT write something like, “If this didn’t happen, the story would be
different.” That is almost always true for any part of a book; be more specific!
Here is an example for you:
“Here was neither peace, nor rest, nor a moment's safety. All was confusion and action, and
every moment life and limb were in peril. There was imperative need to be constantly alert; for
these dogs and men were not town dogs and men. They were savages, all of them, who knew no
law but the law of club and fang.”
This is from the part of the story where Buck has just arrived
in the Northland, far away from his home in the Santa Clara
Valley, as Curly is about to get massacred. He is realizing
that this life will be quite different from his experience back
at home as Judge Miller’s “top dog.” He is describing the other
dogs as having no morals except to obey a man with a club and
watch out for other dogs. It’s significant because Buck is
watching and learning how he will need to act if he wants to
survive in this kill-or-be-killed environment.