The Call of the Wild
Jack London
Think. Connect. Infer. 9/2/15
1. What scene or scenes from the novel stands out
most in your mind? WHY? What does the author
do to ensure that the scene(s) will stand out?
2. What qualities does Buck embody that we
would consider heroic? What qualities does Buck
display that show him as a villain? How does the
author intend for us to view Buck?
Think. Connect. Infer. 9/2/15
3. Get into your small groups. Introduce yourselves,
beginning with the student whose birthday occurred
most recently, and go around the circle clockwise.
4. After all students have introduced themselves, share
what you remembered from yesterday’s class.
5. Discuss the answers to today’s questions for The Call
of the Wild and take notes on things you learn.
Write down the problems, difficulties,
and frustrations you had with the novel.
(Note: Problems, difficulties, and frustrations build
PERSEVERANCE!)
6. Discuss these difficulties to see if they occurred
with others in your group.
7. Discuss what you think caused the difficulties
(style, subject matter, content, language…)
Themes
• There are a few celebrated themes unique to this
novel this year (achieving primal dominance over
others and over circumstances, for example).
Leaving those aside, consider 4 large themes we
will address all year :
»Perspective
»Loyalty (including its opposite, betrayal)
»Boundaries
»Identity/acceptance
• Brainstorm examples from the novel (textual
evidence) that illustrate each theme. Draw
inferences to substantiate your analysis.
The Epigraph
HP
• Discover what an epigram/epigraph is.
• Read the epigraph again, and analyze its
meaning together.
• Discuss the relationship of the epigraph at the
beginning of the novel to the novel as a
whole.
Epigraph in Chapter 1
“Old longings nomadic leap,
Chafing at custom’s chain;
Again from its brumal sleep
Wakens the ferine strain.”
HP
Your Goal:
HP
• Be ready and able to analyze the author’s
purpose of the epigraph. This will encompass
its meaning and precise placement in the
novel.
On your index card, please write and
complete the following 2 statements:
1. The best thing about Jack London’s novel The Call
of the Wild as a summer reading assignment was
_______________ because…
2. The worst thing about the assignment
was______________________ because…
Epigram Becomes Epigraph:
An epigram is a little poem or clever statement,
but an epigraph is a specific kind of epigram: a
witty statement that's inscribed somewhere,
such as on a building or at the beginning of a
chapter or book.
Revised Constructed Response
An epigraph is a brief poem or quotation
from another work of literature placed at the
beginning of a novel or novel section in order to
introduce a theme. Analyze the epigraph at the
beginning of Jack London’s The Call of the Wild
(taken from the first stanza of "Atavism” by John
Myers O’Hara). How does this epigraph
thematically represent the novel as a whole? Use
evidence from the text, classroom notes, and
classroom discussions to support your thinking.
Epigraph in Chapter 1: ‘Into the Primitive’
HP
“Old longings nomadic leap,
Chafing at custom’s chain;
Again from its brumal sleep
Wakens the ferine strain.”
Stanza 1 from “Atavism” by John Myers O’Hara (1902)
What Questions Do I Ask?
p. 5
1. What’s with the title of the poem?
2. What theme is being introduced with the
epigraph?
3. What is the relationship between ‘atavism’ and
the theme of the novel?
4. Why did London use this poem as an epigraph
for his novel?
5. How is Chapter One, “Into the Primitive,”
related to the epigraph?
6. Why did London only use the first stanza of the
poem as an epigraph?
What Questions Do I Ask?
p. 3
1. What’s with the title of the poem?
2. How does the title of the chapter relate to the
epigraph?
3. What is the relationship between the novel and
the epigraph?
4. Why does London choose to use this specific
poem or stanza?
5. Did Jack London base the novel The Call of the
Wild on the epigraph? The whole poem?
6. What theme or themes does the epigraph
convey?
What Questions Should I Ask?
1. Re-read the prompt, and then carefully read the
sample response. Note anything you don’t
understand, go back to it, and work with it until you
get it.
2. Examine the list of questions you compiled with
your group. Which questions prove relevant in the
sample response? WHAT IS MISSING from your
question list??
3. Examine the sample again and list its essential
elements. What is it made up of?
4. Find questions that will ‘get at’ those elements—
that will elicit the content in the sample.
5. See if you can generalize the questions enough so
that they are applicable to your own epigraphrelated T-DA, coming up when we read Bradbury.
My Response
Jack London’s choice of epigraph, the first stanza
of the poem “Atavism” by John Myers O’Hara, clearly
highlights a dominant theme that emerges from The
Call of the Wild: the power of primal instincts in
drawing ‘their own’ into the wilderness. As the poem’s
title refers to character traits reflecting distant
ancestral yearnings, so the lines themselves speak
directly to London’s theme. “Old longings nomadic
leap,/Chafing at custom’s chain” initially prepares the
reader to meet the those longings in Buck, who is
introduced at first as a thoroughly civilized dog living
“the life of a sated aristocrat” on his master’s California
estate (London, 4). O’Hara’s powerful verbs “leap” and
“chafing,” though, suggest a dramatic and disturbing
change which will launch Buck from his comfortable
life into “the Primitive” identified in Chapter One’s title.
That violent wrenching from a life of ease into one of
abuse gives birth to a savagery in Buck as he has
“accumulated a fund of wrath that boded ill for
whoever first fell foul of him” (9). His wrath, however,
cannot withstand the club, which London describes as
“…a revelation. It was his introduction into the reign of
primitive law” (13). From his initiation into the
violence and treachery of men in Chapter One, London
takes Buck through a pattern of relative ease, or
“brumal sleep,” to the sudden brutality of an
awakened “ferine strain.” While Buck adapts to each
new situation, even under the direction of a lesser dog
in Spitz, he nevertheless finds within himself a quality
which his tenure as a pampered pet has never
revealed. He is “…preeminently cunning” as he waits
for an opportunity to challenge the leader “with a
patience that was nothing less than primitive” (42).
While there is both struggle and respite for Buck
throughout his journey, the qualities which hark back
to the time of Buck’s prehistoric visions await only the
appropriate circumstances to reveal the primitive beast
within. The power of that instinct, interrupted though
it is by something wonderful in his love for John
Thornton, nevertheless repeatedly calls him away,
enticing him to explore a world that has been there all
along, sometimes overlapping, sometimes parallel to
his own. In the end, it is the brutality of humans that
destroys John Thornton, Buck’s last reason to resist the
call, and his atavistic longings for the stark dominance
of the natural world fully awaken his “ferine strain.”
The epigraph’s theme has become Buck’s overpowering
reality as he answers “the call of the wild.”
Essential Elements
1. Topic sentence referring to prompt with properly
punctuated titles (and correctly spelled authors’ names)
2. Precise quotations using a variety of devices to embed
them into the analysis (including useful transitions!)
3. Analysis showing each quotation’s purpose—what does it
do related to the prompt/thesis?
4. Logical, chronological order for quotations
5. Synonyms and indirect references to important words
from prompt/thesis to maintain focus
6. Direct connection between 2 works mentioned in prompt
7. References to text that are not direct quotes
8. A conclusion drawn from the analysis and addressing the
prompt
My Response, Revised
Jack London’s choice of epigraph, the first stanza
of the poem “Atavism” by John Myers O’Hara, clearly
highlights a dominant theme in The Call of the Wild: the
power of primal instincts to draw ‘their own’ into the
wilderness. As the poem’s title refers to character traits
reflecting distant ancestral qualities, so the lines
themselves speak directly to London’s theme. “Old
longings nomadic leap,/Chafing at custom’s chain”
initially prepares the reader to meet the those longings
in Buck, who is introduced as a thoroughly civilized dog
living “the life of a sated aristocrat” on his master’s
California estate (London, 4). O’Hara’s powerful verbs
“leap” and “chafing” suggest a dramatic and disturbing
change which will launch Buck from his comfortable life
into “the Primitive” identified in London’s Chapter 1 title.
That violent wrenching from a life of ease into one of abuse
gives birth to a savagery in Buck, shown in the reference that
he has “accumulated a fund of wrath that boded ill for
whoever first fell foul of him” (9). His wrath cannot withstand
the club, which London describes as “…a revelation. It was his
introduction into the reign of primitive law” (13), revealing
Buck’s consciousness of entering a world where former rules
do not apply. From his initiation into the violence and
treachery of men in Chapter 1, London takes Buck through a
pattern of relative ease, or “brumal sleep” as the poem
phrases it, to the sudden brutality of an awakened “ferine
strain.” While Buck adapts to each new situation, even under
the authority of a lesser dog in Spitz, he also finds within
himself a quality which his tenure as a pampered pet has
never revealed. He is “…preeminently cunning” as he waits for
an opportunity to challenge the leader “with a patience that
was nothing less than primitive” (42). While there is both
struggle and respite for Buck throughout his journey,
the qualities which hark back to the time of Buck’s
prehistoric visions around a caveman’s campfire lie
dormant until circumstances require him to reveal the
primitive beast within. The power of that instinct,
diluted though it is by a wonderful love for John
Thornton, nevertheless repeatedly calls him away,
enticing him to explore a world that has been there all
along, sometimes overlapping, sometimes parallel to
his own. In the end, it is the brutality of humans that
destroys John Thornton, Buck’s last reason to resist the
call, and his atavistic longing for the stark dominance of
the natural world fully awakens his “ferine strain.” The
epigraph’s theme has become Buck’s overpowering
reality as he answers “the call of the wild.”
Extrapolate questions to elicit the
essential elements of a prompt response:
1. What is the common theme of each work?
2. What textual evidence and explanation support the
theme? Which quotations and which less direct
references will I use?
3. Where are the connections between the texts?
4. What textual evidence supports those connections?
5. What are the most important words in the prompt
and what are some synonyms?
6. What transitional words/phrases will be useful in
addressing the prompt? (These may need to wait-don’t forget!)
7. What conclusion can be drawn from the analysis?