‘The Call of the Wild’
Name & Number:
1. What kind of life did Buck have at Mr. Miller’s house in the Santa Clara valley? Give examples of how
he spent his time.
Buck was chief dog; he was born there, and that was his place. And Buck went
swimming with Mr. Miller's sons, walking with his daughters. Furthermore, He
carried the grandchildren on his back, and he sat at Mr. Miller's feet in front of
the fire in winter.
2. What did Buck learn from the beating that the fat man in Seattle gave him?
Buck had learnt that a man with a club was stronger than him. Every day he
saw more dogs arrive, and each dog was beaten by the fat man. Buck
understood that a man with a club must be obeyed, although he did not have to
be a friend.
3. What did Buck learn at Dyea Beach and in Dyea Canyon?
Buck understood that once a dog was down on the ground, he was dead. He
also remembered Spitz laughing, and from that moment he hated him. By
watching and copying, Buck learned how to work and pull the harness. And he
learned how to dig a hole to survive in cold night sleeping outside of tents. Both
Dave and Sol-leks gave Buck a good beating for that mistake. So Buck
understood, and was more careful after that. Buck learnt to eat quickly; if he was
too slow, the other dogs stole his food. He learnt to eat any food and to break
the ice on water holes with his feet when he wanted to drink.
4. When the fight with Spitz finally happened, how did Buck win?
He broke Spitz`s left front leg and right front leg. And Buck jumped, in and out,
and Spitz went down in the snow.
5. Buck often dreamed of a strange hairy man with short legs, long arms, who wore animal skins and
spoke in a very strange way. What did this dream mean?
This was a metaphor for a wildness. It meant Buck had the wild wolf`s DNA and
it was waking up. Buck`s hard life was waking up this instincts for wildness
inside him. Animals were born wild having an instincts of wildness.
6. Why was it bad news for the dogs when they were bought by Hal, Charles and Mercedes?
They didn`t know how to survive in cold weather. Often, they had to take things
off the sledge and start again. They had no experience of loading and driving a
sledge. They looked like beginners.
7. Having lived in the north in a harsh environment for a long time, Buck was now almost totally wild.
He really wanted to live wild in the forest. What stopped him?
Buck wanted to leave the fire and answer the call of wild. But every time he
went into the trees, his love for Thornton brought him back. It was only
Thornton who stopped him going into the forest.
8. What did Buck do one day in a bar in Circle City that made his name famous all over the north?
When he saw Thornton in danger, Buck flew through the air at Burton's throat
and took his teeth out of the man's arm and this time bit into his throat.
Everyone agreed that Buck had only attacked. From that day Buck's name
became famous all over the north.
9. How did Buck react when he saw that the men and the other dogs had been killed by Indians?
Buck came out of the trees faster than the north wind, and threw himself on
the Yeehats like a mad dog. He jumped at the first man, and tore out his throat,
killing him at once. And he jumped onto a second, then a third man, going each
time for the throat. Buck moved like a storm among them, tearing, biting,
destroying, in a madness that he had never known before. Nothing could stop
him.
10. Describe Buck’s life at the end of the book.
He walked alone round the lake where the yellow gold shined in the water, and
howled. But he was not always alone. In the long winter nights, he ran at the
head of the wolf pack through the moonlight, calling into the night with them,
singing a song from a younger world.
11. What are the messages in ‘The Call of the Wild’. Support your opinions with examples from the
book.
I learned three lessons from this book.
The first is that life can change suddenly without warning. Buck was enjoying a very
peaceful pet life in California. However, without any signal, he was sold by the
gardener as a dog for labor and Buck's life was in a new environment that he had
never experienced before. Buck, who grew up only with the love of humans, lived for
the first time feeling the pain of shedding blood. In human life, sudden changes can
appear without warning. For example, a sudden outbreak of war and the spread of
infectious diseases can drastically change life patterns and cultures. I think Buck's
effort to adapt without giving up to survive in a new environment is essential to us
living in a rapidly changing modern society.
The second is that efforts to adapt quickly to survive are essential. Buck adapted
quickly by watching and copying other dogs in a very cold environment that he had
never experienced before. Of course, his learning ability was excellent, but his
willingness to adapt to the new environment made him change quickly. He not only
adapted to the new environment but also had fun in his new job. It is essential for
people to try to adapt to the new environment. For example, life will be difficult for
those who cannot get out of the free environment of student life and cannot adapt to
the company's organizational new environment. In the new environment, you have to
make an effort to see other people around you, follow them, and adapt, so that you
can survive in that new society and live a pleasant life.
Lastly, true friendship and love between animals and humans is important. Buck
thought Thornton was a real friend and loved him, and wanted to be by his side,
suppressing his wild instincts. Furthermore, to save Thornton from drowning, Buck
swam without fear of his own death and tried to reach him and get him out of the
water. Buck, who worried about his friend's safety first without thinking about his
own damage when his friend was in danger, reminded me of the zoo's lions of acting
cute to the zookeeper and blocking other animals from approaching. True love for
pets allows both people and pets to work together and enjoy each other's happy lives.
However, some modern people think pets are meant to relieve their stresses.
Sometimes they even abuse pets. This wrong behavior is ruining both your pet's life
and your own. No matter how wild the animal is, if we give love and care and protect
him, he will feel warm and give love to us.
The book is about a pet raised in a warm environment that met new people in a new
environment, adapted to the environment, and realized its wild instincts. In the
process of adapting to the new environment, willingness to adapt and the role of the
leader were very important. I think if college freshmen who have just started a new
society read this book, they will be very sympathetic and have many lessons to learn.