The Call of the Wild Notes
By: Marta Piotrowski
1.) Which character are you studying?
The character I am studying is Buck. Buck is the lead dog in the little
sledding ‘pack’.
2.) What is a typical day like for this character?
Buck, at first, had a normal dog life. He would go outside, sniff
around, take care of his owners, etc. Now, he goes through the day,
running the sled, and eating very little. He practically lives his life as a lead
dog.
3.) What challenges did this character face?
First, when he was ‘kidnapped’ from his owner, he was beaten. That
was a horrible challenge that he had to face. Then, he is taken from that
man to another, who sort of treats him better, but still suffers from little
food. Then, he is passed on to once again ANOTHER man, who treats him
horribly. Giving him less food, treating him horribly, and when he couldn’t
get up from being hurt too badly, he was almost beaten to death. Then, he
was taken in by once again, you guessed it, another man. This ones goes
better, until the owner dies. And then, within the story, Buck has challenges
to get the runners un-stuck from the freezing snow, and he has the
challenge of getting out from the freezing water after ice cracks and under
the sled. Then, Buck’s challenge was to kill Spitz, the dog that was super
mean to him. And so, those are the challenges that Buck faces.
4.) How did this character overcome these challenges?
By getting used to the hitting, not feeling so much pain anymore. He
would get used to the food and the running, his paws getting harder and
harder as he ran. He killed Spitz in the end. He would start stealing food
from the dogs and humans. And then, after his last master died, he went
out into the wild. And so, that is what he did to overcome these challenges.
5.) What is the “Call of the Wild”? How does it affect (Buck’s) behavior
throughout the novel?
“The Call of the Wild” is a call that all wilds wolves make. Throughout
the whole story, Buck is thinking about this. He goes and steals food, while
thinking of this. He goes and kills wild wolves that are attacking the pack,
while thinking of this. He does so many wild things while thinking of this.