Call of the wild ch. 1-3 quiz

Consider the author's use of word choice and sensory details; select a word, phrase or sentence form Chapter 1 that emphasizes Buck's return to a primitive state. Explain why you choose this phrase/ sentence given its impact on there reader.

Accept any relevant details from the text that emphasize that Buck is returning to his most natural state that of a dog in the wild who will kill or be killed and do what it takes to survive, even if it means having to give up the way he used to be.

What incidents demonstrate Buck's desire to undermine Spitz's authority? Cite textual evidence.

Buck begins to undermine Spitz' authority by threatening his authority in ways that cause the other dogs to follow suit. For example, in the text Spitz' tries to attack Pike for staying in his nest instead of being ready for the traces, but when Spitz tries to attack Pike as punishment, Buck intervenes and attacks Spitz. This leads Pike to also turn on Spitz, which he wouldn't have done if not for Buck. Buck also encouraged the other dogs to threaten Spitz' authority.

Underline sensory details used to describe Buck's beating. How does the author's use of vivid, violent description impact the tone and mood of the text?

Buck has become a violent creature, and the author calls him a "devil" in this scene of the book. Buck has a "mad glitter" in his eyes. The club brought him down "crushingly." It "smashed him down." Buck's coat is "flecked with bloody slaver." At the end, Buck "crumpled up and went down, knocked utterly senseless."

What words or phrases does the author use to describe Buck at the end of Chapter 2? How does the physical description demonstrate Buck's transformation.

Buck is described as a strong, capable physical being. The text states that his muscles "became as hard as irony," and that he was not affected by pain despite the harsh conditions.

According to the text, how and why does Buck continue to steal? Cite textual evidence.

Buck learns to steal "secretly and cunningly, out of respect for club and fang." The text states that Buck did not steal for joy, but rather to stop his hunger. He also has come to realize that stealing is a part of survival in the wild. By stealing, Buck demonstrates that he has continued to transition and adapt to his new life in the wild where he will do what it takes to survive and be like the other sled dogs.

What words and phrases in paragraph 22 present Buck in "human-like" ways? Cite evidence from the text to support your answer.

He attacks back when he's abused. He felt like he was the king.

How do Francois and Perrault's view about Buck and Spitz differ?

One thinks highly of one dog. One like the other one.

What do you learn about Buck in paragraphs 3-5? Cite evidence from the text to support your answer.

He is the Judges dog. They have a lot of land. They're rich. He watches over the kids.

Explain how the encounter with Manuel and the subsequent event described in paragraph 11 change buck, citing evidence from the text to support you claim.

He vicious and mad because he got kidnapped.

What does Spitz do to finally provoke Buck to act?

He would bully Buck. Spitz take bucks sleeping spot.

In chapter 2, Buck has both developed and retrogressed as he joins the law of club and fang. Identify one decision that Buck makes in chapter 2 and explain how it reveals both development and retrogression.

In chapter 2, Buck learns to steal food from his owners, which is an example that shows both development and retrogression. In one way, this decision shows development, because it demonstrates that Buck is willing to do what it takes to survive in the wild. He is able to learn from the example of the other dogs and adapt his behavior to give him a better chance of surviving in this case, to get more food to nourish and sustain his body during the trek. At the same time, this decision also shows that Buck has retrogressed from the dog he once was. As a house dog, Buck would not have stolen from his owner because the rules and laws that guided his behavior in the judge's house were more "civilized." Buck has given up his pampered lifestyle, and with it, he has also given up part of his moral character, as stealing for survival takes precedence over doing the "right" or moral thing.

What does the author mean by the phrase the "reign of primitive law"?

In this new, primitive world, Buck can expect violence. As long as he knows how to react to it, though, Buck has shown he can survive—and still keep his dignity. Buck has learned that he has to obey men with clubs, but also that he does not have to treat them as his master.

What do we learn about the "primordial beast" within Buck in the first paragraph?

It was strong in buck, and under the fierce conditions of trail life it grew and grew. He wanted control.

What does the reader learn in the first sentence about the problem, the main character, and the setting?

Man want dogs so they could find gold. He live in San Diego in the hot weather.

Reread the following lines: Buck got a frothing adversary by the throat, and was sprayed with blood when his teeth sank through the jugular. The warm taste of it in his mouth goaded him to greater fierceness. He flung himself upon another, and at the same time felt teeth sink into his throat. It was Spitz, treacherously attacking form the side. What does Spitz do? why is this significant?

Spitz is jealous and wants to kill Buck.

How does the author use the incident of the wild dog attack to propel the action and the suspense in the text?

The incident of the wild dog attack propels the action and the suspense in the text by demonstrating the intensity of the conflict between Buck and Spitz and by encouraging the dog team to move forward. In the text, the wild dogs attack the dog sled team, and all of the dogs are brutally injured by the fierce attack. However, the attack also serves to demonstrate how intense the rivalry between Spitz and Buck has become. The wild dog attack stops Buck and Spitz from fighting, and then during the attack, Spitz finds Buck and attacks him while he is injured. This suggests that the conflict between Buck and Spitz will continue until there is a resolution and one of the dogs emerges as the winner by killing the other dog. The dog attack also encourages Francois and Perrault to continue on their journey for fear that the dogs will go mad, thus moving the plot forward.

What do these incidents, along with the opening of Chapter 3, Foreshadow?

The incidents and the opening of chapter 3 suggest that Buck's transformation is continuing, and that he will continue to challenge Spitz for leadership until one of them is killed. This is foreshadowed by the conversation between Francois and Perrault, and the way in which Spitz and Buck continue to attack one another throughout the text.

Read the following lines from the text: "They made Sixty Mile, which is a fiftymile run, on the first day; and the second day saw them booming up the Yukon well on their way to Pelly. But such splendid running was achieved not without great trouble and vexation on the part of Francois. The insidious revolt led by Buck had destroyed the solidarity of the team. It no longer was as one dog leaping in the traces."

The text states: "The encouragement Buck gave the rebels led them into all kinds of petty misdemeanors. No more was Spitz a leader greatly to be feared. The old awe departed, and they grew equal to challenging his authority." The dogs begin to challenge Spitz by stealing his food, whining more, and fighting amongst themselves. The team becomes less productive, as the fighting and the constant challenging leads the team to move more slowly. The text states that "Buck had destroyed the solidarity of the team." In addition, Buck's actions cause the owners to be constantly vigilant for any fighting amongst the dogs. Francois, who at first laughed at Buck's attack on Spitz, becomes troubled because of the decline of the team.

Reread the following lines from the text: But Buck possessed a quality that made for greatnessimagination. He fought by instinct, but he could fight by head as well he rushed, as though attempting the old shoulder trick, but at the last instant swept low to the snow and in. His teeth closed on Spitz's left fore leg. There was a crunch of breaking bone, and the white dog faced him on three legs. Thrice he tried to knock him over, then repeated the trick and broke the right fore leg. What is the significance of these lines? What do they reveal about Buck?

These lines are significant because the author suggests that it is not only Buck's awakened instincts but also his ability to reason and think that enable him to defeat Spitz. The text states that Buck was made for greatness because of his "imagination." While he fought by instinct, he also was able to "fight by head as well he rushed." In his fight with Spitz, Buck tricks Spitz into thinking he will attack him from the shoulder, but then at the last moment sweeps in and bites Spitz on the leg. This injures Spitz, and eventually it is this same trick that pushes Spitz down so that Buck can prevail. By including these lines in the text, the author shows that Buck uses instinct and his reasoning to prevail in the wild, making him superior to other dogs.

Reread the following lines from the text: In a flash Buck knew it. The time had come. It was to the death. As they circled about, snarling, ears laid back, keenly watchful for the advantage, the scene came to Buck with a sense of familiarity. He seemed to remember it allthe white woods, and earth, and moonlight, and the thrill of battle....To Buck it was nothing new or strange, this scene of old time. It was as though it had always been, the wonted way of things.

These lines are significant because they emphasize Buck's primitive nature and his instincts. The text states, "the scene came to Buck with a sense of familiarity. He seemed to remember it allthe white woods, and earth, and moonlight, and the thrill of battle...." This implies that Buck has been in this situation or experience before. The author intends to show that Buck primitive instincts are awakened within him. Like the wolves and wild dogs who came before him, Buck continues to recognize and rely on his natural instincts to sustain him in the wild, and to prepare him to fight Spitz

Reread the following lines from the text: "And not only did he learn by experience, but instincts long dead became alive again. The domesticated generations fell from him. In vague ways he remembered back to the youth of the breed, to the time the wild dogs ranged in packs through the primeval forest and killed their meat as they ran it down. It was no task for him to learn to fight with cut and slash and the quick wolf snap." What does this suggest about Buck's transformation?

These lines suggest that Buck is reconnecting to the spirits and ancestors of wild dogs before him. As Buck transforms physically and becomes an animal of the wild, he is also coming full circle or returning to who he once was, as signified by these lines of text. Buck is discovering some of the instincts and abilities that have long been hidden within him that he has not needed as a domesticated animal. These lines help emphasize that before Buck was a house dog, he was a part of a species that had the instinct and capabilities for survival.