English Exam Review Pt 4

the description of Buck "maintaining discipline"

Since the beginning of the winter they had travelled eighteen hundred miles, dragging sleds the whole weary distance; and eighteen hundred miles will tell upon life of the toughest. Buck stood it, keeping his mates up to their work and maintaining discipline, though he, too, was very tired. Billee cried and whimpered regularly in his sleep each night. Joe was sourer than ever, and Sol-leks was unapproachable, blind side or other side. Which part of the excerpt is the best example of indirect characterization?

wealth

What does the Lost Cabin symbolize for the men in the book?

no longer cares about leading the dog team.

. . .Buck, still at the head of the team, but no longer enforcing discipline or striving to enforce it, blind with weakness half the time and keeping the trail by the loom of it and by the dim feel of his feet. This passage shows an end to an episode in Buck's life because he

character vs. nature

A chill wind was blowing that nipped him sharply and bit with especial venom into his wounded shoulder. He lay down on the snow and attempted to sleep, but the frost soon drove him shivering to his feet. Miserable and disconsolate, he wandered about among the many tents, only to find that one place was as cold as another. Which type of conflict is shown in the excerpt?

Buck is willing to compromise morality for survival

To remedy this, [Buck] ate as fast as they; and, so greatly did hunger compel him, he was not above taking what did not belong to him. He watched and learned. When he saw Pike, one of the new dogs, a clever malingerer and thief, slyly steal a slice of bacon when Perrault's back was turned, he duplicated the performance the following day, getting away with the whole chunk. A great uproar was raised, but he was unsuspected; while Dub, an awkward blunderer who was always getting caught, was punished for Buck's misdeed. What is the best description of Buck's character, based on this excerpt?

It shows readers what different characters think and feel.

What does the third-person-omniscient point of view in The Call of the Wild do for readers that could not be achieved with a first-person or third-person limited point of view?

falling action

When Buck earned sixteen hundred dollars in five minutes for John Thornton, he made it possible for his master to pay off certain debts and to journey with his partners into the East after a fabled lost mine, the history of which was as old as the history of the country. Where does this event fit in the plot's structure?

His muscles had wasted away to knotty strings, and the flesh pads had disappeared, so that each rib and every bone in his frame were outlined cleanly through the loose hide. . . .

Which excerpt from The Call of the Wild best helps readers to visualize how thin Buck has become?

The pain of the beating was dull and distant, just as the things their eyes saw and their ears heard seemed dull and distant. . . . They were simply so many bags of bones in which sparks of life fluttered faintly.

Which excerpt from The Call of the Wild best uses sensory details to show readers that the dogs are close to death?

Where are the strangers taking Buck?

For two days and nights this express car was dragged along at the tail of shrieking locomotives; and for two days and nights Buck neither ate nor drank. What is a good prediction question to ask after reading this sentence?

As Buck lives in the wild, he summons his natural instincts for survival.

It was no task for him to learn to fight with cut and slash and the quick wolf snap. In this manner had fought forgotten ancestors. They quickened the old life within him, and the old tricks which they had stamped into the heredity of the breed were his tricks. They came to him without effort or discovery, as though they had been his always. And when, on the still cold nights, he pointed his nose at a star and howled long and wolflike, it was his ancestors, dead and dust, pointing nose at star and howling down through the centuries and through him. What is the meaning of this excerpt?

It is a part of the rising action that explains the outcome of a savage attack.

Later, the nine team-dogs gathered together and sought shelter in the forest. Though unpursued, they were in a sorry plight. There was not one who was not wounded in four or five places, while some were wounded grievously. Dub was badly injured in a hind leg; Dolly, the last husky added to the team at Dyea, had a badly torn throat; Joe had lost an eye; while Billee, the good-natured, with an ear chewed and rent to ribbons, cried and whimpered throughout the night. At daybreak they limped warily back to camp, to find the marauders gone and the two men in bad tempers. Why does the author include this detail?

Buck's love for Thornton

Thornton's command cracked out like a pistol-shot. Buck threw himself forward, tightening the traces with a jarring lunge. His whole body was gathered compactly together in the tremendous effort, the muscles writhing and knotting like live things under the silky fur. His great chest was low to the ground, his head forward and down, while his feet were flying like mad, the claws scarring the hard-packed snow in parallel grooves. The sled swayed and trembled, half-started forward. One of his feet slipped, and one man groaned aloud. Then the sled lurched ahead in what appeared a rapid succession of jerks, though it never really came to a dead stop again...half an inch . . . an inch . . . two inches . . . The jerks perceptibly diminished; as the sled gained momentum, he caught them up, till it was moving steadily along. What does Buck completing the task stand for?

"He's no slouch at dog-breakin', that's wot I say," one of the men on the wall cried enthusiastically.

Which line from Chapter One of Jack London's The Call of the Wild contains dialect?

Buck is instinctive and clever.

[Buck's] sight and scent became remarkably keen, while his hearing developed such acuteness that in his sleep he heard the faintest sound and knew whether it heralded peace or peril. He learned to bite the ice out with his teeth when it collected between his toes; and when he was thirsty and there was a thick scum of ice over the water hole, he would break it by rearing and striking it with stiff fore legs. His most conspicuous trait was an ability to scent the wind and forecast it a night in advance. No matter how breathless the air when he dug his nest by tree or bank, the wind that later blew inevitably found him to leeward, sheltered and snug. What is the best description of Buck's character, based on this excerpt?

The man is the antagonist because he is opposing Buck.

After a particularly fierce blow, he crawled to his feet, too dazed to rush. . . . All the pain he had endured was as nothing compared with the exquisite agony of this. With a roar that was almost lionlike in its ferocity, he again hurled himself at the man. But the man, shifting the club from right to left, coolly caught him by the under jaw, at the same time wrenching downward and backward. Buck described a complete circle in the air, and half of another, then crashed to the ground on his head and chest. What is the man's role in this excerpt?

It is right to be wary of the unknown.

Buck had accepted the rope with quiet dignity. To be sure, it was an unwonted performance: but he had learned to trust in men he knew, and to give them credit for a wisdom that outreached his own. But when the ends of the rope were placed in the stranger's hands, he growled menacingly. He had merely intimated his displeasure, in his pride believing that to intimate was to command. But to his surprise the rope tightened around his neck, shutting off his breath. What theme does the excerpt convey?

"Well, there you are! I was just fixin' to call you because they ain't got your flight information posted."

Ginny headed to baggage claim, knowing she would find her suitcase there. She hoped her uncle would be there, too, though he sometimes opted to call from his cell phone outside the terminal. She hefted her heavy carry-on bag, stepped on the escalator, and began the descent. She heard him before she saw him. "Well, there you are! I was just fixin' to call you because they ain't got your flight information posted." "Hi, Charley!" Ginny responded. "We were delayed flying out of Newark, but it was an easy flight." The two embraced and headed toward the baggage turnstile, where a hot pink suitcase was emerging. Which line from the story contains dialect?

He does not seek confrontation, but he is vicious in his own defense.

He did not like to be approached on his blind side. Of this offence Buck was unwittingly guilty, and the first knowledge he had of his indiscretion was when Sol-leks whirled upon him and slashed his shoulder to the bone for three inches up and down. Forever after Buck avoided his blind side, and to the last of their comradeship had no more trouble. His only apparent ambition, like Dave's, was to be left alone. What is the best description of Sol-leks's character, based on this excerpt?

Mercedes is soft-hearted and sympathetic toward the dogs, while Hal and Charles are quick-tempered and cruel.

How is Mercedes different from Hal and Charles in The Call of the Wild?

Displays of emotion are not productive.

In his anger he had met the first advances of the express messengers with growls, and they had retaliated by teasing him. When he flung himself against the bars, quivering and frothing, they laughed at him and taunted him. They growled and barked like detestable dogs, mewed, and flapped their arms and crowed. It was all very silly, he knew; but therefore the more outrage to his dignity, and his anger waxed and waxed. What theme does the excerpt convey?

Traveling by train was common.

The next he knew, he was dimly aware that his tongue was hurting and that he was being jolted along in some kind of a conveyance. The hoarse shriek of a locomotive whistling a crossing told him where he was. He had travelled too often with the Judge not to know the sensation of riding in a baggage car. What does the excerpt reveal about the historical context of the story?

Buck's fear of the unknown world in the wild

The salient thing of this other world seemed fear. When he watched the hairy man sleeping by the fire, head between his knees and hands clasped above, Buck saw that he slept restlessly, with many starts and awakenings, at which times he would peer fearfully into the darkness and fling more wood upon the fire. What does Buck's fear of the hairy man represent?

Buck's obedience to serve Thornton

The team of ten dogs was unhitched, and Buck, with his own harness, was put into the sled. He had caught the contagion of the excitement, and he felt that in some way he must do a great thing for John Thornton. What does the harness represent?

how exhausted the dogs are.

They were simply so many bags of bones in which sparks of life fluttered faintly. When a halt was made, they dropped down in the traces like dead dogs, and the spark dimmed and paled and seemed to go out. And when the club or whip fell upon them, the spark fluttered feebly up, and they tottered to their feet and staggered on. The descriptive language in this excerpt help readers to visualize

how desperate the dogs are to eat.

A poor substitute for food was this hide, just as it had been stripped from the starved horses of the cattlemen six months back. In its frozen state it was more like strips of galvanized iron, and when a dog wrestled it into his stomach it thawed into thin and innutritious leathery strings and into a mass of short hair, irritating and indigestible. The sensory details in this excerpt help the reader understand

weak and gaunt.

All the stiffness and gloss had gone out of his beautiful furry coat. The hair hung down, limp and draggled... His muscles had wasted away to knotty strings, and the flesh pads had disappeared, so that each rib and every bone in his frame were outlined cleanly through the loose hide. . . . The descriptive language in this scene best shows readers that Buck is

the description of Dave as morose and irritable

But it was Dave who suffered most of all. Something had gone wrong with him. He became more morose and irritable, and when camp was pitched at once made his nest, where his driver fed him. Once out of the harness and down, he did not get on his feet again till harness-up time in the morning. Sometimes, in the traces, when jerked by a sudden stoppage of the sled, or by straining to start it, he would cry out with pain. Which part of the excerpt is the best example of direct characterization?

It is a part of the rising action that shows the progress of the journey.

It was a hard day's run, up the Canon, through Sheep Camp, past the Scales and the timber line, across glaciers and snowdrifts hundreds of feet deep, and over the great Chilcoot Divide, which stands between the salt water and the fresh and guards forbiddingly the sad and lonely North. They made good time down the chain of lakes which fills the craters of extinct volcanoes, and late that night pulled into the huge camp at the head of Lake Bennett, where thousands of goldseekers were building boats against the break-up of the ice in the spring. Why does the author most likely include this detail?

satisfaction

Spring came on once more, and at the end of all their wandering they found, not the Lost Cabin, but a shallow placer in a broad valley where the gold showed like yellow butter across the bottom of the washing-pan. What does the "shallow placer in a broad valley" symbolize?

the quest to get to the lost mine

The "call" for Buck to return to the wild is symbolized by which situation for John Thornton?

drawn to the wild side of his nature.

[Buck] sat by John Thornton's fire, a broad-breasted dog, white-fanged and long-furred; but behind him were the shades of all manner of dogs, half-wolves and wild wolves, urgent and prompting, tasting the savor of the meat he ate, thirsting for the water he drank, scenting the wind with him, listening with him. The sensory details in this excerpt help readers understand that Buck is

"Dave refused to run quietly on the trail behind the sled, where the going was easy, but continued to flounder alongside in the soft snow, where the going was most difficult, till exhausted."

Which excerpt from The Call of the Wild is an example of indirect characterization?

how dry and tough the meat is

A poor substitute for food was this hide, just as it had been stripped from the starved horses of the cattlemen six months back. In its frozen state it was more like strips of galvanized iron, and when a dog wrestled it into his stomach it thawed into thin and innutritious leathery strings and into a mass of short hair, irritating and indigestible. What does the descriptive language in this passage help readers to visualize?

Perrault is fighting stray dogs that have invaded the campsite looking for food.

An oath from Perrault, the resounding impact of a club upon a bony frame, and a shrill yelp of pain, heralded the breaking forth of pandemonium. The camp was suddenly discovered to be alive with skulking furry forms,—starving huskies, four or five score of them, who had scented the camp from some Indian village. They had crept in while Buck and Spitz were fighting, and when the two men sprang among them with stout clubs they showed their teeth and fought back. They were crazed by the smell of the food. Perrault found one with head buried in the grub-box. What is the meaning of this excerpt?

Who will purchase Buck?

And at such times that money passed between them the strangers took one or more of the dogs away with them. Buck wondered where they went, for they never came back; but the fear of the future was strong upon him, and he was glad each time when he was not selected. What is a good prediction question to ask after reading this excerpt?

There is a market for stolen dogs to be used for labor in the North.

And this was the manner of dog Buck was in the fall of 1897, when the Klondike strike dragged men from all the world into the frozen North. But Buck did not read the newspapers, and he did not know that Manuel, one of the gardener's helpers, was an undesirable acquaintance. . . . The Judge was at a meeting of the Raisin Growers' Association, and the boys were busy organizing an athletic club, on the memorable night of Manuel's treachery. No one saw him and Buck go off through the orchard on what Buck imagined was merely a stroll. And with the exception of a solitary man, no one saw them arrive at the little flag station known as College Park. This man talked with Manuel, and money chinked between them. What does the excerpt reveal about the historical context of the story?

skilled or capable

Apt scholar that he was, they were equally apt teachers, never allowing him to linger long in error, and enforcing their teaching with their sharp teeth. What is the meaning of the underlined word?

an agreeable handshake between two friends

As Thornton got to his feet, Buck seized his mittened hand between his jaws, pressing in with his teeth and releasing slowly, half-reluctantly. What does this event symbolize?

It is a colder climate than Buck has ever experienced.

At the first step upon the cold surface, Buck's feet sank into a white mushy something very like mud. He sprang back with a snort. More of this white stuff was falling through the air. He shook himself, but more of it fell upon him. He sniffed it curiously, then licked some up on his tongue. It bit like fire, and the next instant was gone. This puzzled him. He tried it again, with the same result. The onlookers laughed uproariously. What does this excerpt reveal about the setting of the story?

What sort of work will Francois require of Buck?

Before he had recovered from the shock caused by the tragic passing of Curly, he received another shock. Francois fastened upon him an arrangement of straps and buckles. It was a harness, such as he had seen the grooms put on the horses at home. What is a good prediction question to ask after reading this excerpt?

character vs. society

No lazy, sun-kissed life was this, with nothing to do but loaf and be bored. 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. Which type of conflict is shown in this excerpt?

"Billee wagged his tail appeasingly, turned to run when he saw that appeasement was of no avail, and cried (still appeasingly) when Spitz's sharp teeth scored his flank."

Billee's one fault was his excessive good nature, while Joe was the very opposite, sour and introspective, with a perpetual snarl and a malignant eye. Buck received them in comradely fashion, Dave ignored them, while Spitz proceeded to thrash first one and then the other. Billee wagged his tail appeasingly, turned to run when he saw that appeasement was of no avail, and cried (still appeasingly) when Spitz's sharp teeth scored his flank. But no matter how Spitz circled, Joe whirled around on his heels to face him, mane bristling, ears laid back, lips writhing and snarling, jaws clipping together as fast as he could snap, and eyes diabolically gleaming—the incarnation of belligerent fear. So terrible was his appearance that Spitz was forced to forego disciplining him; but to cover his own discomfiture he turned upon the inoffensive and wailing Billee and drove him to the confines of the camp. Which line from the excerpt offers an indirect characterization of Bilee?

How will Buck be affected by the unsettling news?

Buck did not read the newspapers, or he would have known that trouble was brewing, not alone for himself, but for every tide-water dog, strong of muscle and with warm, long hair, from Puget Sound to San Diego. What is a good prediction question to ask after reading this sentence?

direct characterization to show what the men are like.

Buck felt vaguely that there was no depending upon these two men and the woman. They did not know how to do anything, and as the days went by it became apparent that they could not learn. . . . . . . Not only did they not know how to work dogs, but they did not know how to work themselves. This excerpt mainly uses

Hal and Charles are not nearly as experienced or hardworking.

Buck felt vaguely that there was no depending upon these two men and the woman. They did not know how to do anything, and as the days went by it became apparent that they could not learn. . . . . . . Not only did they not know how to work dogs, but they did not know how to work themselves. Which statement best describes how Hal and Charles differ from the dogs' previous owner?

Manuel is the antagonist because he is altering the protagonist's fate.

But Buck did not read the newspapers, and he did not know that Manuel, one of the gardener's helpers, was an undesirable acquaintance. . . . The Judge was at a meeting of the Raisin Growers' Association, and the boys were busy organizing an athletic club, on the memorable night of Manuel's treachery. No one saw him and Buck go off through the orchard on what Buck imagined was merely a stroll. And with the exception of a solitary man, no one saw them arrive at the little flag station known as College Park. This man talked with Manuel, and money chinked between them. What is Manuel's role in this excerpt?

The character vs. character conflict reveals a disagreement about the lead dog.

But he circled just beyond the range of the club, snarling with bitterness and rage; and while he circled he watched the club so as to dodge it if thrown by Francois, for he was become wise in the way of clubs. The driver went about his work, and he called to Buck when he was ready to put him in his old place in front of Dave. Buck retreated two or three steps. Francois followed him up, whereupon he again retreated. After some time of this, Francois threw down the club, thinking that Buck feared a thrashing. But Buck was in open revolt. What does the conflict in this excerpt reveal about Buck and Francois?

"I've been buyin' us tickets for next weekend's show uptown at the Grand. I hope I can talk you into leavin' the stoop for one night."

Carla could see all of Grace Court from her chair, but there was still no sign of her brother. She had been reviewing for Monday's poetry quiz and enjoying the subtle signs of spring. She closed her eyes and recited a Langston Hughes line, only to be interrupted by a commotion. It was Lucas, returning on his bike and greeting neighbors as he passed. Soon he skidded to a stop at the curb by Carla's feet. "What are you so excited about, Lucas?" she asked, "and where have you been for the past hour?" "I've been buyin' us tickets for next weekend's show uptown at the Grand. I hope I can talk you into leavin' the stoop for one night." "What show?" Carla asked, with mounting excitement at the prospect of an evening out. Which line from the story contains dialect?

states how the men look and says that they do not belong in the North.

Charles was a middle-aged, lightish-colored man, with weak and watery eyes and a mustache that twisted fiercely and vigorously up, giving the lie to the limply drooping lip it concealed. Hal was a youngster of nineteen or twenty . . . . Both men were manifestly out of place, and why such as they should adventure the North is part of the mystery of things that passes understanding. Readers can tell that London is using direct characterization to describe Charles and Hal because he

Spitz is the antagonist because he challenges Buck.

Close in under the sheltering rock Buck made his nest. So snug and warm was it, that he was loath to leave it when Francois distributed the fish which he had first thawed over the fire. But when Buck finished his ration and returned, he found his nest occupied. A warning snarl told him that the trespasser was Spitz. Till now Buck had avoided trouble with his enemy, but this was too much. The beast in him roared. He sprang upon Spitz with a fury which surprised them both, and Spitz particularly, for his whole experience with Buck had gone to teach him that his rival was an unusually timid dog, who managed to hold his own only because of his great weight and size. Who or what is the antagonist in this excerpt?

It is a part of the exposition that introduces Sol-leks's characteristics.

He was called Sol-leks, which means the Angry One. Like Dave, he asked nothing, gave nothing, expected nothing; and when he marched slowly and deliberately into their midst, even Spitz left him alone. He had one peculiarity which Buck was unlucky enough to discover. He did not like to be approached on his blind side. Of this offence Buck was unwittingly guilty, and the first knowledge he had of his indiscretion was when Sol-leks whirled upon him and slashed his shoulder to the bone for three inches up and down. Why does the author most likely include this detail?

They suffer as a result of their owners' inexperience.

In what way are the new "outside dogs" similar to the sled dogs in The Call of the Wild?

They are the antagonists because they oppose Buck's efforts to find shelter.

That night Buck faced the great problem of sleeping. The tent, illumined by a candle, glowed warmly in the midst of the white plain; and when he, as a matter of course, entered it, both Perrault and Francois bombarded him with curses and cooking utensils, till he recovered from his consternation and fled ignominiously into the outer cold. What are Perrault's and Francois's roles in the excerpt?

climax

That winter, at Dawson, Buck performed another exploit, not so heroic, perhaps, but one that put his name many notches higher on the totem-pole of Alaskan fame. This exploit was particularly gratifying to the three men; for they stood in need of the outfit which it furnished, and were enabled to make a long-desired trip into the virgin East, where miners had not yet appeared. It was brought about by a conversation in the Eldorado Saloon, in which men waxed boastful of their favorite dogs. Where does this event fit in the plot's structure?

It gives reasons for why the dogs and men are so exhausted that readers may not understand if Buck narrated the story.

The drivers confidently expected a long stopover. Themselves, they had covered twelve hundred miles with two days' rest, and in the nature of reason and common justice they deserved an interval of loafing. But so many were the men who had rushed into the Klondike, and so many were the sweethearts, wives, and kin that had not rushed in, that the congested mail was taking on Alpine proportions; also, there were official orders. Which statement best describes the role that the third-person-omniscient point of view plays in this excerpt?

Spitz is the antagonist because the others are rebelling against his leadership.

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. Pike robbed him of half a fish one night, and gulped it down under the protection of Buck. Another night Dub and Joe fought Spitz and made him forego the punishment they deserved. And even Billee, the good-natured, was less good-natured, and whined not half so placatingly as in former days. Buck never came near Spitz without snarling and bristling menacingly. In fact, his conduct approached that of a bully, and he was given to swaggering up and down before Spitz's very nose. Who is the antagonist in this excerpt?

Buck pulls the sled to the hundred-yard mark.

Thornton's command cracked out like a pistol-shot. Buck threw himself forward, tightening the traces with a jarring lunge. His whole body was gathered compactly together in the tremendous effort, the muscles writhing and knotting like live things under the silky fur. His great chest was low to the ground, his head forward and down, while his feet were flying like mad, the claws scarring the hard-packed snow in parallel grooves. The sled swayed and trembled, half-started forward. One of his feet slipped, and one man groaned aloud. What happened after this event?

"Dave refused to run quietly on the trail behind the sled, where the going was easy, but continued to flounder alongside in the soft snow, where the going was most difficult, till exhausted."

Which excerpt from The Call of the Wild provides story details that would likely be absent if Buck were the narrator?

Dog and man watched [the sled] crawling along over the ice... They saw Charles turn and make one step to run back, and then a whole section of ice gave way and dogs and humans disappear. A yawning hole was all that was to be seen.

Which excerpt from The Call of the Wild shows both a beginning and an end to an episode in Buck's life?

He has a playful and affectionate nature.

[Thornton] had a way of taking Buck's head roughly between his hands, and resting his own head upon Buck's, of shaking him back and forth, the while calling him ill names that to Buck were love names. What does the description in this excerpt help readers understand about Thornton?