Call Of The Wild Study Guide Answers
How does The Call of the Wild present the human-dog relationship? London’s novel is the story of ’s transformation from a pampered pet to a fierce, masterful wild animal, and this transformation naturally means that the canine protagonist gradually separates himself from his human masters on his way to achieving a final independence.
Nevertheless, The Call of the Wild ultimately offers an ambiguous, rather than negative, portrait of Buck’s relationship to humanity. It suggests that while some human-dog relationships can be disastrous to the dog’s welfare, others are mutually beneficial, and a natural love can develop between dogs and their masters. The negative side of the man-dog compact is embodied in, whose inexperience, stubbornness, and general incompetence bring disaster not only on themselves but also on their sled dogs.
The trio’s failure to understand the laws of the wild ultimately leads to the death of every one of their animals—except, of course, Buck, whom saves. It is Thornton, whom Buck loves intensely, who embodies the better way in which humans and dogs can be partners, where each looks out for the other’s welfare. Buck’s visions of primitive man and his faithful dog suggest that this relationship is ultimately more primitive than civilized, and that there may be a natural bond between men and their dogs that predates modern society. Nevertheless, the story ultimately demands that even this bond be cast aside and that Buck seek his own way—suggesting that for the truly masterful animal, the greatest of dogs, having a master is only a temporary condition. What is the “law of club and fang”? What does it represent?
Call of the Wild study guide contains a biography of Jack London, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Call of the Wild study guide contains a biography of Jack London, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.
How is Buck introduced to it? The opening of the novel sets up a contrast between two worlds: the sunny, comfortable world of Judge Miller’s estate, where Buck lives in spoiled, lordly contentment, and the harsh, frigid world of the Klondike, where he is dragged against his will. The judge’s world, as his title suggests, is defined by moral and legal codes, while the world of the Klondike is governed by a very different law.
In the cold North, might makes right, and one must be willing to fight if one wishes to stay alive. Strength, not justice, is the central value.
Buck learns this lesson from two events. First, he is beaten with a club by one of his kidnappers until he learns obedience, an event that teaches him about the power of violence and about the need to give in when threatened by a superior force. This reality constitutes the law of the club, and Buck learns the law of the fang when he arrives in Canada and watches one of his fellow dogs, a female dog named Curly, torn to pieces by a pack of huskies.
The Call of the Wild Study Guide by Lisa Tiffin For the novel by Jack London Grades 8–12 Reproducible Pages #433 CD Version. Call of the wild study guide answer key is available in our book collection an online access to it is set as public so you can get it instantly.
“So that was the way,” he thinks to himself. “No fair play. Once down, that was the end of you.” These are the rules that Buck learns to live by and excel at in order to eventually become a king whose rule is defined by the “law of club and fang.”. Discuss the influence of Charles Darwin’s and Friedrich Nietzsche’s theories on The Call of the Wild. In writing his novel, Jack London was profoundly influenced by the writings of these two nineteenth-century thinkers. Darwin, the founding father of evolution theory, taught that life in the natural world consisted of a constant struggle for survival, in which only the strong could thrive and produce offspring.
This “survival of the fittest,” as Herbert Spencer, an English philosopher, termed it, was the engine that drove evolution. The world that London creates in The Call of the Wild operates strictly according to Darwinist principles in its brutality and amorality—only the fit survive in the cruel landscape of the Klondike. Nietzsche was a German philosopher who preached the doctrine of the “will to power” as the driving force behind society. Moral considerations were meaningless, he declared, and all members of humanity were either masters, driven to dominate others, or slaves, driven to submit.
London transposes this scheme to the animal world, using Nietzschean language repeatedly to describe Buck's quest to achieve mastery and dominion over his enemies, from Spitz to the animals he hunts in the forest to the Yeehat Indians who kill Thornton. Buck is clearly a canine version of Nietzsche's superman. He is an Alexander the Great among dogs, since his will to power drives him to excel.
Similarly, the audience celebrates his victories, not because he is moral but because he is mighty.
Spent a single winter in the Canadian North during the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897-1898. When he returned, he claimed to have come upon a mythic wolf which inspired the character of in The. Whether or not London was speaking of a true encounter, his experiences with the Gold Rush provided the inspiration for a tale of resilience and exploration. Much of the story takes place in Alaska, traveling between Dawson and Skagway. The discovery of gold prompted a mass exodus to the Klondike, where gold was hypothetically free for the taking.
The town of Dawson became the heart of the Gold Rush; for in 1886, Captain Moore, a citizen of Canada who had been prospecting for gold in the Canadian northwest, discovered a trail he called the 'White Pass.' This trail allowed for the transportation of supplies, correspondence, and men into the Alaskan interior, and it lead directly to Dawson. In reality, the journey to the Klondike was a dangerous and expensive undertaking. Canadian law stated that gold-seekers could only enter the territory if they entered with a year's worth of provisions. This law was rigidly enforced by police patrols. Meanwhile, the journey to the Klondike by ship was so dangerous that many threw supplies overboard to lighten the load. Once the ships had landed, the journey grew no easier.
Numerous memoirs and diaries remain from the men and women who toiled over the icy trail in that year. Their accounts of the journey between Skaguay and Dawson are the best source of what life was like on an expedition. Writings speak of rugged canyons, boldly ascending mountains, and projecting cliffs. London borrowed money from his sister to make the trip.
On the one hand he was spurred on by poverty, for America was in the throes of the Great Depression. On the other hand, he sought adventure and inspiration. While London did not strike it rich in the Klondike, he found the inspiration he was seeking, and that impetus would lead to tremendous success and certain amount of fortune. London would have had abundant experience with the sled-dogs that were the most popular choice for transporting people and supplies into the Klondike. The most common breeds were the huskies (and their cross-breeds from the river country), stocky and gray with short, erect ears and thick coat, intelligent and majestic, and the malamute, an Alaska Indian dog crossed with the wolf and resembling the wolf in shape and size. They were mostly brownish-gray, friendly and easily led.
In the Gold Rush Arctic, the dog was of paramount importance. Men could not cover the great distances involved, much less carry their food and equipment, on foot. As yet there were no machines, not even railroads. Horses were bogged down by the snow and could not survive on fish, the most readily available food. London also would have known that many large dogs like Buck were stolen from the pacific northwest and sold as sled-dogs. London was clearly influenced by several important philosophers and scientists during the writing of The Call of the Wild. Darwin's theory of Evolution, Herbert Spencer's ideas about the 'survival of the fittest,' and Nietzsche's 'superman' theory play important roles in plot and characterization.
Call Of The Wild Chapter 5 Study Guide Answers
The presence of these overarching ideas lends credence to those who argue that The Call of the Wild should be read as an allegory for human experience. London sold the Call of the Wild in 1903 for a flat fee of two thousand dollars. He received no royalties from the millions of copies that sold in America and overseas.
But, the popularity of The Call of the Wild played an important role in London's continued success. How To Cite in MLA Format Montalvo, Jessica. Millman, China ed. 'Call of the Wild Study Guide'.
Study Guide For Call Of The Wild With Answers
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