The Call of the Wild

Study Guide - Student Guide

CHAPTER 1
Vocabulary
Arbors- n. vines Latent- adj. present or potential
Aristocrat- n. wealthy person Legion- n. a large number
Array- n. an orderly arrangement Metamorphosed- v. changed or transformed
Artesian well- n. a well drilled through Paddocks- n. enclosed fields in which horses are
impermeable layer to reach water capable of exercised
rising to the surface by internal hydrostatic Populous- adj. many people
pressure Primitive- adj. very basic
Calamity- n. disaster Progeny- n. children
Cayuses- n. small Western horses used by Prowess- n. superior ability
cowboys Revelation- n. something revealed or learned
Conciliated- v. made friends with Ruction- n. quarrel or noisy disturbance
Conveyance- n. means of transportation Sated- adj. fully satisfied
Culprit- n. a person guilty of a crime Slaver- n. saliva
Demesne- n. lands of an estate Soliloquized- v. talked to one’s self
Docilely- adv. Yieldingly to treatment or handling Square-head- n. slang a Scandinavian or a
Dominion- n. the exercise of control German
Genial- adj. friendly Tidewater- n. seacoast
Impending- v. likely or due to happen Treachery- n. betrayal
Imperiously- adv. urgently Uncowed- adj. not frightened
Incurious- adj. not curious Unwonted- adj. unusual
Insular- adj. Isolated; detached Weazened- adj. wizened; shriveled; withered
Kindred- n. family Wheedlingly- adv. attempting to persuade

Questions

1. How did Buck rule? hunted, carried children, guarded

2. Describe Buck. 140 lbs, half St. Bernard, half Scotch shepherd

3. Why did Manuel, the gardener, kidnap Buck? pay gambling debt

4. How did Buck react to the stranger's rope? Buck fought, but lost

5. Why was Buck going to Frisco? dog-doctor

6. Why did the strange men want Buck? sled dog

7. How did the four men treat Buck? laughed at him

8. How did the man in the red sweater in Seattle train Buck? Do you think that is the way to train an animal?
clubbed him; answers will vary

9. Explain this sentence, "He was beaten, but not broken." Physically, he had been beaten, but his spirit was
not broken.
10. What happened to the one dog who didn't obey? killed

11. How much did Perrault pay for Buck? $300

12. How did Buck and Curly, the Newfoundland get to Alaska? Narwhal=boat

13. How did Buck act in his first snow? sniffed, licked it

14. Why is this chapter called "Into the Primitive"? answers will vary

CHAPTER 2
Vocabulary
Appeasingly /appeasement- adv./n. trying to Malignant- adj. actively evil in nature
please Malingerer- n. one who pretends to be ill in order
Cadence- n. beat or rhythm of movement to escape work
Disconsolate- adj. hopelessly sad Placatingly- adv. appeasingly giving in easily
Draft animal- adj./n. an animal used for hauling Primordial- adj. primitive
heavy loads Reproof- n. scold
Fastidiousness- n. carefulness in all details Retrogression- n. the act of deteriorating
Gaunt- adj. haggard and emaciated Vicarious- adj. substituted from one thing for
Ignominiously- adv. shamefully another
Introspective- adj. given to private thought

1. Why was Buck's first day in Alaska like a nightmare? confusion, lawless

2. How did Curly die? attacked and killed by another dog

3. Why did Buck hate Spitz? leader

4. How did Francois and Perrault work Buck? sled dog

5. How were the dogs Dave and Sol-leks alike? both wanted to be left alone

6. How did Buck sleep in the snow? curled under the snow

7. What was Perrault's job? deliver dispatches

8. Why was Buck hitched between Dave and Sol-leks on the sled-dog team? to learn

9. When Francois guided the sled, how did Perrault help? webbed snowshoes

10. Why was Buck always hungry, even though he received a daily ration of 1-1/2 lbs. of salmon? bigger

11. Why was it okay to steal in "The Law of Club and Fang"? survival

12. Besides experience, how did Buck learn? instinct

13. Give examples of experience and instinct learning. experience=checking wind, instinct=fighting
14. Essay: Imagine and describe how Buck's life would have been if he would have stayed at Judge
Miller's place. Answers will vary

CHAPTER 3
Vocabulary
Adversary- n. enemy; opponent Insidious- adj. sly; crafty
Apex- n. the highest point of something Insubordination- n. disobedience
Climes- n. poetic for climate Paradox- n. a situation that seems to have
Covert- adj. concealed; hidden; disguised contradictory or inconsistent qualities
Daunted- adj. made afraid or discouraged Pre-eminently- adv. dominantly
Dubiously- adv. doubtfully Wraith- n. ghost
Inexorable- adj. unwilling to give in

Questions
1. How did Spitz treat Buck? enemy

2. Why was the fight between Spitz and Buck interrupted? starving huskies

3. How did the nine dogs from the team spend the night after the husky attack? in woods

4. Why was Perrault worried about making the 400 mile run to Dawson? dogs wounded, 2 rations gone

5. Why did Perrault build a fire a dozen times a day? 50 below, freezing water

6. why wouldn't Buck get his ration of fish? dog tired, sore feet

7. Why did Buck refuse to rise and lay on hisback with four feet in the air? wanted foot gear

8. How did Francois save Buck from mad Dolly? axed her

9. Why did Francois whip Spitz? attacked Buck

10. Why was there war between Spitz and Buck? Leader threatened

11. Why did Francois whip Buck? defending Pike

12. Why did Buck howl in Dawson? primordial

13. Give examples of the rebellion against Spitz? rob fish, Dub and Joe fought Spitz

14. When was Buck joyful? chasing rabbit

15. How did Buck and Spitz's fight to the death happen? Spitz killed the rabbit

16. Why did Buck win the fight with Spitz? imagination
CHAPTER 4
Vocabulary
Lugubriously- adv. very sadly or mournfully
Obdurate- adj. unyielding; stubborn

Questions
1. Why wouldn't Buck get into his old sled harness? wanted leadership

2. How did Buck behave as lead dog? superior

3. Why did Francois say that Buck was worth $1,000? broke two sled dogs in

4. Why was the 14-day trip a record run? 40 miles per day

5. Who took over the team after Perrault and Francois? Scott half-breedmail runner

6. Why didn't Buck like the mail run? monotonous

7. Why did Buck like laying by the fire? dreaming

8. Who was the hairy man in another world? Neanderthal

9. Why did snow slow the trip? heavier pulling

10. Why did Dave suffer most from the 1,800 mile run? sick

11. How did Dave die? shot

CHAPTER 5
Vocabulary
Amenities- n. pleasant qualities Jaded- adj. worn-out
Averred- v. declared Manifestly- adv. obviously; revealingly
Callous- adj. unfeeling Perambulating- v. walking
Chaffering- v. haggling over terms or price Remonstrance- n. a gesture of protest or scold
Callowness- n. youth and inexperience; Rending- v. violently tearing apart into pieces
immaturity Repugnance- n. extreme dislike
Copiously- adv. abundantly Rouse- v. to excite into anger or action
Evinced- v. showed clearly Salient- adj. noticeable; prominent
Fissures- n. narrow cracks Slipshod- adj. poorly made; shabby
Fraught- adj. accompanied Slovenly- adv. carelessly
Innocuously- adv. harmlessly Superfluous- more than is necessary
Irresolutely- adv. lacking a solution Wayfarers- n. those who travel

Questions
1. In what ways was the team in a "wretched state" when it reached Skagway? limping, weight loss, tired

2. If they'd travelled 2,500 miles in 5 months, how many miles did they average per month, per week, and
per day? 500, 125, 18
3. Why didn't Buck get a rest after the run? sold

4. Describe Hal and Charles? Hal=19 year old brother, Charles=moustached husband

5. Describe Charle's wife Mercedes? weak, lady, foolish

6. How were Hal, Charles and Mercedes unfit for the North? disorganized, unprepared

7. Why shouldn't they take the tent on the trip? overloaded sled

8. Why couldn't the dogs pull the load? tired, frozen

9. How did the family take the advice, "Half the load, twice the dogs"? discarded essentials

10. Why was 14 dogs too many? not enough rations

11. Why was this family doomed from the start of the trip? no order or discipline

12. Why did Hal go from overfeeding to underfeeding the dogs? 1/4 trip food half gone

13. How did Mercedes, Charles, and Hal treat each other? quarreled

14. Why did Mercedes ride on the sled? lady

15. Why did Hal trade his gun for horsehide? dog food

16. Why were the seven remaining dogs describe as a "bag of bones"? starving

17. Why did John Thornton advise them not to go on to Dawson? ice unsafe

19. What does the saying mean, "It was idle to get between a fool and his folly"? How did the family fit
that description? can't tell foolish people anything, because won't take advise

20. Why didn't Buck get up no matter how much Hal beat him? impending doom

21. Why didn't Buck lead the family's dog sled? Thornton intervened

22. What finally happened to the family? bottom dropped out of the trail

CHAPTER 6
Vocabulary
Conjuration- n. making a magic spell Millrace- n. the current of water that drives a mill
Contagion- n. a disease that can be transmitted wheel
Convalescence- n. gradual return to good health Peremptorily- adv. absolutely; without question
Extremity- n. dying stage Plethoric- adj. too full
Grubstaked- v. bought supplies for Wiliness- n. trickiness

1. Why did Jim Thornton's friends leave him beside the river? feet froze

2. How did Skeet, the Irish setter, care for Buck? licked wounds
3. What did Jim Thornton arouse in Buck? love

4. How did the man and Buck express their love for each other? man=roughed him, Buck=bit

5. Why did Buck follow Thornton everywhere? feared losing him

6. Why was Buck called more often into the forest? call of the wild

7. How did Buck react to Thornton's command to jump? jumped

8. What happened when Burton struck Thornton? Buck tore his throat

9. How did Buck save Thornton from the river? swam to him on a rope

10. How did Buck prove Thornton's boast was true? pulled 1,000 pound sled

11. Why did the odds go from two-to-one to three-to-one against Buck? sled frozen

12. What words did Thornton use to command Buck to pull? Gee! Haw! Mush!

13. Why did an onlooker offer Thornton $1,200 for Buck? Buck pulled the 1,000 lb. sled 100 yards

CHAPTER 7
Vocabulary
Ambuscade- n. place of surprise attack Palpitate- adj. quivering; trembling
Belie- v. to tell lies about Paroxysms- n. outbursts or convulsions
Certitude- n. certainty Pell-mell- adv. jumbled or confused
Cessation- v. ceasing or stopping Pertinacity- n. stubbornness; perseverance
Chaff- n. husks of grain that are separated when Placer- n. a deposit of sand mixed with gold
the grain is beaten during threshing Ptarmigan- n. a northern or alpine game bird
Commingled- v. mixed together Rampant- adj. unrestrained; spreading unchecked
Excrescence- n. natural outgrowth Slake- v. to satisfy
Imperiously- adv. overbearing; arrogant; Sluice boxes- n. long channels through which
domineering water is run, leaving the gold
Multitudinous- adj. crowded, great numbers Usurp- v. takes control over
Obliterated- v. wiped out Vigor- n. active physical or mental strength
Palmated- adj. shaped like a hand with the fingers Virility- n. masculine mental or physical strength
spread Wantonness- n. lack of discipline

Questions
1. How did Thornton spend the $1,600? lost mine

2. How did Thornton, Pete, and Hans get to the lost mine? travelled by land

3. In spring, what did they find instead of the lost mine? found a broad valley

4. What dreams did Buck have of the hairy man? following him
5. How did Buck respond to these strange desires? ran free

6. Who was making the night call? timber wolf

7. How was Buck rewarded by the wolf? wolf wanted him to follow

8. Why was Buck happy running with the wolf? answering the call

9. Why did Buck leave the wolf? return to Thornton

10. How did Buck survive for weeks while looking for the wolf? hunted

11. How was Buck transformed when he was in the wild? killer

12. Why was Buck successful in killing the bull moose? persistence

13. Why did the Yeehats flee the camp? Buck attached him

14. How had John Thornton died? Yeehat arrows

15. Why was Buck ready to obey the calls from the wild? John Thornton was dead

16. When did Buck join the wolf pack? after killing leaders