Call of the Wild Essay Test

1. Describe the changes Buck had undergone throughout the book. Be specific and support your answer with examples from the book. Consider each phase of Buck's life!
   Buck was at first a domesticated dog. He then learned there was no fair play and no mercy from the death of Curly. Later, Buck became a survivor and learned to live out in the Arctic cold, his senses became sharper, he used whatever food he got to the greatest extent. Buck became lead dog, and qualities necessary for that came up. From long hard work Buck became tired, and he became immune to the sting of the whip and the club. After much rest, Buck felt something he had never before felt for any person: love. Buck became even stronger and more cunning, intelligent. He could see, think, and act for something in an instant. At the end of the book, he became totally wild, his last tie to humanity broken forever by the death of Thornton.
2. Buck eventually became leader among the dogs. Consider the qualities that Buck needed to become this leader. List each of these qualities. Then, give an example of a situation where Buck showed each quality.
   

   respectful

   the other dogs had to show respect to him as leader.

   fair

   he had to punish a dog who didn't do what he was supposed to.

   knowledge

   Buck had to know what to do when a turn came up, how to go up or down hills, etc.

   quick thinking and action

   If a fight broke out, or if ice fell in on the trail, Buck had to act quickly to preserve the unity of the team and to keep the team alive.

3. Even though Buck was a leader and a fighter, he was afraid. What was Buck's fear and why did this frighten him? Support your answer with situations from the book.
   Buck's fear was of humans. He was afraid because they held the club or other weapon. He first became afraid from the man in the red sweater when he learned the law of club and fang. He was also afraid when Francois and Perralelt were chasing him with clubs when he was trying to be lead dog (after he had killed Spitz).
4. One device Jack London uses in this literature classic is "foreshadowing." Explain what "foreshadowing" is. Then, give at least two examples of how London uses this literary device in Call of the Wild. Be sure to fully explain each situation.
   Foreshadowing is giving the reader an idea of something that will come later in the book. One example is at the very beginning where it says strong, heavy dogs were wanted in the Yukon. This describes Buck. He would later be taken north. Another example is when Buck sensed the impending doom, he could feel how thin the ice was. The rest of the team later fell through the ice.
5. London titled his book Call of the Wild. Explain, fully, what this "call" is. Who/What responds to this "call?" Why? What are the reasons for this "call?" How does this responder answer the call?
   The call is the emerging of Buck's instincts, gradually making him wild. Buck responds finally to the call because Thornton, his last tie to humanity, was killed. The reasons are that Thornton dies, and also that Buck's instincts have became too strong for him ever to be re-domesticated. Buck answers "yes" to the call, and becomes a creature of the wild.