The Call of the Wild
Chapter 2 — Teaching Companion
Jack London · Trailblazers 4th–6th
Coaching, not a script — and not an answer key: every question here has more than one defensible answer.
This chapter's big question
When Buck's first theft goes unsuspected and Dub is punished for it, is what Buck gains by living under the law of club and fang worth what he loses?
The tension Every lesson that keeps Buck alive, digging into the snow, eating fast, stealing the bacon, is also a step away from the law of love and fellowship he knew in the Southland. The theft goes unsuspected and Dub, always getting caught, is punished for it; the chapter says Buck did not reason it out, and then calls the same change development and retrogression in one breath. Dave's fair correction stands beside the huskies' merciless circle around Curly, so that fairness and ruthlessness both belong to the law of club and fang.
Today's focus
Notice how Buck learns the trail: by watching, by being nipped, by hunger, and by old instinct. Then weigh what each lesson gives him and what it takes away.
Two core ideas
- The chapter opens with Buck deciding there is "No fair play", yet fairness still appears in Dave's nips and in François's axe.
- Buck's changes come from watching, hunger, and inherited instinct, and the narrator says he did not reason them out.
The shape at a glance
On the Dyea beach Buck sees Curly killed by a circle of huskies and is put in harness. He learns the team's ways from Dave and Sol-leks, sleeps in a snow hole like Billee, and, a day after Pike steals a slice of bacon, takes a whole chunk himself while Dub takes the punishment. The chapter ends with Buck howling at a star as old instincts wake.
A way in
Start with Curly and the silent circle. Ask what Buck decides, then ask the student to find a place later in the chapter that tests that decision.
Lesson plan
Retell The student tells the chapter back in order: Curly, the harness, the tent and the snow hole, the trail, the hunger, the bacon, the howl.
Imitate the author After copying the passage, the student writes three sentences that each turn on the same verb, letting the third turn against the first two, as London's third "marked" does.
Debate Put Dub in the room. One side says Buck's theft is what a fit dog does; the other says a wrong is a wrong whoever is hungry. Each side must use one line from the chapter.
Purpose Close by asking whether a creature can become more capable and less good in one act, and which lines in the chapter show it.
Easier Keep to three moments: Curly's death, Dave's nip, and the bacon. Talk through discussion questions 1, 2 and 4 only.
On level Talk through all five discussion questions, then have the student write one critical-thinking answer with two pieces of evidence.
Harder Ask the student to find one more place in the chapter where fairness, or its absence, shows, and add it to a critical-thinking answer.
Discussion
- A silent circle of huskies buries Curly, and Buck decides, "No fair play." Does what he goes on to see in this chapter prove him right?Inference
What it asks It asks whether the lesson Buck takes from Curly's death holds up against the rest of what the chapter shows him.
One reading
Yes. The chapter keeps showing a world where the one who goes down or gets caught pays, fair or not.
So that was the way. No fair play. Once down, that was the end of you.
Dub, an awkward blunderer who was always getting caught, was punished for Buck’s misdeed.
Another reading
No, or not entirely. Fairness shows up in people and dogs on the team itself.
he saw François, swinging an axe, spring into the mess of dogs
Dave was fair and very wise.
Listen for
- Separates what Buck sees on the beach from what he meets on the trail.
- Uses Dave or François as evidence, not only Curly.
If stuck
- What happens to Curly once she is down, and who runs in?
- How does Dave treat Buck when Buck makes a mistake?
- Does anyone in this chapter get away with something, and who pays?
A strong answer Buck sees Curly fall and be buried by the huskies, and he decides there is "No fair play." That holds in places: the huskies gather for the kill, and Dub is punished for a theft that was not his. But François swings an axe into the mess of dogs, and the chapter calls Dave "fair and very wise". So Buck's lesson is true of the huskies' circle and not of everything he meets. A strong answer says where the lesson holds and where it does not, using lines from both.
- Dave nips Buck again and again, yet the chapter calls him "fair and very wise." What makes a nip fair?Character
What it asks It asks what fairness means when it is enforced with teeth, and what Dave does that the huskies' circle does not.
One reading
It is fair because it fits the mistake: Dave nips only when Buck is wrong, and only when he needs it.
He never nipped Buck without cause, and he never failed to nip him when he stood in need of it.
Buck took good care to keep the traces clear thereafter
Another reading
It is fair only in a limited way: it is still teeth, and the whip stands behind it.
enforcing their teaching with their sharp teeth
As François’s whip backed him up, Buck found it to be cheaper to mend his ways than to retaliate.
Listen for
- Says what "cause" means in Dave's rule.
- Notices the whip behind the nip.
If stuck
- When does Dave nip Buck, and when does he not?
- What does Buck do after he has been nipped?
- Who else stands behind Dave's teaching?
A strong answer The chapter gives Dave's rule in one line: he never nipped Buck without cause, and never failed to when Buck needed it. That is fair because the nip follows the mistake and Buck learns from it. But it is still teeth, and Buck finds it "cheaper to mend his ways than to retaliate" partly because François's whip backs Dave up. A strong answer says what fairness needs here (cause, fit, teaching) and whether the whip changes it.
- Dave and Sol-leks ask nothing of the camp, yet in harness they become "new dogs." What is the work giving them?Theme
What it asks It asks why two dogs who seem dull in camp come alive in the traces, and whether that is a good thing for them.
One reading
The work gives them purpose and delight; it is where they are most themselves.
They were alert and active, anxious that the work should go well
The toil of the traces seemed the supreme expression of their being
Another reading
The work is all they have, so their lives are narrow as well as full.
Like Dave, he asked nothing, gave nothing, expected nothing
the only thing in which they took delight
Listen for
- Compares the dogs in camp with the dogs in harness.
- Decides whether one great delight makes a life full or small.
If stuck
- What do Dave and Sol-leks do in camp?
- What changes the moment they are in harness?
- What does the chapter say the toil is to them?
A strong answer In camp Dave and Sol-leks ask nothing, give nothing, and expect nothing. In harness "All passiveness and unconcern had dropped from them", and the toil is "the supreme expression of their being". So the work gives them purpose and delight. It is also "the only thing in which they took delight", which makes their lives narrow as well as full. A strong answer weighs both and stays with what the chapter says about these two dogs.
- Buck copies Pike and steals the bacon, and Dub is punished for it. Who, if anyone, is to blame?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks how to share blame among a hungry dog, the dog he copied, and a place where the wrong dog pays.
One reading
Buck is to blame. He watched, he copied, and Dub was punished for what he did.
he duplicated the performance the following day, getting away with the whole chunk
was punished for Buck’s misdeed
Another reading
The place is to blame. Hunger and the rules here push a dog to steal.
so greatly did hunger compel him
He did not steal for joy of it, but because of the clamor of his stomach.
Listen for
- Names more than one candidate for blame.
- Keeps apart why Buck stole and what happens to Dub.
If stuck
- Who stole bacon first, and who copied him?
- Why is Buck so hungry?
- Who is punished, and did he do it?
A strong answer Buck takes the bacon the day after watching Pike, and it is Dub, who was "always getting caught", who is punished for Buck's misdeed. The narrator's own word, "misdeed", does not excuse him. But the chapter also says hunger compelled him, that his mates robbed his ration, and that he "did not steal for joy of it". A strong answer gives each party a fair share, Buck, Pike, and hunger, and says which weighs most.
- London ends Buck's howl at the star with a yellow metal and Manuel's wages. Why might he bring them back at the very end?Author's choice
What it asks It asks what the last sentence does: why a chapter about Buck's change ends on a gardener's helper and a gold strike.
One reading
It makes Buck's change look pulled by small causes he cannot see, like a puppet's.
Thus, as token of what a puppet thing life is
because Manuel was a gardener’s helper whose wages did not lap over the needs of his wife and divers small copies of himself
Another reading
It treats the change as a return as well as a loss, something old coming back through him.
he came into his own again
it was his ancestors, dead and dust, pointing nose at star and howling down through the centuries and through him
Listen for
- Notices small causes placed beside an ancient feeling.
- Points to words that decide how the ending feels.
If stuck
- What two causes does the last sentence give for Buck coming into his own?
- What is Buck doing just before, on the still cold night?
- What does the word "puppet" suggest about who holds the strings?
A strong answer The last sentence traces Buck's ancient song back to a yellow metal and a gardener's helper with too little money, so a large change rests on small causes. "A puppet thing life is" makes Buck look pulled by strings he cannot see. But the sentence also says "he came into his own again", which treats the change as a return. London leaves both in one sentence. A strong answer says which the ending makes the reader feel more, and points to the words that do it.
Critical thinking
- Billee wags his tail and cries; Joe whirls to face Spitz with his mane bristling. Using two pieces of evidence, explain which brother is better fitted to this life.
What it asks It asks the student to weigh two opposite ways of meeting a bully and to back one choice with two pieces of evidence.
One reading
Joe is better fitted: his defiance makes Spitz back off.
So terrible was his appearance that Spitz was forced to forego disciplining him
he turned upon the inoffensive and wailing Billee and drove him to the confines of the camp
Another reading
Billee is better fitted: his good nature finds him a warm bed and a welcome.
there, curled up under the snow in a snug ball, lay Billee
a friendly little yelp reassured him
Listen for
- Two separate pieces of evidence, not one told twice.
- Says what the other brother has that the first lacks.
If stuck
- What happens to Billee when Spitz circles him?
- What happens to Spitz when Joe faces him?
- Where does Buck find Billee that night?
A strong answer Joe "whirled around on his heels to face" Spitz, and his appearance was so terrible that Spitz was forced to forego disciplining him, while Billee wails and is driven to the edge of the camp. On the first day Joe's defiance does better. But Billee is the one found warm in a snug hole under the snow, whose friendly yelp turns Buck's fear to ease, and whose hole is where Buck learns to sleep. A strong answer picks one brother, gives two different pieces of evidence, and says what the other brother has that he lacks.
- François gets "instant obedience" with his whip, and Perrault packs the snow ahead of the team. Using two pieces of evidence, explain whether these men are hard, caring, or both.
What it asks It asks the student to judge two men by what they do to the dogs, and to decide whether care with a purpose still counts as care.
One reading
They are hard men who drive the dogs by force.
François was stern, demanding instant obedience, and by virtue of his whip receiving instant obedience
both Perrault and François bombarded him with curses and cooking utensils
Another reading
They look after their dogs, because the dogs are what carry them.
Perrault travelled ahead of the team, packing the snow with webbed shoes to make it easier for them
Perrault even honored Buck by lifting up his feet and carefully examining them
Listen for
- Uses what the men do, not only what the narrator says.
- Notices that hard and caring can both be true.
If stuck
- What does François do to get obedience?
- What does Perrault do for the team on the trail?
- Why does Perrault want the best dogs?
A strong answer Both readings rest on what the men do. François is stern and gets instant obedience by his whip, and both men drive Buck out of the tent with curses and cooking utensils. But Perrault packs the snow ahead to make the way easier, and he lifts Buck's feet to examine them. The chapter also says Perrault is anxious to secure the best dogs, so the care has a purpose. A strong answer says whether care with a purpose is still care.
- Buck learns to bite the ice from his toes, and old fighting tricks come to him "without effort or discovery." Using two pieces of evidence, explain where his new skills come from.
What it asks It asks the student to sort Buck's new abilities into what he learns and what he inherits, and to weigh which matters more.
One reading
His skills come from hard experience: he watches, is taught, and learns by doing.
He learned to bite the ice out with his teeth when it collected between his toes
He watched and learned.
Another reading
His skills come from inheritance: old instincts wake in him.
instincts long dead became alive again
They came to him without effort or discovery, as though they had been his always.
Listen for
- Names one skill that is learned and one that is inherited.
- Says which source matters more for surviving the trail.
If stuck
- How does Buck learn to clear the ice from his toes?
- What does the chapter say about the old fighting tricks?
- What does "not only" tell you about the narrator's answer?
A strong answer The narrator says it is both: "not only did he learn by experience, but instincts long dead became alive again." Buck learns to bite the ice out from between his toes and to break the scum on the water hole with stiff fore legs, which hard days taught him. The old fighting tricks come "without effort or discovery". A strong answer sorts the skills, gives two different pieces of evidence, and says which source matters more on this trail.