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Chapter 2

The Call of the Wild

Trailblazers · 4th–6th

Copywork

This first theft marked Buck as fit to survive in the hostile Northland environment. It marked his adaptability, his capacity to adjust himself to changing conditions, the lack of which would have meant swift and terrible death. It marked, further, the decay or going to pieces of his moral nature, a vain thing and a handicap in the ruthless struggle for existence.

After copying, underline the word "marked" each time it appears. Then say in one breath what the first two sentences say about Buck, and what the word "further" does to the third.

Discussion

Narration Tell back Buck's first days on the Dyea trail in order, from Curly's death to the night he howls at a star, slowing down at the bacon.

1. 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

2. Dave nips Buck again and again, yet the chapter calls him "fair and very wise." What makes a nip fair?Character

3. Dave and Sol-leks ask nothing of the camp, yet in harness they become "new dogs." What is the work giving them?Theme

4. Buck copies Pike and steals the bacon, and Dub is punished for it. Who, if anyone, is to blame?Moral reasoning

5. 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

Make a Connection Tell about a time you learned a rule by watching what happened to someone else.

Vocabulary

Crossword
1234
5
67
8
9
10
Across
  • Across 1. Unfriendly and ready to do harm
  • Across 2. Never stopping or ending
  • Across 6. The power to change oneself to fit new conditions
  • Across 8. Going backward to a worse or earlier state
  • Across 10. To force someone to act
Down
  • Down 3. Showing no pity or mercy
  • Down 4. Not thought of as the one who did it
  • Down 5. Experienced by watching someone else go through it
  • Down 7. A slow breaking down or rotting away
  • Down 9. Did the very same thing again, copying it exactly
The words in the chapter
  • HOSTILE This first theft marked Buck as fit to survive in the hostile Northland environment.
  • ADAPTABILITY It marked his adaptability, his capacity to adjust himself to changing conditions,
  • DECAY It marked, further, the decay or going to pieces of his moral nature,
  • RUTHLESS a handicap in the ruthless struggle for existence.
  • VICARIOUS It is true, it was a vicarious experience, else he would not have lived to profit by it.
  • PERPETUAL He never had enough, and suffered from perpetual hunger pangs.
  • COMPEL so greatly did hunger compel him, he was not above taking what did not belong to him.
  • DUPLICATED he duplicated the performance the following day, getting away with the whole chunk.
  • UNSUSPECTED A great uproar was raised, but he was unsuspected;
  • RETROGRESSION His development (or retrogression) was rapid.

Critical thinking

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.