His intention was to rest Dave,What someone plans or means to do
The Call of the Wild
Chapter 4
Jack London · Trailblazers 4th–6th
Copywork
His intention was to rest Dave, letting him run free behind the sled. Sick as he was, Dave resented being taken out, grunting and growling while the traces were unfastened, and whimpering broken-heartedly when he saw Sol-leks in the position he had held and served so long. For the pride of trace and trail was his, and, sick unto death, he could not bear that another dog should do his work.
After copying, read the middle sentence aloud and count the sounds Dave makes, from grunting to "whimpering broken-heartedly", before the last sentence tells you why. Then say what the driver intended and what Dave wanted, and whether the two could both have been given.
Discussion
Narration Tell the chapter back in order, from the morning Spitz is missing to the shot behind the river timber, slowing down at Dave on the mail trail.
- Buck dodges clubs and circles the camp for an hour, until François throws down the club. Why do the men give in? Inference
- Buck shakes Pike for loafing, and he smothers and cuts up Joe, and the team "recovered its old-time solidarity." Is Buck a better leader than Spitz, or only a rougher one? Moral reasoning
- By the fire Buck remembers the man in the red sweater more than Judge Miller's house, then dreams of a hairy man in the dark. Why might London stop the trail story for this? Author's choice
- Dave is taken out of the traces and bites through Sol-leks's traces to get back in. What does the work mean to him? Theme
- The Scotch half-breed "had not the heart to strike harder" at Dave. What moves him and the other drivers to put Dave back in harness? Character
Make a Connection Tell about a time someone kept going at something hard when others wanted them to stop.
Vocabulary
- INTENTION
- RESENTED
Sick as he was, Dave resented being taken out,
Felt angry and hurt at being treated unfairly- COVETED
brought Sol-leks to the coveted position.
Wanted badly, especially something another has- OBDURATE
François was obdurate,
Stubbornly refusing to give way- REVOLT
But Buck was in open revolt.
Open refusal to obey those in charge- CELERITY
the celerity with which Buck broke them in
Great speed in getting something done- MONOTONOUS
It was a monotonous life, operating with machine-like regularity.
Dull because it never changes- MOROSE
He became more morose and irritable,
Gloomy, sullen, and short-tempered- PERPLEXED
The driver was perplexed.
Puzzled and unsure what to do- INVOLUNTARILY
he cried out involuntarily from the bite of his inward hurt.
Without meaning to, beyond one's control
Critical thinking
- The chapter says the drivers "were fair through it all." Using two pieces of evidence, explain how well the mail-train drivers look after their dogs.
- François and Perrault make the fourteen-day run to Skaguay at forty miles a day. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what mostly made that record possible.
- After the shot, "the bells tinkled merrily" and the sleds churn on. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what the last paragraph shows about life on this trail.