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Chapter One-- Into the Primitive
- Why does Buck not read the newspaper?
- What is the yellow metal found in the Arctic darkness?
- What is an antagonist and why would Manuel be referred to as an antagonist in this chapter?
- What was Buck’s introduction to primitive law?
Vocabulary: booming, poplar, veranda, array, artesian well, demesne, kennels, aristocrat, egotistical, progeny, eloquently, lacerated, unkempt, latent, pervaded.
Chapter Two—The Law of Club and Fang
- Describe why Buck’s first day on Dyea beach was like a nightmare?
- Describe the tragedy that befell Curly.
- Although Billee and Joe were from the same litter, they had very different characters. Describe their characters briefly.
- What would Buck eat for his daily rations?
- Would you be willing to surrender or give up things you believe to be morally right in order to survive?
Vocabulary: primordial, imperative, combatants, antagonist, assailants, virtue, cunning, intent, tuition, despatches, belligerent, diabolic, gaunt, prowess, retaliate, malingerer, peril, cadence.
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Chapter Three—The Dominant Primordial Beast
- Why did the "primordial beast" continue to grow in Buck?
- What finally drove Buck to attack Spitz?
- Describe the condition of the dogs after the fight had ended.
- Describe two ways that Francois attended to the needs of Buck tender feet.
- Why was Francois forced to kill Dolly?
- Whom did you predict would win the final fight between Buck and Spitz?
Vocabulary: dominant, poise, rashness, discarded, timid, famished, plight, shirks, wrath, abjectly, inexorable, flanks.
Chapter Four—Who Has Won to Mastership
- Why did Francois state that they would now be able to make good time?
- Why do you think the men attended to the dogs every night before thinking of themselves?
- Do you think the dogs really understood what had happened behind the belt of river trees?
Vocabulary: obdurate, deluged, aspired, riddled, boughs, lapsed, matted, resiliency, prey, morose, flounder, remnant, lugubriously, convulsive.
Chapter Five—The Toil of Trace and Trail
- How much weight had Buck lost by the time they arrived in Skaguay?
- Why were the dogs so tired?
- Describe the differing opinions held by Mercedes and Hal concerning their newly acquired dogs.
- Why were the dogs unable to pull the sled?
- Describe what happened once they got the sled moving.
- What advice were they given by the spectators who had been watching this whole fiasco?
- How many new dogs did Charles and Hal purchase for the team?
- How many previous times had Buck covered the distance between Salt Water and Dawson?
- How did Hal try to resolve the fact that he had miscalculated the amount of dog food required for the trip?
- What actions of Mercedes slowed down the dog team until they could no longer pull the sled?
- Whose camp did they stagger into at the mouth of the White River and what was the gentleman doing?
- Why did moisture come into John Thornton eyes?
- What did Thornton threaten to do if Hal continued his actions?
- What tragedy occurred at the end of this chapter?
Vocabulary: wretched, dwindled, feigned, taut, totter, slipshod, dismay, slovenly, remonstrance, clannish, suppress, superfluous, averred, mongrels, forlorn, orthodox, importuned, perambulating, fissures, monosyllabic, inarticulate.
Chapter Six—For the Love of a Man
- Why was Thornton limping slightly at the time he rescued Buck?
- What can you predict about this chapter based on the title?
- What were Thornton, Buck, Skeet and Nig waiting for?
- Why was Thornton an ideal master?
- Why could Buck never steal from John Thornton?
- Who were Hans and Pete?
- Describe the incident with Black Burton.
- Describe another incident on the river where Buck saves Thornton life.
- What did Thornton claim Buck could do?
- How did Matthewson call his bluff?
- How heavy a load do you think the strongest person in your class could pull on a sled?
- How much money did the Skookum Bench king offer for Buck?
- Why do you think John Thornton refused the offer?
Vocabulary: enticed, manifested, communion, shrewdly, passive, grubstaked, chasm, whim, appalled, diminished, hinder, waxed, babel, indiscreet.
Chapter Seven—The Sounding of the Call
- Why was Thornton able to pay off his debts?
- They took months searching for what place?
- What did they finally manage to locate?
- What is the hairy man that Buck sees during his long hours musing by the fire?
- What noise causes him to spring from his sleep with a start?
- In one of his wanderings in the forest, Buck stumbles across a black bear and kills it. Do you think this could actually happen?
- Describe the incident with the bull moose.
- What horrific scene does Buck stumble upon in the forest?
- How does Buck react to the Yeehats?
- Who does Buck recognize when he encounters the pack of wolves in "his" valley?
- Does the end of the story surprise you? Explain why or why not?
Vocabulary: ramshackle, gnats, flintlock, obliterated, placer, washing pan, musing, salient, roved, impelled, frenzy, pertinacity, lope, vigil, remnants, carnivorous, sequential, usurp, sluice,
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