Name: ______Date: ______Period: ______

The Call of the Wild: Study Guide

Your test will be on:______

For the test, you will need to know the following concepts and/or skills. These concepts can be found within your The Call of the Wild folder through handouts, worksheets, etc.

  • Vocabulary words:

1. primitive

2. egotistical

3. undesirable

4. mercilessly

5. intolerable

6. primordial

7. despise

8. adaptability

9. insubordinate

10. pandemonium

11. precipitate

12. insidious

13. resilient

14. wretched

15. slovenly

16. apparent

17. fissures

18. convalescence

19. peremptorily

20. provocation

21. plethoric

22. boundless

23. akin

24. mournful

25. calamity

26. void

  • Characters:

Buck / Judge Miller / Manuel / Curly / Man in the red sweater
Spitz / Dave / Billee / Joe / Dub
Pike / Sol-leks / Dolly / Teek / Koona
Francois and Perrault / Scotch half-breed (Scotsman) / Hal / Charles / Mercedes
Skeet / Nig / John Thornton / Pete / Hans
The “wood brother” / The Yeehats

Note: You should know the characteristics of each character, the role each character plays in the novel, any deaths amongst the characters as well as any conflicts between the characters.

  • Plot of the novel

Note: Use the below questions to help you to prepare for the test. You also have reading comprehension questions/guiding questions in your The Call of the Wild folder to study from as well. If you complete the questions, you may receive extra credit on your test.These questions are due the day of your test.

Chapter 1:

  1. Where did Buck live for his first four years?
  2. How was Buck treated at Judge Miller’s house?
  3. Why did Manuel steal Buck?
  4. Why was there a sudden demand for heavy, furry dogs?
  5. Why did the man in the red sweater take Buck out of his crate, and what lesson did he teach Buck?
  6. Who bought Buck-at what cost? For what purpose?
  7. What puzzled Buck when he stepped onto the deck of the Narwhal?

Chapter 2:

  1. What is the “law of club and fang?”
  2. How did Curly die?
  3. What did Buck learn by seeing how Curly died?
  4. Who taught Buck to pull in the harness?
  5. How did Buck learn to keep warm at night?
  6. Cite three ways in which Buck has changed so far.

Chapter 3:

  1. What caused the first fight between Spitz and Buck?
  2. How did the nine sled dogs get wounded?
  3. How did Perrault help ease Buck’s problem with his feet?
  4. How and why did Francois kill Dolly?
  5. After killing Dolly, why did Francois whip Spitz?
  6. How and why did Buck start a mutiny among the dogs?
  7. Why did Spitz get to the rabbit before the other dogs?
  8. Describe what happened in Buck and Spitz’s death battle.

Chapter 4:

  1. Why did Francois let Buck lead instead of Sol-leks?
  2. What made Buck such a good lead dog?
  3. What was the sled carrying?
  4. How were Francois, Perrault, and their team treated when they got to Skagway? Why did that only last for three days?
  5. Why did Francois and Perrault pass out of Buck’s life?
  6. How far had the dogs pulled the sled since the beginning of the winter?
  7. Why was Dave shot?

Chapter 5:

  1. Why were the dogs sold in Skagway?
  2. Who bought the dogs?
  3. Why was it a bad idea to add six outside dogs to the team?
  4. Who was John Thornton, and what advice did he give?
  5. Why didn’t Buck die with Hal, Charles, Mercedes, and the five remaining sled dogs?

Chapter 6:

  1. How did John Thornton treat his dogs?
  2. How did John Thornton’s dogs treat Buck?
  3. How did Buck show his love for John Thornton?
  4. Why did Buck often leave John Thornton’s fire and run into the woods?
  5. Why did John Thornton tell Buck to jump off the cliff?
  6. Why did Buck tear open “Black Burton’s” throat?
  7. How did Buck save John Thornton’s life on the creek?

Chapter 7:

  1. What did John Thornton do with the $1,600 Buck had won for him?
  2. What did John Thornton and the other men find at the end of their wandering?
  3. How did Buck spend his time as John Thornton gathered gold?
  4. What did Buck do when he first heard the call of a wolf?
  5. What did Buck eat as he wandered a week in the woods?
  6. How was Buck transformed once he passed out of John Thornton’s sight?
  7. What large prey did Buck follow night and day until he made the kill?
  8. How did John Thornton, Hans, and the dogs die?
  9. How did Buck react when he found the dead men and dogs?
  10. How did the pack of wolves treat Buck?
  11. Why did the Yeehats notice a change in the timber wolves in a few years?
  12. Why did the Yeehats start to tell tales of a Ghost Dog?

We are available for help before and/or after school. Please do not wait until last minute to see me. Also, SOME of the handouts, worksheets, etc. may be found on Mrs. Osborne’s Catapult page. In addition, if you need copies of the any handouts and/or notes, please see me us before the day of the test. Please do not wait until the day of the test to get any handouts and/or notes.