Chapter 1: Into the Primitive Practice Quiz — The Call of the Wild
by Jack London — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter 1: Into the Primitive
Where does Buck live at the beginning of Chapter 1?
Buck lives at Judge Miller's estate in the Santa Clara Valley, California, where he has spent all four years of his life.
Why are thousands of men rushing into the Northland in 1897?
Men have discovered gold in the Klondike, and they need large, strong dogs to haul supplies and pull sleds in the frozen North.
How does Manuel lure Buck away from the estate?
Manuel takes Buck on what appears to be a routine evening stroll through the orchard, then brings him to the College Park flag station where he sells him to a stranger.
How is Buck subdued by the stranger at College Park?
The stranger tightens a rope around Buck's neck under his collar. When Buck attacks, the man grapples him by the throat and throws him on his back, choking him until he loses consciousness.
Who buys Buck and for what purpose?
Perrault, a French-Canadian government courier, purchases Buck to serve as a sled dog carrying Canadian government dispatches in the North.
What ship carries Buck northward, and who is in charge of the dogs?
Buck travels on the Narwhal. Perrault oversees the expedition, while Francois, a French-Canadian half-breed, handles the dogs directly.
What happens when Buck first encounters snow at the end of Chapter 1?
Buck steps into the white substance and springs back with a snort. He sniffs it, licks it, and is startled when it bites like fire and then vanishes. The onlookers laugh at his confusion.
What is Buck's breed and weight?
Buck is a St. Bernard-Scotch shepherd mix weighing 140 pounds. His father Elmo was a St. Bernard and his mother Shep was a Scotch shepherd dog.
Who is Manuel, and what is his "besetting sin"?
Manuel is a gardener's helper on Judge Miller's estate. His besetting sin is a love of Chinese lottery, and his gambling debts drive him to betray Buck by selling him.
Describe Spitz as he is introduced in Chapter 1.
Spitz is a big, snow-white dog from Spitzbergen who is friendly in a treacherous way — he smiles into one's face while planning underhanded tricks, such as stealing Buck's food at their first meal.
How does Dave behave on the Narwhal?
Dave is gloomy and antisocial. He wants only to be left alone, shows no interest in anything around him, and sleeps through the rough seas of Queen Charlotte Sound without concern.
What is Curly's role in Chapter 1?
Curly is a good-natured Newfoundland purchased alongside Buck by Perrault. She accompanies Buck on the Narwhal and serves as his companion during the voyage north.
How does Chapter 1 establish the theme of civilization versus primitivism?
Buck moves from the sun-kissed, orderly comfort of Judge Miller's estate to the cold, unfamiliar Northland. The chapter title "Into the Primitive" and the epigraph about awakening wildness frame this transition.
How does the Klondike Gold Rush function thematically in Chapter 1?
The Gold Rush transforms dogs from companions into commodities. Buck is bought and sold multiple times, reducing him from a beloved household king to merchandise valued only for his strength.
What role does trust and betrayal play in Chapter 1?
Buck's trusting nature, developed through years of comfortable domestication, makes him vulnerable to Manuel's betrayal. This broken trust begins dismantling Buck's civilized worldview.
What does the opening epigraph suggest about the story's direction?
The poem speaks of "old longings nomadic" and a "ferine strain" awakening from "brumal sleep," foreshadowing that primitive, wild instincts buried within Buck will resurface as the story progresses.
Identify the dramatic irony in the chapter's opening paragraph.
London writes that Buck "did not read the newspapers" and so could not know about the Gold Rush threatening dogs like him. The reader understands the danger, but Buck remains oblivious.
How does London use contrast as a structural device in Chapter 1?
London juxtaposes the warm, spacious, orderly world of Judge Miller's estate with the cold, chaotic, unfamiliar environment of the ship and the frozen North to dramatize Buck's displacement.
What narrative point of view does London use, and how does it affect the reader's experience?
London uses third-person limited perspective filtered through Buck's consciousness, allowing readers to experience his confusion, rage, and wonder without anthropomorphizing him too heavily.
What does the word "demesne" mean in the context of Buck's life at Judge Miller's?
Demesne means a domain or estate. London uses it to describe Judge Miller's property, over which Buck ruled like a feudal lord.
What does "ferine" mean in the opening epigraph?
Ferine means wild, untamed, or resembling a wild animal. It foreshadows the primitive instincts that will awaken in Buck.
What does Perrault mean when he calls Buck "one in ten thousand"?
Perrault recognizes that Buck is an exceptionally fine animal — far superior in size, strength, and quality to the average sled dog available during the Gold Rush demand boom.
What is the significance of the line "he was king -- king over all creeping, crawling, flying things"?
This line establishes Buck's absolute dominance at Judge Miller's estate, making his fall from power all the more dramatic when he is kidnapped and reduced to a piece of property.