Chapter 3: The Dominant Primordial Beast Practice Quiz — The Call of the Wild
by Jack London — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter 3: The Dominant Primordial Beast
What triggers the first fight between Buck and Spitz in Chapter 3?
Spitz steals Buck's sleeping nest at Lake Le Barge while Buck goes to get his food ration, and Buck attacks him in a fury.
What interrupts Buck and Spitz's first fight?
A raid by nearly a hundred starving wild huskies from a nearby Indian village overruns the camp, forcing both dogs to fight the invaders instead.
What are the consequences of the wild husky attack on the team?
Every sled dog is wounded, half the food supply is devoured, and equipment including moccasins, leather traces, and part of Francois's whip is destroyed.
What happens to Dolly at the Pelly River?
Dolly goes suddenly mad, chases Buck across multiple islands in a terrifying pursuit, and is killed by Francois with an axe.
How does Spitz exploit the Dolly incident?
Spitz attacks Buck immediately after the chase while Buck is exhausted and helpless, biting into him twice before Francois whips Spitz severely.
What strategy does Buck use to defeat Spitz in their final fight?
Buck feints a shoulder rush but sweeps low to the snow, clamping onto Spitz's left foreleg and breaking it, then repeats the trick to break the right foreleg.
What happens to Spitz after Buck breaks both his forelegs?
The silent circle of watching dogs closes in on the crippled Spitz, and Buck delivers a final shoulder charge that sends Spitz into the pack to be killed.
How does Francois react when he sees Buck and Spitz fighting over the nest?
Francois sides with Buck, shouting encouragement: "Give it to him by Gar! Give it to him, the dirty thief!"
What does Perrault predict about Buck and Spitz's rivalry?
Perrault predicts Spitz will kill Buck someday, saying "One devil, dat Spitz. Some dam day him kill dat Buck."
How does Francois counter Perrault's prediction about the rivalry?
Francois says Buck is "two devils" and predicts Buck will get mad and "chew dat Spitz all up and spit him out on de snow."
What makes Perrault remarkable as a character in Chapter 3?
Nothing daunts him—he repeatedly breaks through ice at fifty below zero, builds fires to save himself, and pushes relentlessly through the most dangerous terrain as a government courier.
How does Francois show care for Buck during the trail?
Francois rubs Buck's feet for half an hour each night and sacrifices the tops of his own moccasins to make four moccasins for Buck's softened feet.
What does the "dominant primordial beast" represent thematically?
It represents the primal survival instinct and drive for dominance that awakens in Buck as civilized restraint falls away under the harsh conditions of the Klondike.
How does the chapter illustrate the theme of survival of the fittest?
Both the wild husky attack and Buck's defeat of Spitz demonstrate that only the strongest and most cunning survive in the brutal natural world of the Klondike.
What is the significance of the watching circle of dogs during the final fight?
The circle symbolizes nature's indifferent judgment—the dogs wait silently to destroy whichever combatant falls, representing the merciless law of the wild.
How does Buck's sense of familiarity during the final fight connect to the novel's themes?
Buck experiences the moonlit battle scene as something ancestral and deeply known, reinforcing the theme that primal instincts are inherited memories from wild ancestors.
What literary device is used when Francois and Perrault both predict the outcome of Buck and Spitz's rivalry?
Foreshadowing—both men predict a deadly confrontation, with Francois correctly foreseeing that Buck will be the victor.
What is the effect of London's description of the final fight scene's setting?
The moonlight, silence, and motionless spectators create a ritualistic, almost mythic atmosphere that elevates the fight from a dog battle to a primal, timeless event.
How does London use dramatic irony in the Dolly chase scene?
The reader understands Spitz's treachery in attacking the exhausted Buck, while Francois's punishment of Spitz and his prediction of Buck's victory create irony about who is truly the dangerous one.
What does the simile "a wind that cut like a white-hot knife" achieve?
It creates a paradoxical image combining extreme cold with burning heat, vividly conveying the searing pain of the arctic wind on exposed flesh.
What does "primordial" mean in the context of the chapter title?
Primordial means existing from the very beginning or relating to the earliest stage of development—here referring to Buck's ancient, pre-civilized animal instincts.
What does "inexorable" mean when London writes "Buck was inexorable"?
Inexorable means impossible to stop or prevent, relentless—describing Buck's unwavering determination to finish Spitz with no possibility of mercy.
What does "precipitate" mean in "He was not prone to rashness and precipitate action"?
Precipitate means done suddenly without careful consideration; hasty and rash—describing the kind of impulsive behavior Buck deliberately avoids.
What is the significance of "He fought by instinct, but he could fight by head as well"?
This line highlights Buck's key advantage over Spitz: he possesses both primal fighting ability and strategic intelligence, which London calls "imagination" and identifies as "a quality that made for greatness."
What does London mean by "Mercy was a thing reserved for gentler climes"?
London means that mercy is a luxury of civilization and comfortable environments; in the brutal Klondike wilderness, survival demands ruthlessness, and showing mercy would mean death.