Chapter 6: For the Love of a Man Practice Quiz — The Call of the Wild
by Jack London — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter 6: For the Love of a Man
Why is John Thornton at the riverside camp when Buck first arrives?
Thornton froze his feet the previous December. His partners Hans and Pete left him to recover while they went upriver to get a raft of saw-logs for Dawson.
What does Thornton impulsively command Buck to do at the cliff edge?
Thornton commands Buck to jump off a three-hundred-foot cliff. Buck instantly obeys, and Thornton barely grapples him back from the edge in time.
What happens when "Black" Burton strikes Thornton at the bar in Circle City?
Buck launches himself at Burton's throat, tears it open, and is pulled off by the crowd. A miners' meeting rules Buck had sufficient provocation and discharges him.
How does Buck save Thornton during the rapids accident on Forty Mile Creek?
Buck swims out twice with a rope tied to his neck and shoulders. On his second attempt, he reaches Thornton and both are pulled to shore, though Buck suffers three broken ribs.
What is the wager at the Eldorado Saloon?
Thornton bets that Buck can start a sled loaded with a thousand pounds of flour, break the frozen runners free, and haul it one hundred yards. Matthewson bets a thousand dollars against it.
Where does Thornton get the money to cover the thousand-dollar bet?
Thornton borrows a thousand dollars from Jim O'Brien, a Mastodon king and old-time comrade, since neither he nor Hans and Pete have enough money.
What does Thornton whisper to Buck before the sled pull?
He kneels beside Buck, takes his head in his hands, rests cheek on cheek, and whispers, "As you love me, Buck. As you love me."
How much money do the three partners win from the sled-pulling bet?
They win sixteen hundred dollars total—the thousand from Matthewson plus their own two hundred staked at three-to-one odds against Matthewson's six hundred.
Who is Skeet and what role does she play in Buck's recovery?
Skeet is a little Irish setter with a "doctor trait." She washes and cleanses Buck's wounds each morning, like a mother cat washing her kittens.
How is Nig described?
Nig is a huge black dog, half-bloodhound and half-deerhound, with eyes that laugh and a boundless good nature. He is equally friendly but less demonstrative than Skeet.
What kind of master is John Thornton compared to Buck's previous owners?
Thornton is called the "ideal master" who cares for his dogs as if they were his own children, not from duty or business expediency but because he cannot help it.
Who are Hans and Pete?
They are Thornton's partners who arrive on the long-expected raft. They are described as living close to the earth, thinking simply and seeing clearly, and they respect Buck's special bond with Thornton.
Who is Matthewson?
Matthewson is a Bonanza king who bets a thousand dollars that Buck cannot start and pull a thousand-pound sled one hundred yards.
What two opposing forces create Buck's central internal conflict in this chapter?
Buck is torn between his love for John Thornton, which represents civilization and fellowship, and the call of the wild, the ancestral pull toward the forest and primitive life.
How does London characterize Buck's love for Thornton as different from domesticated affection?
London describes it as "feverish and burning, that was adoration, that was madness"—not the calm, dignified relationship Buck had at Judge Miller's, but something raw and consuming.
What does the phrase "kill or be killed, eat or be eaten" represent thematically?
It represents the law of the primitive, the Darwinian survival code that Buck still follows despite his love for Thornton. Mercy is portrayed as weakness in the primordial world.
Why does London emphasize that "Thornton alone held him"?
It foreshadows that Buck's connection to civilization depends entirely on one person. If that single bond is broken, nothing will prevent Buck from fully answering the call of the wild.
What literary device does London use when Buck sits by the fire and senses "the shades of all manner of dogs, half wolves and wild wolves"?
This is an example of ancestral memory or collective unconscious imagery, suggesting Buck carries the instincts and experiences of his evolutionary predecessors within him.
How does London use pacing in the sled-pulling scene?
He slows the narrative to near-real-time, describing each incremental movement: "half an inch . . . an inch . . . two inches." This builds suspense and makes the reader share the crowd's breathlessness.
What simile does London use to describe the rocks in the rapids?
He describes the rocks as jutting through the water "like the teeth of an enormous comb," creating a vivid image of the deadly obstacle course Thornton faces.
What is the effect of the parallelism in Buck's three tests of devotion?
The cliff jump, bar fight, and river rescue form a pattern of escalating danger that cumulatively proves the depth of Buck's love and builds toward the sled-pull climax.
What does "peremptorily" mean as used in "So peremptorily did these shades beckon him"?
Peremptorily means in a commanding, insistent manner that allows no refusal or delay. The ancestral visions summon Buck with an authority he cannot ignore.
What does "plethoric" mean in the phrase "thumping down a plethoric sack"?
Plethoric means swollen or overfull. O'Brien's sack of gold dust is conspicuously fat, emphasizing his wealth and confidence in lending the money.
What does "waxed" mean as used in "Buck waxed lazy" and "Matthewson waxed jubilant"?
Waxed means gradually became or grew. It is an older literary usage meaning to increase or develop into a particular state.
Who says "It's uncanny" and in what context?
Pete says it after Buck nearly jumps off a three-hundred-foot cliff at Thornton's command, expressing shock at the dog's absolute, unquestioning obedience.
What is Thornton's response when offered twelve hundred dollars for Buck after the sled pull?
Thornton, with tears streaming down his cheeks, says: "Sir, no, sir. You can go to hell, sir. It's the best I can do for you, sir."
What does Thornton mean when he says Buck's devotion is "splendid, and it is terrible, too"?
Thornton recognizes that Buck's absolute loyalty is both magnificent and frightening—a love so total that Buck would destroy himself or others without hesitation at Thornton's command.