Chapter 5 Practice Quiz — White Fang
by Jack London — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter 5
What event causes One Eye and the she-wolf to leave the Indian camp?
A rifle shot smashes against a tree trunk several inches from One Eye's head, causing both wolves to flee on a long, swinging lope.
What does the she-wolf find along the frozen stream?
She finds a small cave formed by erosion in a high clay bank, with a narrow entrance that opens into a round chamber nearly six feet in diameter.
How many cubs does the she-wolf give birth to?
She gives birth to five cubs, described as feeble, helpless bundles of life that make tiny whimpering noises with eyes that do not open.
What happens when One Eye first goes hunting after the cubs are born?
He returns after eight hours empty-handed because he broke through the melting snow crust while the snowshoe rabbits skimmed along on top.
What animal does One Eye successfully catch during his hunt?
He catches a ptarmigan by striking it with his paw as it sat on a log, then pouncing on it as it tried to escape across the snow.
What does the lynx do to the porcupine?
The lynx strikes with her paw under the porcupine's tender belly in a swift ripping movement, but receives sharp quills in her paw and nose in return.
What does One Eye do with the ptarmigan before dragging the porcupine home?
He eats the ptarmigan himself for energy, then returns to drag the larger porcupine back to the lair for the she-wolf.
How does One Eye react to the birth of the cubs?
He is surprised, as he always is when this happens, even though it has occurred many times in his long life. He then feels the instinctive urge to go hunt for food.
Why does the she-wolf snarl at One Eye after the cubs are born?
She has an instinctive fear, inherited from the experience of all wolf mothers, of fathers eating their newborn and helpless progeny.
How does One Eye demonstrate wisdom around the porcupine?
He lies down with his nose a full foot away and out of the line of the tail, remembering a quill he once carried in his muzzle for weeks during his youth.
Why does One Eye avoid following the large tracks he discovers?
The footprints are much larger than his own, and he knows that following such a trail means little meat for him, so he deliberately takes the other fork.
How does the she-wolf show acceptance of One Eye at the end of the chapter?
She turns her muzzle to him and lightly licks him on the neck after he brings the porcupine to the lair, though she still warns him away from the cubs.
How does the chapter illustrate the concept of Chance or Opportunity?
One Eye waits patiently near the porcupine knowing something might happen, and ultimately benefits when the lynx attacks but is driven off by quills, leaving the porcupine for him.
How does the chapter parallel spring and new life?
The awakening of the Northland with melting snow, running water, and thawing insects mirrors the birth of the five wolf cubs inside the lair.
What does the eat-or-be-eaten theme look like in the wolf-lynx-porcupine triangle?
Each creature's survival depends on another's death: the wolf and lynx need to eat the porcupine, while the porcupine's survival lies in not being eaten.
How does the chapter explore the theme of instinct versus conscious thought?
Both wolves act on deep hereditary impulses rather than reason: the she-wolf's protective aggression and One Eye's paternal urge to hunt are described as being in the fibre of their being.
What literary device does London use when he describes One Eye as "a gliding shadow" and then "the ghost of such a shadow"?
London uses metaphor and intensification to convey One Eye's extreme stealth as he creeps around the lynx and porcupine standoff.
How does London use personification when describing the Northland spring?
He writes that "Life was stirring" and describes "the feel of growing life under the snow, of sap ascending in the trees, of buds bursting the shackles of the frost."
What narrative technique does London use to explain the she-wolf's fear of One Eye near the cubs?
He uses omniscient narration to explain her instinctive fear as inherited racial memory from all wolf mothers, going beyond what the character could consciously know.
What does "loath" mean as used in the chapter?
Loath means reluctant or unwilling. The she-wolf was loath to depart from the Indian camp despite the danger.
What does "solicitous" mean in the context of One Eye's behavior?
Solicitous means showing attentive care and concern. One Eye became more patient and solicitous toward the she-wolf as her pregnancy progressed.
What does "petrifaction" mean in the lynx-porcupine scene?
Petrifaction means the state of being turned to stone. London uses it to describe the seemingly frozen stillness of all three animals during the tense standoff.
What does the narrator mean by "the way of life for one lay in the eating of the other, and the way of life for the other lay in being not eaten"?
This quote articulates the fundamental law of survival in the wild: predators live by consuming prey, and prey survives by avoiding predators. It captures London's naturalistic philosophy.
What is significant about the description "It was there, in the fibre of his being; and it was the most natural thing in the world"?
This quote describes One Eye's paternal instinct to hunt for his family, emphasizing London's naturalistic view that animal behavior is driven by deep hereditary impulses rather than conscious choice.
What does the imagery of "buds bursting the shackles of the frost" suggest?
This personification portrays spring as a liberation from winter's imprisonment, paralleling the new freedom and life represented by the birth of the wolf cubs in the lair.