E203-2 March, 2009 M Johnstone

Reading Notes – Chapter Two

Call of the Wild by Jack London

Chapter Two: The Law of Club and Fang

During his first few days in the Yukon, Buck had to learn many lessons to survive

under the frigid north‟s unwritten “law of club and fang.” He learned from watching

Curley‟s violent death that the husky dogs of the north fought like wolves and that to

be knocked off your feet in a fight was a death sentence.

He learned how to pull a sled after François harnessed him between Dave and Spitz

(the lead dog) who were seasoned sled dogs. François, Dave, and Spitz were stern

teachers who taught Buck by punishing his mistakes with fangs and whip.

When Perrault added three

more dogs to the team,

Buck learned by watching

how they got along with

the other dogs. Billie and

Joe were brothers. Billie

was good-natured and was

quickly bullied by Spitz.

Joe met Spitz‟s aggression

with snarls and growls so

terrible that Spitz left him

alone. The third dog, Sol-

leks (the angry one) was a

grizzled veteran who only wanted to be left alone to do his job. Buck learned the

hard way not to approach Sol-leks on his blind side.

From Billie, Buck learned how to build a warm nest in the snow to survive the frigid

nights.

In the next few days, the team traveled forty miles per day. Harnessed between Dave

and Sol-leks, Buck learned even more about being a sled dog when they rewarded

his every mistake with snarls and bites.

Buck‟s final lesson moved him another step from his previous “civilized” life. He

learned to guard his food fiercely and to eat it quickly before other dogs could steal

it. The “law of club and fang” also taught him to become an accomplished thief who

would steal food from human or dog with no remorse.

As much as he learned from watching, Buck‟s survival was aided by an awakening

of “instincts long dead. Quickly he became more and more like his wild ancestors.

Notes - Chapter Two, Call of the Wild

2 | P a g e

Focus

As you read this chapter, think about the „law of the club and fang‟. In your opinion, does this

apply beyond the world of animals?

Questions

1. What lessons does Buck learn in this chapter? How is the „law of the fang‟ different from

the „law of the club‟?

2. What is the one thing that Dave and Sol-leks live for? Why do you think they are like this?

How do you think they got this way? Can you think of examples of other animals or

humans that show these traits? What does this tell you about animal and human nature?

3. If you were Buck, which of the other sled dogs would you chose to be your teacher and

why? How is this dog like or unlike François as a teacher?

4. Describe the conditions under which Buck is now living and working. Would you work in

and travel through conditions like these, if you thought you could find gold?

5. Explain the meaning of the following quotation:

And not only did he learn by experience, but instincts long dead became alive again.

The domesticated generations fell from him. In vague ways he remembered back to the

youth of the breed, to the time the wild dogs ranged in packs through the primeval

forest and killed their meat as they ran it down. . . . Thus, as token of what a puppet

thing life is, the ancient song surged through him and he came into his own again.

6. In adapting to his new world, has Buck developed or retrogressed? Defend your answer.

Vocabulary

primordial (3) : ancient, prehistoric

vicarious (9): experienced by

watching, or listening to, others doing

something rather than by doing it

yourself.

husky dog (11): a powerful breed of

dog used for pulling sleds.

swart (27): swarthy; having a dark

complexion.

draught animal (36): (pronounced

„draft‟) an animal used for pulling

heavy loads.

wheeler (39): the dog harnessed net to

the sled, behind another dog or dogs.

reproof (40) : blame, criticism

traces (41): the side-straps of the

harness. These attach the dogs to the

sled.

tuition (42): instruction; teaching

ere (43): before

dat (46): that* (French Canadian

pronunciation).

Notes - Chapter Two, Call of the Wild

3 | P a g e

despatches (48): official, written

messages

appeasingly (54): act in such a way as

to stop someone being angry

diabolically (57): in an evil way

discomfiture (59): a feeling of

confusion or embarrassment

prowess (62): outstanding ability

disconsolate (78): unhappy and

depressed, gloomy

in a trice (93): very quickly

courier (109): a person employed to

take letters and documents from one

place to another (DHL is a courier

service)

retarded (119): held back; hindered

cheaper (128): easier

trouncing (130): a severe defeat or

punishment

timberline (135): the place in the

north beyond which no trees grow

glaciers (136): rivers of solid ice that

move slowly down mountain valleys

snowdrifts (136): deep piles of snow

formed by the wind, dunes of snow

routed (142): forced out

webbed shoes

(145): shoes with

wide soles of

interlaced

material

allowing people

to travel easily

over deep snow

gee-pole (146): part of the dog sled

broke camp (150): took down and

packed the tents

fastidiousness (157): great attention

to detail; fussiness

clamor (179): protest; demand.

retrogression (182): moving back to

an earlier historical age or time

leeward (193): on, or towards the side

sheltered from the wind

cadences (203): the rise and fall in the

tone of a person‟s voice when

speaking

divers (208): several

Adapted from From:

Cope, Jim & Cope, W, A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Edition of the Call of the Wild (Pengin).

Carter, Ronald (ed), The Call of the Wild, Penguin Student Edition (Penguin, 1999).