16-Year-Old English Worksheet: Jack London’s Call of the Wild & White Fang — MCT Level 4

Instructions

Read each section carefully. The questions are designed to make you think deeply about the structure, language, and themes in Jack London's companion novels, The Call of the Wild and White Fang. Answer each question thoroughly, using specific examples from the texts to support your points.

Part 1: The Grammar of Literature - Parallel Worlds

The "grammar" of literature refers to its underlying structure and the patterns an author uses to build a narrative. The Call of the Wild and White Fang are famous for their mirrored, symmetrical structures. Explore this concept in the questions below.

1. Mapping the Journeys: Describe the central journey of Buck in The Call of the Wild and the central journey of White Fang in White Fang. How do these two journeys represent a perfect, inverse parallel—a mirror image—of each other?




2. The Law of Nature: Jack London writes about "the law of club and fang." Explain this law. Then, analyze how this "law" functions as a critical force in both Buck's devolution away from civilization and White Fang's evolution toward it.




3. Literary Antithesis: Antithesis is a rhetorical device in which two opposite ideas are put together in a sentence to achieve a contrasting effect. On a larger scale, the two novels themselves can be seen as an antithesis. Explain this concept. How do the final scenes or fates of Buck and White Fang perfectly illustrate this literary antithesis?

Part 2: The Poetry of Literature - London's Language

The "poetry" of literature involves the author's use of evocative language, imagery, and literary devices to create meaning and feeling. Analyze Jack London's powerful prose in the following excerpts.

4. Sensory Details and Personification: Read the following passage from The Call of the Wild describing the arrival of spring.

   "The ghostly winter silence had given way to the great spring murmur of awakening life. This murmur arose from all the land, fraught with the joy of living. It came from the things that lived and moved again... The sap was rising in the pines. The willows and aspens were bursting out in young buds. Shrubs and vines were putting on fresh garbs of green."

   Identify at least two examples of personification in this passage. How does London's use of sensory details (like the "murmur") and personification help immerse the reader in Buck's awakening primal instincts?




5. Repetition and Diction: Analyze this key sentence describing White Fang's internal conflict.

   "He was a thing of the wild, come in from the wild to sit by man's fire, rather than a dog of a final and civilized generation..."

   What is the literary effect of repeating the word "wild"? How does this repetition, combined with the phrase "a thing of the wild," emphasize that his core nature is fundamentally different from that of a domesticated dog?

Part 3: The Writing of Literature - Exploring Naturalism

The "writing" of literature is your opportunity to synthesize your understanding and articulate your own analysis. This section focuses on the literary movement of Naturalism.

6. Protagonist as a Product of Environment (Short Essay): The literary movement of Naturalism posits that characters are products of their environment and heredity; their fates are determined by forces beyond their control. In a well-structured paragraph, argue how either Buck or White Fang serves as an ideal protagonist for a Naturalist novel. Use at least two specific examples from the chosen text to show how the character's instincts and external environment directly shape his destiny, often overpowering his individual will or learned behaviors.

Answer Key

Part 1: The Grammar of Literature

• 1. Mapping the Journeys: Buck, a domesticated dog from a comfortable estate in California, is thrust into the harsh Klondike and gradually sheds his civilization, answering the "call of the wild" to become a leader of a wolf pack. His journey is from civilization to primordial wilderness. White Fang's journey is the exact opposite. Born in the wild, he is a creature of instinct and violence. He is gradually brought into the world of humans, learning discipline and eventually love and loyalty. His journey is from the wilderness to civilization.
• 2. The Law of Nature: "The law of club and fang" is the code of survival in the wild, where dominance is established through violence and strength ("club" representing man's power, "fang" representing animal power). For Buck, learning this law is essential to his devolution; he must embrace his primal aggression to survive and thrive. For White Fang, this law defines his entire existence in the wild. His journey toward civilization requires him to learn a new law—the law of man, love, and restraint—which slowly overtakes the law of the fang.
• 3. Literary Antithesis: The two novels are an antithesis because they present opposing themes and character arcs. The Call of the Wild is about de-civilization, while White Fang is about civilization. The final scenes show this perfectly: Buck answers the call and runs free at the head of a wolf pack, fully embracing his wild nature and becoming a legend. In contrast, White Fang, after defending his master's family, lies wounded but content on the porch of a civilized home in California, surrounded by his own puppies—the ultimate symbol of domestication and belonging to the human world.

Part 2: The Poetry of Literature

• 4. Sensory Details and Personification: Examples of personification include the "ghostly winter silence," the "murmur of awakening life," and shrubs/vines "putting on fresh garbs of green." These devices make nature an active, living character rather than a passive backdrop. The use of sensory details like the auditory "murmur" and the visual of "young buds" connects the reader to the world as Buck experiences it—through his heightened senses. As nature "awakens," so do Buck's own dormant, wild instincts.
• 5. Repetition and Diction: The repetition of "wild" emphasizes that this quality is not just a location but the very essence of his being. He is not just *from* the wild; he *is* the wild. Calling him "a thing of the wild" instead of just a "wolf-dog" further dehumanizes (or de-dog-izes) him, highlighting his primal, untamable core. This language choice makes his eventual domestication all the more remarkable and profound.

Part 3: The Writing of Literature

• 6. Protagonist as a Product of Environment (Example Answer for Buck): Buck is an ideal Naturalist protagonist because his entire transformation is dictated by his environment, demonstrating that heredity and instinct will triumph over civilized nurturing when conditions demand it. For example, when he is stolen and beaten by the man in the red sweater, he learns "the law of club," a primitive rule that his civilized life in Santa Clara had never taught him. This external force reshapes his understanding of the world. Later, in the Klondike, the harsh environment and the need to compete for food awaken his latent instincts inherited from his wild ancestors. His theft of bacon is not a moral failing but a necessary adaptation for survival, proving that the environment, not his previous "moral training," now dictates his actions. These examples show Buck as a character shaped entirely by the powerful, indifferent forces of his surroundings.