Jack London Worksheet for 16‑Year‑Olds — Call of the Wild & White Fang (MCT Level 4)

Instructions

This worksheet explores the literary craftsmanship of Jack London in his companion novels, The Call of the Wild and White Fang. Read each section carefully and answer the questions to the best of your ability, focusing on analysis and thoughtful reflection.

Part I: The Grammar of Literature - Mirrored Journeys

Jack London wrote The Call of the Wild and White Fang as companion pieces. They explore similar themes from opposite directions. This section focuses on the structure of their narratives and the literary movement they represent.

1. Character Arc Analysis: In literary terms, Buck's journey in The Call of the Wild is one of devolution or atavism (reverting to ancestral traits), while White Fang's is one of evolution or domestication. Explain this contrast. How do their respective final scenes—Buck leading a wolf pack and White Fang resting by the fire with his family—represent the culmination of these opposite journeys?


2. Naturalism in Action: London was a key writer in the American literary movement of Naturalism, which posits that environment and heredity are the primary forces shaping a character's destiny, often overriding free will. Describe one key event from each book that demonstrates this principle.
   • The Call of the Wild Event:
   • White Fang Event:

Part II: The Poetry of Literature - The Language of the Wild

London's prose is known for its raw power and vividness. He uses figurative language to give the harsh northern landscape and its creatures a voice and personality. Analyze the following passages.

1. Passage 1 (from The Call of the Wild):

   "But especially he loved to run in the dim twilight of the summer midnights, listening to the subdued and sleepy murmurs of the forest, reading signs and sounds as man may read a book, and seeking for the mysterious something that called — called, waking or sleeping, at all times, for him to come."

   Identify the use of personification in this passage. How does this literary device make the "call" feel like an active, powerful force rather than a simple instinct?



2. Passage 2 (from White Fang):

   "The land itself was a desolation, lifeless, without movement, so lone and cold that the spirit of it was not even that of sadness. There was a hint in it of laughter, but of a laughter more terrible than any sadness—a laughter that was mirthless as the smile of the sphinx, a laughter cold as the frost and partaking of the grimness of infallibility. It was the masterful and incommunicable wisdom of eternity laughing at the futility of life..."

   This passage relies heavily on metaphor and imagery to describe the Northland. What emotion or idea is London trying to convey about the wild through the image of "mirthless laughter"?

Part III: The Writing of Literature - Echoing the Master

Now it's your turn to apply London's techniques. Your task is to write a short, descriptive paragraph (approximately 5-7 sentences) from the perspective of an animal experiencing a distinctly human world.

Prompt:

Write a paragraph from the point of view of a squirrel on a busy city sidewalk for the first time. Emulate Jack London's style by focusing on:

• Primal instincts (fear, curiosity, survival).
• Sensory details, especially sound and movement.
• A serious, elevated tone.
• The use of at least one strong metaphor or simile to describe the strange human environment.

Answer Key

Part I: The Grammar of Literature

1. Character Arc Analysis: A strong answer will explain that Buck begins as a pampered, civilized dog ("living at a big house in the sun-kissed Santa Clara Valley") and is forced to shed his domestication to survive in the wild, eventually answering the "call" to become a creature of instinct. His final scene shows his complete transformation. In contrast, White Fang begins as a wild wolf-dog, born into a world of violence and survival ("the grey cub"). His journey is about slowly learning to trust and be tamed, culminating in his peaceful life as a beloved pet, the "Blessed Wolf," showing his complete adaptation to the civilized world.
2. Naturalism in Action: (Answers will vary but should follow this logic.)
   • The Call of the Wild Example: When Buck first sees snow and experiences the brutal cold, he is forced to learn to dig a hole to sleep and keep warm. His environment forces this adaptation; it is not a choice but a necessity for survival, demonstrating the power of the environment over the individual. Another strong example is his fight with Spitz, where "the law of club and fang" dictates that only the strongest can lead.
   • White Fang Example: White Fang's inherent violence is a direct result of his harsh upbringing. He is ostracized by the other dogs and abused by Beauty Smith. His environment teaches him that aggression is the only way to survive. His later gentleness under Weedon Scott shows how a change in environment can reshape even the most ingrained traits, further proving the Naturalist theme.

Part II: The Poetry of Literature

1. Passage 1: The personification is in the "call" itself. London describes it as "something that called," giving it agency, intent, and a voice. It's not just an "urge" or "instinct"; it is an external entity summoning Buck. This makes the wild seem like a conscious, living being with a will of its own, making Buck's pull towards it more profound and inescapable, like he is answering a destiny rather than just following an impulse.
2. Passage 2: The "mirthless laughter" of the wild conveys a sense of cosmic indifference and immense, ancient power. Laughter is usually associated with joy, but this laughter is "terrible," "cold," and "grim." It suggests that the wild is so vast and eternal that the struggles of individual living things are meaningless and almost absurd to it. It communicates the theme that nature is not hostile or kind—it is simply an unfeeling, unconquerable force that predates and will outlast all life.

Part III: The Writing of Literature

(Note: Student answers will vary. Look for the following elements in a successful response.)

Sample Answer:

The ground was a hard, flat stone, devoid of scent or purchase. A nameless dread, ancient as the first shadow, seized the creature’s heart. Giants of flesh and bright colors thundered past, their footfalls shaking the very air, each a potential doom. The noise was a ceaseless roar, a river of sound that drowned the frantic beating in its chest. These moving mountains, heedless and terrible, were like a stampede of gods with no master. Survival was a single, desperate instinct: to flee this barren canyon of noise and seek the solace of the true wood once more.

Evaluation Checklist:

• ✓ Focuses on primal instincts (dread, survival).
• ✓ Uses strong sensory details (hard ground, thundering footfalls, ceaseless roar).
• ✓ Maintains a serious, elevated tone ("nameless dread," "ancient as the first shadow," "barren canyon of noise").
• ✓ Includes a strong metaphor or simile (e.g., "stampede of gods with no master," "river of sound").