Literary Elements & Devices
This literary element is the time and place in which a story occurs.
What is setting?
What do we call a group of lines within a poem?
What is a stanza?
Where does Buck live at the beginning of the novel?
What is Judge Miller's estate in California?
Who is Buck's main rival in Chapter 3?
Who is Spitz?
What was Mr. Casey's favorite sport to play?
What is baseball
Jack London gives readers hints throughout Chapter 3 that the growing conflict between Buck and Spitz will eventually result in a major confrontation. What literary device is this?
What is foreshadowing?
A poem's end rhymes follow this pattern:
Line 1 — sky
Line 2 — day
Line 3 — high
Line 4 — away
What is the rhyme scheme?
What is ABAB?
What important lesson does Buck learn from the man in the red sweater?
Buck learns the law of club—he cannot defeat a human who possesses a club and must recognize that person's power.
Buck defeats Spitz using more than physical strength. What qualities does his victory reveal about his characterization?
His intelligence, strategy, adaptability, strength, and growing instincts.
Name two of Mr. Casey's favorite hobbies outside of school:
What are weight lifting and video games?
An author describes a freezing landscape in enough detail that you can almost feel the cold and see the snow. What literary device is being used?
What is imagery?
What is the difference between rhythm and meter?
Rhythm is the flow or pattern of stressed and unstressed sounds, while meter is a regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.
What does Curly's death teach Buck about his new environment?
Weakness or vulnerability can have deadly consequences, and Buck must observe, learn, and adapt in order to survive.
After defeating Spitz, what does Buck insist on doing in Chapter 4, and what does he eventually prove?
Buck insists on becoming lead dog and proves that he is an intelligent, disciplined, and effective leader.
Name each of Mr. Casey's favorite sports teams:
New York Yankees :D
Ohio State Buckeyes >:(
Pittsburgh Steelers :)
New York Knicks :D
Explain the difference between mood and tone.
Mood is the feeling created for the reader, while tone is the author's or speaker's attitude toward the subject.
A poet intentionally ends a line immediately after an important word instead of continuing the sentence. What structural element is being used, and why might the poet do this?
A line break. It can emphasize the word or idea and affect the poem's rhythm, pacing, or meaning.
How does the setting contribute to Buck's characterization in Chapters 1–2?
The harsh northern environment forces Buck to change his behavior and develop survival skills. It helps transform him from a protected dog into a more observant and adaptable one.
What is ironic about Hal, Charles, and Mercedes being in control of Buck and the other dogs?
Although the humans are supposedly in control, their inexperience and poor judgment make them less capable of understanding the Yukon than Buck
Name all 4 movies Mr. Casey said were his favorites on the first day of school:
Rocky
Remember the Titans
Coach Carter
Spiderman INTO the Spiderverse
The club in The Call of the Wild is a physical object, but it also represents the power and authority humans have over Buck. Identify the literary device and explain why.
What is symbolism? The club represents an idea beyond the literal object: human power and control over Buck.
A student says, “Rhyme scheme and line breaks only affect how a poem sounds; they don't affect its meaning.” Explain why this statement is incorrect.
A poem's structure can influence emphasis, pacing, rhythm, mood, relationships between ideas, and ultimately meaning.
Compare Buck at Judge Miller's estate with Buck by the end of Chapter 2. What is the most important change in his characterization?
Buck changes from a comfortable, protected, and trusting dog into a more observant, cautious, and adaptable survivor who understands that his new world operates under different rules.
A student argues: “Buck survives Chapters 1–5 simply because he becomes physically stronger.” Explain why this is an incomplete interpretation of Buck's transformation.
Buck's survival depends on much more than strength. He becomes observant, adaptable, strategic, independent, instinctive, experienced, and capable of recognizing danger. His transformation changes how he thinks and responds to the world, not just his physical strength.
Name each sport Mr. Casey played in high school and the position he played in each sport:
Baseball - pitcher
Basketball - center
Football - quarterback