COW Chapter 5
Bucks three inexperienced and incompetent owners
Who are Hal, Charles, and Mercedes?
The bet that establishes Buck's reputation as a powerful sled dog.
What is pulling a 1,000-pound sled for a 100 yards?
Buck specifically stalked and hunted this animal to challenge his power to satisfy this longing.
What is a bull moose to satisfy his longing for blood?
Definition: not harmful or offensive
What is Innocuous?
The man who saves Buck's life and becomes his beloved master.
Who is John Thornton?
The team was DETERMINED to go where and for what purpose
What is Dawson City in search of Gold?
The traumatic event that proved Buck's ultimate loyalty by risking his life to save John Thornton from this force of nature.
What is the rushing river?
Buck's growing connection to this symbolizes his complete return to his ancestral roots.
What is the wolf pack?
Definition: unnecessary or exceeding what is sufficient.
What is superfluous?
Buck's increasing defiance against humans and his awareness of his own power reflect this theme in the novel.
What is the call of the wild?
The one thing that the three idiots mismanaged the worst on their journey as a team?
What is feeding the dogs?
Thornton's fairness and care help Buck regain these qualities that was lost under previous cruel owners.
What is trust and love in humans?
Buck severs his ties with humanity.
Definition: to delay or prevent someone or something by obstructing them; hinder
What is imepede?
This event ultimately leads to Buck being the only survivor thus severing his ties to humanity.
What is a the attack of the Yeehats?
This moment is a turning point when Buck refuses to obey a command from Hal.
What is when Buck refuses to continue pulling the sled over the thin ice?
Buck defies danger and exhaustion to protect Thornton, showing this core quality of his character.
What is loyalty?
The Yeehat Indians come to refer Buck as this type of legendary figure in the wilderness.
What is the Ghost Dog or spirit leader of the wolves?
Definition: perceptible by touch; able to be felt
What is tangible?
This event is considered the climax of the novel.
What is when John Thornton saves Buck just before Hal and other sled dogs fall into the icy river and die?
The significance of the weather in Chapter 5
What is the change from winter to spring causes the ice/snow to melt?
This was the one thing Buck could not do to a sled with a full team of dogs that he could do now for John.
What is Buck "breaking the runners free" or "breaking out the sled"?
The wilderness in Chapter 7 represent this concept, which contrasts with the human world Buck leaves behind.
What is freedom or primal instinct?
Definition: extremely small or insignificant
What is infinitesimal?
This is considered the main conflict of the novel.
What is Buck deciding whether or not to live in the wild or in civilization?