The Call of the Wild - Jack London

 Before Christmas, we read an extract of A Christmas Carol written by Charles Dickens. Remember? Dickens was born on February 7, 1812, in Portsmouth, on the southern coast of England and he is remembered as one of the most important and influential writers of the 19th century. Dickens died in 1870. 

The next famous author we are getting to know is Jack London. Both are considered very important authors of the 19th century. 

IMPORTANT TO KNOW: the number in the name of the century (the 19th century, for example) is always one higher than the number that starts the century's years: the years of the 19th-century start with 18. In Swedish: the 19th century= 1800-talet, the 18th century= 1700-talet and so on)

Who Was Jack London?

Jack London was a 19th-century American author and journalist, best known for the adventure novels 'White Fang' and 'The Call of the Wild.'

After working in the Klondike, Jack London returned home and began publishing stories. His novels, including The Call of the Wild, White Fang and Martin Eden, placed Jack London among the most popular American authors of his time. 

Jack London, was born on January 12, 1876, in San Francisco, California. Jack London found fame and some fortune at the age of 27 with his novel The Call of the Wild (1903), which told the story of a dog that finds its place in the world as a sledge dog in the Yukon. He published more than 50 books over the last 16 years of his life.

For much of the last decade of his life, London faced a number of health issues. This included kidney disease, which ended up taking his life. He died at his California ranch, which he shared with Kittredge, on November 22, 1916. 

Source: biography.com

The book we will read is named: The Call of the Wild. 

1. Chapter 1 and 2 

Before reading

Group discussion

The book starts in Santa Clara Valley, California. 

Do you know where that is? In what part of the US is California? 

In the book, London writes about the Klondike Gold Rush? Do you know what that is? 

Buck is a St Bernards - do you know what that breed looks like?

I will read chapter 1 and 2 for you. Let's read the questions below before we start. 

Answer the questions below by taking short notes while I am reading. 

While reading 

Find out the answers to the questions below: 

1. Where did Buck live until he was 4? 

2. Why did Manuel steal Buck from Mr Miller?

3. How did the fat man make Buck obey him? 

4. Buck went by train- where did he go? How far from

Santa Clara Valley is he now? 

After reading 

Open a Google document and answer the questions below: 

1. Describe Buck. What kind of dog is he? Do you think dogs have feelings?

How do think Buck felt when he was stolen and beaten? 

2. Why do you think Jack London named chapter two: The Law of Club and Tooth? 

3. Who is Curly and what happened to her? How was Buck affected by what happened to Curly? 

4. “Perrault knew dogs, and when he looked at Buck he knew that he was one in a thousand.”

- who is Perrault and what does the quote mean? 

5. 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? 

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

7. Think about Spitz as a person. How would his “personality” translate into human behavior? Can you think of a someone and/or a specific event when that person behaves like Spitz? 

/ Sara