The Call of the Wild
——Chapter One: Into the primitive
Prevue of the film The Call of the Wild
About the Author
Jack London was born in San
Francisco in 1876. Life was hard
when Jack was growing up and
he started working when he was
10. He did a variety of jobs,
some legal, others not, and
even spent some time living as
a tramp. In his free time he
went to the library and spent
many hours there reading.
About the Author
In 1903 he wrote the story which made his name:
The Call of the Wild. His next novel was The Sea-
Wolf(1904). With his earnings he bought a large
farm in California, where he died in 1916.
The Call of the Wild: Background
The Call of the Wild is a novel
b y A m e r i c a n a u t h o r J a c k
London(1876-1916)published in
1903. The story takes place in
the extreme conditions of the
Yukon during the 19th-century
Klondike Gold Rush.
The Call of the Wild: Background
Klondike Gold Rush
(克朗代克淘金热)
The Klondike Gold Rush
was the period from 1896
when gold was discovered
in the Klondike area of
Canada and Alaska. The
news reached Seattle(西雅
图) and San Francisco（旧
金山） the following year,
driving many people to
this place to seek their
fortune.
The Call of the Wild: Background
T h e g o l d p r o s p e c t o r s ( 淘 金 人 ) , k n o w n a s
“Klondikers”, faced harsh conditions:
• temperatures 40 degrees below zero
• starvation
• long journeys on foot
• hundreds of pounds of
supplies to transport
The Call of the Wild: Background
The local people of Alaska and Canada began using
sled dogs more than 1,000 years ago.
They depended on
these dogs for
• protection
• transportation
• hunting
• companionship
The Call of the Wild: Background
In the late 1800s, settlers and explorers started
using the dogs to help them explore remote areas,
deliver mail, and look for gold.
Task 2: Make sentences using the words you circled.
Activity One: Brainstorming
Task 1: What do you know about dogs? Circle the
words in the box which can best be used to describe
them.
undependable friendly dangerous
useful intelligent (clever) herbivorous(食草的）
loyal (忠诚的) domesticated （家养的） strong
Wild carnivorous(食肉的) energetic
Reading Strategy: reading an English novel
The three main elements of a novel:
setting------
Plot-----
Main characters----
Other elements we should pay attention to:
Language
Theme
…….
California, on the way of the north
Buck was kidnapped
Buck
Chapter One： Into the Primitive
plot
Task 1: Number the events in the time order
(A)As the ship moved northwards the weather grew steadily colder.
Eventually the ship stopped, and Francois tied the dog together
and brought them onto the deck.
(B)After two days he was carried off the train in Seattle into a small,
high-walled yard.
(C)Buck lived at a big house in a sunny valley in California which
was owned by Judge Miller.
(D)In the end a small man called Perrault paid three hundred dollars
for him, ….
(E)When he woke up he heard a whistle blow, and he knew where he
was because he had often travelled by train with the judge.
plot
1 2 3 4 5
C E B D A
plot
Task 2: Multiple choice
1. What kind of dog did the gold-seeker want? They
wanted________
A. heavy dogs
B. strong long-haired dogs
C. small dogs with fury coats
D. fierce dogs good at fighting
2. Manuel stole and sold Buck because__________
A. he needed money to support his family
B. he spent more money than he earned
C. Judge Miller was cruel to him
D. Buck bit and hated him
plot
3. The fat man in a red sweater cruelly beat Buck
with a club to ________
A. make him unconscious
B. punish him
C. Kill him for his rage
D. make him obey
4. During the imprisonment on the train, Buck
was desperate for _________
A. food B. drink
C. a blanket D. friends
characters
Discussion
Q1: What is Buck’s characteristics?
Q2: How do you know about it?
Buck’s characteristics
loyal
brave
cleverfierce
tough
strong faithful
wild
language
He opened his eyes, and he was filled
with the full anger of a kidnapped king.
The man jumped for the rope, but buck
was too quick for him. He closed his
teeth on the man’s hand, and held on
until he was choked unconscious again.
language
With a bark that was more a scream he
jumped at the man again, and again he
was clubbed to the ground. Although he
now knew what was happening to him,
his anger made him continue jumping. He
was smashed down a dozen times.
language
With a roar like a lion, he jumped at the
man again, but the man hit him under
the jaw. Buck rose into the air then
crashed to the ground on his head and
chest. For the last time he rushed at the
man but the man struck him with a
clever blow and Buck fell down
unconscious.
Themes
He was beaten(he knew that), but he was not broken.
He saw that he stood no chance against the man with
the club. He had learned the lesson, and for the rest of
his life he never forgot it.
Naturalism (Survival of the Fittest)
Themes
– Life evolved through a process of natural selection. Only
those strong and adaptable survived.
– As soon as Buck is kidnapped, he learns that a new law
applies to life, different from the “law of love and
fellowship” he has known before.
– London calls it the “law of the club.”
– The “law of the club” is that man, having greater force,
is the master. The weak must submit and serve the will
of the conqueror, or be killed.
Homework
1: A writing of your thoughts of chapter one in 100 words
2: Preview chapter two
Epigraph
•。
• Old longings nomadic leap,
• Chafing at custom’s chain;
• Again from its brumal sleep，
• Wakens the ferine strain.
长久以来的渴望不时闪动,因为世俗的羁绊而怒火
中烧, 将再次从冬眠中唤醒那野生的天性
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