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Call of the Wild Chapter 3 Summary
At the beginning of Chapter 3, Buck is tough but quiet and does not start fights. One night, Buck settles down under the shelter of a rock, but when he goes to get his food, he finds the space occupied by Spitz. To everyone’s surprise, Buck becomes furious and he fights Spitz. Just then, they hear Perrault shouting and see almost 80-100 starving huskies charging into the camp.
Perrault and Francois fight them off with clubs, and some of Buck’s teammates get hurt. Buck is attacked by three huskies at once, and his head and shoulder are slashed; Spitz continues to nip at him. Some of the dogs fall through the ice but get pulled out.
Dolly, one of the dogs, goes mad one morning and begins chasing Buck. Francois kills the mad dog with an axe, and Buck is left exhausted from running. Spitz jumps at Buck. Francois punishes Spitz, but from then on, Spitz and Buck are at war. Francois and Perrault realize it, with Francois betting on Buck and Perrault on Spitz. It happens one day when a rabbit runs by the camp.
The whole team of dogs and fifty other dogs from a nearby camp start chasing the rabbit, with Buck in the lead. Spitz finds a shortcut and kills the rabbit, and Buck attacks Spitz. The other dogs wait to see who falls first. Spitz was an experienced and smart fighter, but Buck uses imagination, instinct, and his head. In the end Buck kills Spitz.
Call of the Wild Chapter 3 Summary Word Meanings
- Poise – Hold
- Prone – Having a tendency
- Shun – Avoid
- Bleak – Unpleasantly cold
- Grope – Feel about uncertainly
- Pandemonium – A state of extreme confusion and disorder
- Skulk – Lurk, hide
- Famished – Extremely hungry
- Warily – In a manner marked by keen caution
- Contemplation – A calm, lengthy, intent consideration
- Dubiously – In a doubtful manner
- Exertion – Hard work
- Sullen – Showing a brooding ill humor
- Eerise – Suggestive of the supernatural mysterious
Call of the Wild Chapter 3 Summary Questions and Answers
Question 1.
What is the theme of chapter 3, “The Dominant Primordial Beast”?
Answer:
Buck, after killing Spitz, has become the lead dog of the team. He excels in this position, as he is both, skilled in maneuvering the sled and an able leader. The team has a new mission which is, to deliver the mail to the gold prospectors. The unhappy part, in the chapter is the death of Dave. So it is very clear, that “The Dominant Beast” is Buck.
Question 2.
How did the huskies attack destroy Francois and Perrault’s supplies ?
Answer:
After the huskies finally left, Francois and Perrault assessed the damage. All the team dogs are badly wounded, and their food supply is gone. The huskies attack magnifies the wild beast stirring within Buck. The supplies are depleted and the dogs are ridded with bites. Francois worries about the ration of the dogs and even their security.
Question 3.
What device does Perrault use to prevent himself from falling in the ice ?
Answer:
Perrault was in a hurry, and he prided himself on his knowledge of ice, which was indispensable, for the fall of ice was very thin. Perrault broke through the ice more than a dozen times, but he was successful in nosing the way. Perrault was saved by the long pole he carried.
Question 4.
How is the first dog on the team to go mad, killed ?
Answer:
The first dog on the team i.e., Dolly, who had never been conspicuous for anything, suddenly went mad. She had completely gone crazy; she sent every dog bristling with fear, then sprang straight on Buck. Buck doubled back hoping that Francois would save him. As Buck shot passed, the axe crashed down upon mad Dolly’s head.
Question 5.
Who attacks Buck after he has had an exhausting chase from the mad dog ? Describe the attack.
Answer:
Spitz attacks Buck, when Buck staggered towards the sledge, exhausted. Spitz sprang upon Buck, and sank his teeth into him, ripping and tearing his flesh. Buck gave the worst lashing ever given to any of the team. Francois was worried that one day Spitz would kill Buck. But Perrault said that Buck is like two devils, one day he will just chew up Spitz.
Extract Based Questions
Question 1.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
Buck got a frothing adversary by the throat, and was sprayed with blood when his teeth sank through the jugular. The warm taste of it in his mouth goaded him to greater fierceness. He flung himself upon another, and at the same time felt teeth sink into his own throat.
(i) Give the reference of the above passage.
(ii) How did Buck and Pike started the revolt against Spitz’s authority?
(iii) How did the final fight between Buck and Spitz start?
(iv) What went wrong with Dolly?
(v) How did Buck convince the dog drivers to make him the leader after Spitz?
Answer:
(i) The above passage has been taken from chapter-3 ‘The Dominant Primordial Beast’ of the Novel “The Call of the Wild”, written by Jack London. In this chapter, we learn about different dogs-Buck, Pike and Spitz and above all we learn about the dominating characteristics of Buck.
(ii) When Spitz flew to punish Pike, who pretended to be ill, Buck flew with equal rage to defend Pike. Now Pike also joined Buck and Spitz hurled backwards.
In this way, Pike and Buck started the revolt against Spitz.
(iii) When Spitz leapt in front of the rabbit, whereas Buck was also chasing the rabbit, Buck attacked Spitz, but, missed it. Spitz slashed Buck at the shoulder. They snarled at each other. Buck knew the right time would lead to death.
(iv) Dolly, who had never been conspicious for anything, suddenly went mad. She sent every dog bristling with fear, then sprang straight for Buck. She had gone completely crazy.
(v) Buck trotted up to the place of Spitz as a leader. But Francois brought Sol-leks to the position. Buck replaced Sol-leks, when Francois turned his back. Buck openly revolted. Leadership was his right, and he would not be content with less. In this way Buck convinced the dog-drivers to make him the leader after Spitz was killed.
Question 2.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
She announced her condition by a long, heart breaking wolf howl that sent every dog bristling with fear, then sprang straight for Buck. He had never seen a dog go mad, nor did he have any reason to fear madness, yet he knew that near
Answer:
(i) In the above extract, which has been taken from Chapter 3 – ‘The Dominant Primordial Beast’ of the novel, “The Call of the Wild”, written by Jack London. She is Dolly, a female dog who gets mad.
(ii) When Dolly turns mad due to rabies, her action as described by the author, starts to run straight towards Buck to attack him, but Francois started running and took the axe down on 0011)/s head, thus defending Buck.’
(iii) Every time when one of the men or dogs fell through the ice, it was not very easy to force them out. The easiest way was to build a fire, so that the creature could be forced out and it also helped it to get dry by running around the fire.
(iv) Buck’s feet had become soft in ice and the poor creature had a tough time. It was very difficult for him to walk. Francois cut his mocasins into 4, so Buck could never use them.
(v) Every night- at nine, at twelve, at three, the dogs sang a song, a weird and eerie chant, which Buck was delighted to join. It was an old song, a sad one which carried the pain of many generations.