The answers to these questions should be written down as you are
reading the book. These questions will help to guide your reading. You will be
tested on the book in September.
General Questions:
1. List the characters as they are introduced and describe them.
2. List the different settings that are described.
3. Be able to tell what happens in the beginning of the story,
middle of the story, and the end.
4. What was the problem?
5. Was the problem resolved? How?
6. How did the story conclude?
Questions for Chapter 1
7.What was Buck’s life like at the judge’s home?
8. What breed of dog is Buck?
9. What did Manuel do that got him into debt?
10. Why did Buck go willingly with Manuel?
11. How does the man in the red sweater train Buck?
12. What does Buck learn from the man?
13. How does Buck react to the snow when he is taken to Alaska?
Questions for Chapter 2
14. What happened to Curly that later gave Buck nightmares?
15. What did Buck learn from Curly’s tragedy?
16. Why couldn’t Buck find the other dogs from his team that
first night in the snow?
17. What purpose did Francois have in putting Buck in between
the other sled dogs, Dave and Sol-leks?
18. Why did Buck begin to hate Spitz?
19. What trick does Buck learn from Pike which he would never
had done at the judge’s household?
Questions for Chapters 3
and 4
20. Why did Spitz go out of its way to snarl at and bully Buck?
21.What actually happened that started the fight between Buck
and Spitz?
22. What happened in the middle of the fight that stopped it?
23. Why was the Thirty Mile River considered to be the hardest
part of the trail?
24. What did the dog-driver do for Buck to solve the problem of
Buck’s sore feet?
25. Before Dolly chased Buck, how did she let it be known that
she had gone mad?
26. How did the breaking down of the dogs’ discipline affect the
dog team?
27. What did Buck do to Spitz that meant certain death for his
old foe?
Questions for Chapter 5
28. Why does the journey take twice as long on this trip from
Dawson to Skagway?
29. Describe the condition of the dogs as they enter Skagway.
30. How many days of rest do the dogs get in their last 1,800
miles?
31.What does Buck’s first impression of his new owner’s camp
tell about the new owners?
32. How do the new owners pack the sled, and what is the result?
33. What advice do the citizens of Skagway give the new sled
owners?
34. What kind of outlook does the team have when the new dogs
arrive? Why?
Questions for Chapters 6
and 7
35. Why does Buck love John Thornton more than any of his
masters?
36. What is the lesson that Buck teaches “Black” Burton?
37. Describe how Buck receives three cracked ribs while saving
John Thornton’s life.
38. Why does John Thornton and his partners decide to travel
east and leave Dawson?
39. What would it have meant if the men found the old Lost Cabin?
40. What happens back at the camp while Buck is returning from
hunting his moose?
41. Why does Buck have such a sense of pride after what he does
to the Yeehats?
42. Why do the Yeehats refer to Buck as the Evil Spirit?
