Illustration of Buck in the snow with mountains in the background

The Call of the Wild

by Jack London

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Student Question

Why does Buck enjoy lying by the fire in Chapter 4?

Quick answer:

Buck enjoys lying by the fire in Chapter 4 because it evokes memories of his ancestral past when dogs were first domesticated by humans. As the lead dog, Buck begins to feel the call of the wild, yearning for the independence and wildness of his ancestors. While lying by the fire, he reflects on his past in California and envisions the time when dogs lived as wild animals alongside wild men.

Expert Answers

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To me, Buck likes to lie by the fire in this chapter because it is "reminding" him of what dogs used to be like when they were wild creatures first being domesticated by man.

Now that Buck is the lead dog, he is starting to hear the call of the wild -- he is starting to want to be wild and independent just like his ancestors were.

So when he lies by the fire, sometimes he thinks about the old times in California, but a lot of what he is doing is having these visions or memories or whatever of the days when dogs were wild animals living with wild men.

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