The Call of the Wild: Chapters 6–7

by Jack London
In this action-packed adventure story, a domesticated dog must shed his civilized ways to become a proper sled dog during the Yukon Gold Rush. Read the full text here.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–2, Chapters 3–4, Chapter 5, Chapters 6–7
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. expediency
    the quality of being suited to the end in view
    Other men saw to the welfare of their dogs from a sense of duty and business expediency; he saw to the welfare of his as if they were his own children, because he could not help it.
  2. transient
    lasting a very short time
    His transient masters since he had come into the Northland had bred in him a fear that no master could be permanent.
  3. malicious
    having the nature of threatening evil
    "Black" Burton, a man evil-tempered and malicious, had been picking a quarrel with a tenderfoot at the bar, when Thornton stepped good-naturedly between.
  4. provocation
    unfriendly behavior that causes anger or resentment
    A "miners' meeting," called on the spot, decided that the dog had sufficient provocation, and Buck was discharged.
  5. jubilant
    joyful and proud especially because of triumph or success
    Matthewson waxed jubilant.
  6. superfluous
    more than is needed, desired, or required
    He was in perfect condition, without an ounce of superfluous flesh, and the one hundred and fifty pounds that he weighed were so many pounds of grit and virility.
  7. momentum
    an impelling force or strength
    The jerks perceptibly diminished; as the sled gained momentum, he caught them up, till it was moving steadily along.
  8. incoherent
    without logical or meaningful connection
    Men were shaking hands, it did not matter with whom, and bubbling over in a general incoherent babel.
  9. boundless
    seemingly limitless in amount, number, degree, or extent
    To Buck it was boundless delight, this hunting, fishing, and indefinite wandering through strange places.
  10. pertinacity
    persistent determination
    But in the end Buck's pertinacity was rewarded; for the wolf, finding that no harm was intended, finally sniffed noses with him.
  11. formidable
    extremely impressive in strength or excellence
    His cunning was wolf cunning, and wild cunning; his intelligence, shepherd intelligence and St. Bernard intelligence; and all this, plus an experience gained in the fiercest of schools, made him as formidable a creature as any that intelligence roamed the wild.
  12. asunder
    into parts or pieces
    Life streamed through him in splendid flood, glad and rampant, until it seemed that it would burst him asunder in sheer ecstasy and pour forth generously over the world.
  13. certitude
    complete assurance or confidence
    He broke into the long easy lope, and went on, hour after hour, never at loss for the tangled way, heading straight home through strange country with a certitude of direction that put man and his magnetic needle to shame.
  14. usurp
    seize and take control without authority
    For the last time in his life he allowed passion to usurp cunning and reason, and it was because of his great love for John Thornton that he lost his head.
  15. void
    an empty area or space
    It left a great void in him, somewhat akin to hunger, but a void which ached and ached, and which food could not fill.
Created on Tue May 21 20:45:55 EDT 2013 (updated Wed Jun 18 20:41:58 EDT 2025)

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