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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 35 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 London, Jack
| Which 1908 novel of London's is presented as the story of the "First Revolt" against the capitalist ruling class, told from the point of view of 700 years in the future? | The Works of Jack London
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The Iron Heel. As may be inferred from the plot description, London was a socialist. He twice ran for mayor of Oakland, and once for a seat on the school board (seemingly a strange position for politics, but remember that this is the same board that decides what version of history is taught in our schools). The revolt described by London was the first of many, and his foreword claimed it took 300 years afterward before the capitalists were overthrown.
When George Orwell published his much more famous '1984' some years later, he acknowledged his debt to London for paving the way with works such as this one.
| In what 1906 novel does London tell the story of the gradual rise into civility of the mixed offspring of a wolf and a half wolf, half husky? | The Works of Jack London
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White Fang. 'White Fang' was intended as a sequel and companion to 'The Call of the Wild', which had described the descent into savagery of a formerly tame dog. White Fang begins his life as a member of a pack of wolves (where Buck ends his) and ends it in the home of a powerful and important man in California (where Buck begins his).
| What 1906 work of London's tells of a man who lives a normal life by day, only to spend nights in the dream life of a hunter in prehistoric times? | The Works of Jack London
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Before Adam. The dream sequence was a technique London liked to use often, and for good reason. It enabled him to have the trappings of prehistoric life described in a modern fashion, without having to put words in the cavemen's mouths that they could never have possibly said.
Although London was wrong about several things (most notably his belief that memory was stored in DNA, whose structure had not been discovered yet), he did accurately predict that humans would not evolve all at once but in several interacting hominid species.
| Not all of London's work was fiction. His 'The Story of an Eyewitness' was an account of his experiences with the aftermath of what natural disaster? | The Works of Jack London
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An earthquake in San Francisco. London lived 40 miles out of San Francisco at the time, and was asked by Collier's magazine to rush to the city after the earthquake of 1906. Much of the city survived the quake, only to be ravaged by the fires started soon afterward. As London wrote, "Not in history has a modern imperial city been so completely destroyed. San Francisco is gone".
| Several of London's novels are (at least somewhat) autobiographical. In what novel does he describe the rise to high society of a poor seaman who decides to become self-educated and learn to write to become respected by a society girl named Ruth? | The Works of Jack London
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Martin Eden. His work is initially spurned both by Ruth's family and publishers. As soon as he writes a lesser work which becomes popular, however, they come back begging for the same works they rejected before. Martin, a poor man by this point, can find no true satisfaction in society's love for him, since by that point he realizes the hypocrisy of that love. Perhaps this too comes from London's own life.
| In another of London's autobiographical works, subtitled "Alcoholic Memoirs", he describes (not suprisingly) his encounters with alcohol. What is this work? | The Works of Jack London
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John Barleycorn. The personal feelings described by London towards alcohol in these memoirs are mixed, and London opens by saying that "He [John Barleycorn, a pseudonym for Alcohol] is the king of liars. He is the frankest truthsayer... His way leads to truth naked, and to death. He gives clear vision, and muddy dreams." Nevertheless, London claimed that he voted for women's suffrage that year only because he felt it would be the women who would finally implement prohibition.
| In one of London's novels, Humphrey Van Weyden is rescued by a mysterious Captain Larsen of the Ghost. By what other name is Larsen known? | The Works of Jack London
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The Sea Wolf. Wolf Larsen of 1904's 'The Sea Wolf' was a ruthless autocratic industrialist compared by some to the Nietzschean superman...in other words, everything that London hated. Sure enough, he suffers a fitting demise at the end of the novel, with Humphrey and the poet Maude Brewster escaping together without Larsen with them.
| What 1915 novel of London's relates the story of Darrel Standing, a man who lives dozens of lives in dozens of times and places, all while bodily spending his final days in San Quentin Prison? | The Works of Jack London
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Star Rover. In this later work one can see many of the themes which had been woven together in London's other works in the past. The dream sequence was one he had used in the past, particularly in "Before Adam", while his concern for the working class showed itself in his indictment of the conditions of San Quentin prison (London himself had been imprisoned for vagrancy as a youth, but not at San Quentin).
| First published in "The Youth's Companion", what short story tells of a man who, after falling into a cold spring at teperatures of 75 below zero, must perform the title action if he is to survive? | The Works of Jack London
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To Build a Fire. The final version of the story was over 7000 words long, while the version published in "The Youth's Companion" was cut to a mere 2700. It is no wonder then that London referred to the published version as "For Boys Only".
I hope you enjoyed this quiz! If you're interested in finding more information on London, the Berkeley Digital Library ( http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/London/Writings/ ) is a good place to start. It also contains the full text of all 10 works in this quiz (and many others!)
Judge Miller. Buck is the king over all the other living creatures on the ranch. The other dogs are not even in the competition with him and he looks like becoming the Judge's companion for life.
a St. Bernard. Buck was not as big as his father who was a St.Bernard called Elmo. He only weighed one hundred and forty pounds. Unfortunately he was big enough to be stolen and sent north to the Klondike to become a sled dog.
He is stolen by Manuel one of the servants and passed on.. Manuel liked to play the Chinese lottery. However, the wages of a gardener did not allow him to play his "system" properly and so he had to resort to stealing Buck and selling him onwards.
He knew he stood no chance against a man with a club.. The part of the book where Buck is beaten (but not broken) is one of the most moving episodes. It was a lesson that he learns that he never forgets in all the rest of his life.
He was a courier for the Canadian Government.. Perrault had been able to pay good money for Buck and the rest of his team because he was able to use Government money. All that mattered was that he put together a strong and fast team so that dispatches got from place to place very quickly.
It had to be eaten quickly or it would be stolen by the other dogs.. When he first starts the trail Buck is a dainty eater. However, he learns to eat quickly when the others steal his portion. He can fight one dog but while he does so the others get at his unguarded food. In imitation of a dog called Pike he learns how to steal food from his two masters.
| One night near Lake le Barge Buck and Spitz get involved in a fight that looks like it will be to the death.What postpones the fatal encounter on this occasion? | "The Call of the Wild" by Jack London
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The camp is attacked by a starving pack of four score of huskies.. Buck settles down in the snow but leaves his "nest" to get his food. Spitz steals his place and the fight begins. In come the starving huskies -"the hunger madness made them terrifying, irresistible. There was no opposing them." Though Spitz tries a treacherous attack in the fight Buck comes through it alive.
He suddenly changed his attack and crunched through his left foreleg.. At first the fight seems to be going against Buck but Jack London says that Buck didn't just fight by instinct..."he could fight by head as well". It was the quality of imagination that most dogs lacked that allowed Buck to come out on top.
Buck went to the head of the team and refused his old position.. As far as Buck was concerned he had won the right to lead the team. Francois and Perrault try to put Sol-leks in the leader's place but Buck drives him out. Eventually Francois and Perrault give in to Buck and let him take over the leadership.
Charles, Hal and Mercedes. The gradual disintegration of the three human beings leads to great cruelty to the dogs. The sheer foolishness and inexperience bring about a great tragedy for all concerned. Mistake after mistake is made and the dogs have to suffer for it all.
They can't carry enough weight of food to feed that many dogs.. Food is at the centre of all life in the Arctic. Once they leave a settlement Hal and Charles aren't experienced enough to hunt for extra food nor are they sensible about how they give it out. Over feeding is quickly followed by starvation.
Buck breaks out and pulls a sledge carrying one thousand pounds.. The sledge that Buck manages to pull has its runners frozen into the ice as well as the thousand pounds of weight on board. Buck has to use both intelligence and brute force in order to win the bet for John Thornton. He did also help to get John Thornton out of a flooded river but that was not for a bet.
Perrault and Francois. Buck notices that Francois whips the dogs less frequently than Perrault.
To find gold. The men were looking for heavy, strong dogs with long-haired coats to pull their sleds.
Alice and Mollie. Buck liked to escort the Judge's daughters, Alice and Mollie, on long twilight or early morning rambles.
In the Santa Clara Valley. Buck lived in a big house in the Santa Clara Valley.
Dave. He refuses to be left behind, and follows the sled. The next morning he is shot.
4. Buck had lived in the Santa Clara Valley for the whole four years of his life.
John Thornton. Buck enjoys it when his owner, John Thornton, shakes him back and forth and lovingly curses him.
A moose. Buck guards it for days, not allowing it to eat or drink, until he is finally able to kill it with ease.
He joins a wolf pack. The Yeehats tell of a ghost dog that runs at the head of the pack (this is Buck). They are afraid of this dog. They also notice a change in the colouration of timber wolves, as some are seen with splashes of brown on their head or muzzle, or with a rift of white down their chest.
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