That Spot quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. Which literary genres best describe "That Spot"?

   • Correct answer: Tall Tale / Comedy
   • Naturalism / Tragedy
   • Gothic / Ghost Story
   • Realism / Memoir
   • Romanticism / Epic

   Tall Tale / Comedy is the perfect fit. The story uses comedic escalation — each attempt to get rid of Spot is more desperate and more hilariously unsuccessful than the last. Spot's indestructibility and uncanny ability to always return home are exaggerated beyond realism, giving the story the quality of a tall tale. The tone is humorous and the narrator's growing exasperation is played entirely for laughs.

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2. 2

   Question 2. Why do the narrator and Steve buy Spot in the first place?

   • He is the cheapest dog available in Dawson City and they are running low on money for supplies
   • Their previous lead dog has just died and Spot is the only animal available in the entire town
   • Correct answer: He looks like the ideal sled dog — the strongest-looking and most intelligent-looking brute the narrator ever saw
   • They need a guard dog to protect their gold claim from rival prospectors stealing their equipment

   The narrator and Steve buy Spot because he looks absolutely perfect — large, powerful, and beautifully built, the most intelligent-looking dog the narrator ever saw in Alaska. He appears to be a natural sled dog. The story's central irony is established immediately: the most impressive-looking dog in the Klondike turns out to be completely useless.

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3. 3

   Question 3. What is Stephen Mackaye's relationship to the narrator?

   • His brother from back home in California
   • His hired trail guide in the Klondike
   • His former employer from before the Gold Rush
   • Correct answer: His partner and fellow prospector

   Steve Mackaye is the narrator's partner — they prospect together and share the burden (and the misery) of owning Spot. Their friendship eventually breaks apart over the dog.

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4. 4

   Question 4. What makes Spot such a terrible sled dog?

   • He is too weak and underfed to pull, because the partners never provide enough food for a working sled dog
   • Correct answer: He refuses to pull, fakes getting lost to escape the harness, and steals from everybody, even his own partners' meat-cache
   • He is too old and arthritic to keep pace with younger dogs and slows the whole team down significantly
   • He is terrified of the cold and spends every night howling, preventing the team from sleeping

   Spot refuses to pull his share of the sled load, and he is clever enough to fake getting lost or tangled so he avoids working. He also steals food with extraordinary skill — from his own partners' meat-cache, from camps, from anywhere he can. The narrator even wonders: 'Maybe, like some men I know, he was too wise to work.'

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5. 5

   Question 5. What does "Impartial" mean in this story?

   • Only partly finished, with a good deal of the work still left to do
   • Correct answer: Treating everyone exactly the same, without favoring any one person
   • Taking one side strongly in a quarrel and refusing to hear the other
   • Unable to be stopped or avoided once it has been set in motion

   Impartial means fair to everyone, favoring nobody. London turns the word into a joke: 'But he was impartial. He stole from everybody.' Spot's one even-handed quality is that he robs his own partners' meat-cache, the other camps on the trail and every stranger alike.

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6. 6

   Question 6. What always happens when the narrator and Steve try to get rid of Spot?

   • Spot becomes violent and dangerous whenever separated from the narrator and Steve
   • The other prospectors refuse to buy him because his bad reputation spreads across the Klondike
   • Correct answer: Spot finds his way back to them no matter how far away he is sold or abandoned
   • The new owners return him immediately because he is too expensive to feed properly

   Every time the narrator and Steve sell him, give him away, or abandon him — even hundreds of miles away — Spot always returns. He navigates his way back across the Klondike with an almost supernatural reliability. Getting rid of Spot is, as the narrator concludes, simply impossible.

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7. 7

   Question 7. What does the narrator leave with Steve when he sneaks out of Alaska?

   • A letter of apology explaining everything
   • Half of their remaining gold claim
   • Spot's purchase papers and ownership documents
   • Correct answer: A packet of rat poison

   The narrator leaves Steve with Spot and a packet of rat poison — a dark comic hint that he hopes Steve will solve the Spot problem permanently. Steve, it turns out, has other ideas.

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8. 8

   Question 8. London writes that Spot's intelligence 'didn't run that way' when it came to work. What does this phrase reveal about Spot?

   • Correct answer: Spot is genuinely intelligent, but applies that intelligence entirely to avoiding work and obtaining food
   • Spot is actually not very bright and simply cannot understand what sled dogs are supposed to do
   • Spot's intelligence faded over time because the cold climate damaged his ability to think clearly
   • Spot was originally an intelligent, willing worker, but became lazy after Steve and the narrator whipped him in harness

   London's humorous point is that Spot is genuinely smart — smart enough to fake getting lost, navigate hundreds of miles back home, and steal food with expert precision. He simply chooses to apply his intelligence to comfort and survival rather than labor. In a sense, Spot has outsmarted everyone: he lives well, works never, and cannot be gotten rid of.

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9. 9

   Question 9. What is the central irony of "That Spot"?

   • After years of desperate attempts to get rid of Spot, the narrator becomes so attached to the dog that he refuses to leave him behind in the Klondike
   • The dog the partners give up on becomes the most valuable sled dog the Mounted Police ever owned, hauling their supplies six hundred miles to Dawson
   • The troublesome dog the partners despise eventually becomes a hero by saving the narrator's life on the Little Salmon
   • Correct answer: The most beautiful and intelligent-looking sled dog in the Klondike turns out to be completely useless at everything a sled dog is supposed to do

   The central irony is pure appearance-vs.-reality: Spot looks magnificent — the picture of a powerful, intelligent sled dog — but performs worse than any dog in Klondike history. His beauty and apparent intelligence make him more infuriating, not less, because every new owner buys him with high hopes that are immediately and thoroughly dashed.

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10. 10

    Question 10. What does "Forage" mean in this story?

    • To run ahead of the sled team and scout the trail for dangers or obstacles
    • To store large quantities of supplies in a hidden location for the winter
    • Correct answer: To search widely for food and steal or scavenge whatever can be found
    • To dig through frozen ground looking for gold nuggets and mineral deposits

    To forage means to search for and scavenge food. London notes that while Spot cannot be trained to pull a sled, he can steal and forage to perfection — finding food in camps, stealing from other dogs, and surviving entirely off other people's provisions. It is Spot's one true area of excellence.

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does Spot's repeated return home suggest about the story's theme of survival?

    • Correct answer: Spot is actually the most successful survivor in the story — he avoids all hard work and always turns up again, alive and hungry
    • Survival in the Klondike requires physical strength above everything else, and Spot's powerful muscles are what carry him through
    • The wilderness always punishes the lazy in the end, which is why Spot finally dies in the ice when the Stewart River breaks up in the spring
    • Survival depends on teamwork and loyalty, which is why Spot keeps returning to stand by his original owners in hard times

    In a darkly comic twist on London's usual survival themes, Spot is the ultimate survivor — not through strength or heroism, but through laziness, cleverness, and sheer indestructibility. While the narrator struggles and the prospectors labor in the brutal Klondike, Spot eats well, never works, and cannot be destroyed. He has solved the survival problem by refusing to participate in it honestly.

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12. 12

    Question 12. Where does the story end — where is the narrator when Steve shows up with Spot?

    • Back in Dawson City, Yukon
    • Correct answer: San Francisco or Oakland, California
    • Seattle, Washington
    • Up the Stewart River, Yukon

    The narrator has escaped all the way to San Francisco or Oakland, California — thousands of miles from the Klondike. Steve tracks him down there and chains Spot to his gate. There is truly no escaping that dog.

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13. 13

    Question 13. Why is the narrator angry at Steve Mackaye at the start of the story?

    • Steve borrowed money from the narrator to buy Spot in the first place and never paid it back
    • Correct answer: Steve tracked him all the way to California and chained Spot to the narrator's gate, dumping the dog on him permanently
    • Steve secretly sold their gold claim without telling the narrator and kept all the money for himself
    • Steve lost Spot on purpose to strand the narrator alone in the Klondike without a sled team

    The story has a frame structure: it opens with the narrator declaring his disappointment in Steve's character, then tells the whole history of Spot. The frame closes when Steve shows up in California and chains Spot to the narrator's gate — after the narrator thought he had finally escaped. The narrator is stuck with Spot forever.

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14. 14

    Question 14. Which literary technique does London use throughout "That Spot" to create the story's humor?

    • Correct answer: Comic escalation — each new attempt to get rid of Spot fails more spectacularly than the last
    • Dramatic irony — the reader knows Spot will return but the narrator never figures it out
    • Understatement — London describes Spot's disasters in the flattest, most emotionless language possible
    • Flashback — the story reveals Spot's whole history out of order to keep the reader guessing

    London uses comic escalation throughout: the narrator and Steve's attempts to get rid of Spot grow increasingly extreme — selling him, giving him away, abandoning him farther and farther from camp — and each attempt fails more completely than the one before. This escalating pattern of failure drives the story's humor and creates the feeling of a tall tale spinning gloriously out of control.

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15. 15

    Question 15. By the end of the story, what does the narrator say about his friendship with Steve?

    • He says Steve is the best partner he ever had, despite the whole Spot disaster between them
    • He says he and Steve have agreed to share ownership of Spot equally, alternating years
    • He says he forgives Steve completely because the Klondike was a hard place that changed everyone
    • Correct answer: He says he is deeply disappointed in Steve and had no idea Steve was capable of such a mean act

    The narrator ends by saying: 'And that is why I am disappointed in Stephen Mackaye. I had no idea he was so mean a man.' The joke is that the narrator blames Steve entirely — conveniently forgetting that he did the exact same thing to Steve when he sneaked out of Alaska with the rat poison.

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16. 16

    Question 16. What does "Perambulating" mean in this story?

    • Standing perfectly still, unable to move so much as a step
    • Thinking a plan over slowly and carefully before deciding on it
    • Correct answer: Walking or wandering about, moving from place to place on foot
    • Growing thinner and weaker every day from lack of food

    Perambulating means walking about, moving from place to place on foot. When Spot turns up six weeks after the partners sneaked away up the Stewart, he is 'a perambulating skeleton, and could just drag along; but he got there' — starved to the bone, yet still walking, still finding them. The word carries the comic indestructibility that makes him impossible to shake.

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17. 17

    Question 17. In what way does Spot function as a 'trickster figure' in this story?

    • He tricks other sled dogs into doing his share of the pulling by distracting them with stolen food
    • He pretends to be injured so the narrator feels guilty and gives him extra rations and rest
    • He convinces rival prospectors that he is a ferocious guard dog, so they never dare to approach the partners' camp at night
    • Correct answer: He outwits every human who tries to control him, using cleverness to get what he wants while avoiding all labor

    Spot is a classic trickster figure: he consistently outsmarts humans who hold power over him, getting food without earning it, escaping labor without suffering consequences, and returning home despite every attempt to exile him permanently. Like folkloric tricksters such as Br'er Rabbit or Coyote, Spot wins not through strength but through cleverness — and his victories are always comic rather than heroic.

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18. 18

    Question 18. How does the story's first-person narrator affect the humor of "That Spot"?

    • He tries to make Spot look bad but accidentally reveals that Spot is actually a perfectly normal dog
    • Correct answer: His exasperated, storytelling voice makes every failure feel funnier because readers see his total helplessness
    • He is a completely reliable narrator who calmly and objectively reports Spot's behavior without any emotion
    • He tells the story from Spot's point of view, which lets the reader understand the dog's motivations

    The first-person narrator's exasperated, storytelling voice is essential to the humor. He is clearly furious, clearly helpless, and clearly has no idea how to win against a dog. Readers can see exactly how much the narrator has been outwitted — which is funny precisely because the narrator himself does not find it funny at all. His indignation makes the comedy richer.

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19. 19

    Question 19. The narrator suspects Spot was 'too wise to work.' What one skill does the narrator admit Spot possessed to perfection?

    • Correct answer: The ability to steal and forage for food
    • The ability to find the shortest trail through the wilderness
    • The ability to predict dangerous weather before it arrived
    • The ability to lead other sled dogs by example and personality

    The narrator grudgingly admits that Spot could 'steal and forage to perfection' — his one undeniable area of genuine mastery. He was terrible at everything a sled dog should do and excellent at everything a sled dog should not do.

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20. 20

    Question 20. Which of these events actually happened in the story?

    • The narrator and Steve buy Spot because he looks like a powerful, intelligent sled dog.

      Happened

      They are fooled entirely by Spot's appearance — he is magnificent-looking, and they expect him to be the best dog in their team. This is the story's central irony.

    • Spot turns out to be a hard-working lead dog who earns his keep on the trail.

      Didn't happen

      The exact opposite — Spot refuses to pull at all and uses every trick available to avoid work. He is, according to the narrator, the worst sled dog in Klondike history.

    • Spot is sold and traded to other owners multiple times across the Klondike.

      Happened

      The narrator and Steve sell Spot dozens of times to various owners across the Yukon — and each time, Spot finds his way back. He is the most frequently re-sold dog in Gold Rush history.

    • Every new owner keeps Spot permanently because they discover hidden talents the narrator missed.

      Didn't happen

      Every new owner is just as miserable with Spot as the narrator and Steve. There are no hidden talents. Spot is returned, traded away, or escaped back every single time.

    • The narrator sneaks away from Alaska, leaving Steve alone with Spot and a packet of rat poison.

      Happened

      The narrator escapes to California, abandoning Steve with the dog and leaving rat poison as a heavily implied suggestion for how to deal with the situation permanently.

    • Steve successfully uses the rat poison to get rid of Spot before leaving the Klondike.

      Didn't happen

      Spot survives — of course. Steve eventually arrives in California and chains Spot to the narrator's gate, proving that not even rat poison can stop that dog.

    • Steve shows up in California and leaves Spot chained to the narrator's gate.

      Happened

      This is the story's punchline and its frame ending — Steve dumps Spot right back on the narrator, completing the cycle and proving there is truly no getting rid of that spot.

    • The narrator and Steve part as good friends who laugh together about the whole Spot adventure.

      Didn't happen

      Their friendship is destroyed. The narrator's final words are: 'I had no idea he was so mean a man.' The humor is that the narrator fails to notice he did the exact same thing to Steve earlier.

    • Spot consistently returns to the narrator and Steve no matter how far away he is taken.

      Happened

      This is Spot's defining supernatural quality — he always comes back. Distance, hundreds of miles, new owners, deliberate abandonment — nothing keeps Spot away.

    • The narrator admits that Spot could steal and forage for food with remarkable skill.

      Happened

      The narrator grants Spot one backhanded compliment: his intelligence 'didn't run that way' when it came to work, but he 'could steal and forage to perfection.' It is Spot's only genuine accomplishment.

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21. 21

    Question 21. What does the story suggest about the relationship between appearance and ability?

    • First impressions are usually correct, and Spot's buyers simply failed to test him properly
    • Appearance and ability tend to match in nature — what looks strong usually is strong
    • Correct answer: A magnificent appearance guarantees absolutely nothing about actual performance or character
    • Animals that look powerful are always the most dangerous and should never be trusted

    "That Spot" is a sustained comic argument that appearance tells you nothing about reality. Spot looks like the perfect sled dog — powerful, beautiful, intelligent — and is in fact the worst sled dog imaginable. London is gently satirizing the human tendency to judge by looks and be fooled by a fine exterior.

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22. 22

    Question 22. How does London use the Klondike Gold Rush setting to make the story funnier?

    • Correct answer: The Gold Rush setting makes the stakes higher — sled dogs are essential for survival — so Spot's uselessness is a life-threatening catastrophe played for laughs
    • The Gold Rush setting is irrelevant to the humor — the same jokes about a lazy, greedy dog would be equally funny in any city or village in America
    • The Gold Rush setting allows London to include detailed, factual information about mining techniques and the daily routine of a gold miner
    • The Gold Rush setting makes Spot a sympathetic hero — readers feel sorry for a hard-driven sled dog who is cold, hungry, and overworked on the frozen trail all winter

    The Klondike setting raises the comic stakes enormously. Sled dogs in the Yukon were not pets — they were critical working animals that prospectors depended on to haul supplies, travel through blizzards, and survive the brutal winter. A dog that refuses to work is not just annoying in that context — it is a genuine survival crisis. London plays this gap for maximum comedy: the most important kind of dog in the harshest environment in North America, and theirs is completely useless.

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23. 23

    Question 23. How does "That Spot" differ in tone from London's other Klondike stories like "To Build a Fire"?

    • "That Spot" celebrates the heroism and courage of two partners on the trail, while "To Build a Fire" focuses on the animal instinct that keeps a sled dog alive
    • Both stories share the same dark, naturalistic tone — each one shows a man slowly losing a hopeless battle against the cruel cold of the Yukon
    • Correct answer: "That Spot" is playful and comedic while "To Build a Fire" is grim and tragic — both use the same Yukon setting but for completely different effects
    • "That Spot" is more realistic and serious than "To Build a Fire," which exaggerates the dangers of the Yukon cold far beyond what is believable

    London was a remarkably versatile writer. 'To Build a Fire' uses the Yukon to show nature as a cold, indifferent force that kills without mercy — the tone is grim and deterministic. 'That Spot' uses the exact same setting for pure comic effect — the tone is warm, exasperated, and playful. The contrast shows London's range: he could make the same wilderness tragic or hilarious depending on his purpose.

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