Answer:
Claim: Given the recent evidence, Jack London should not be considered a “nature faker” because his portrayal of Buck in The Call of the Wild is consistent with current research about animal cognition.
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Reason #1: Buck and the parrot from Pepperberg’s studies both have the ability to manipulate their owners.
Evidence from The Call of the Wild: When Buck realizes that he is not the leader after he kills Spitz, he begins to manipulate his owners by refusing to listen to their commands and disrupting the other dogs on the team.
Evidence from informational text: During her research studies with a parrot named Alex, she noted that the bird would speak up to correct other birds who mispronounced words that they were learning.
Explanation: How do the pieces of evidence connect to one another? This demonstrates that, like Buck, the parrot is able to assess the situation and create confusion and problems in order to try and persuade his owner to do something differently.
Explanation: How do the pieces of evidence support the reason and claim? Both Buck and the parrot demonstrate that they have reasoning skills through their actions because they are able to make decisions and act in ways that are likely to compel their owners to take different actions.
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Reason #2: Buck and the dog from animal studies both demonstrate abstract thinking.
Evidence from The Call of the Wild: After Buck kills the Yeehats, he draws the conclusion that he will no longer fear
man unless he has a club or weapon.
Evidence from informational text: A dog who was given a 2dimensional picture was able to connect the picture with the actual, 3 dimensional object.
Explanation: How do the pieces of evidence connect to one another? This shows that dogs can go beyond matching items that are exactly alike, and instead can apply abstract reasoning skills to think about what the picture represents. This is similar to the type of thought process Buck engages in when he connects ideas to draw the conclusion that humans are weak without their weapons.
Explanation: How do the pieces of evidence support the reason and claim? Both animals can connect ideas together to form new ideas or conclusions.
Conclusion
Restate your claim: Although John Burroughs would disagree, Jack London should not be considered a “nature faker” for his portrayal of Buck in The Call of the Wild.
Concluding thoughts that support your argument: Various research studies have shown that animals and humans are not that different after all when it comes to their ability to reason.
Explanation:
https://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plans/jack-londons-call-wild-nature-faker
Hope this helps.
