White Fang

“It crushed them into the remotest recesses of their own minds, pressing out of them, like juices from the grape, all the false ardours and exaltations and undue self-values of the human soul, until they perceived themselves finite and small, specks and motes, moving with weak cunning and little wisdom amidst the play and inter-play of the great blind elements and forces.”

The task of surviving in the wilderness places intense stress on the human psyche. As humans become aware of their smallness and their weaknesses, they struggle psychologically because this realization is in conflict with everything humans believe about their place at the top of the natural hierarchy. Isolated from the things that give them strength, people surviving in the wilderness are caught up in their own minds, the depths of which can become dark as more stress is added to the human psyche.

“He tried to sniff noses with her, but she retreated playfully and coyly. Every advance on his part was accompanied by a corresponding retreat on her part. Step by step she was luring him away from the security of his human companionship. Once, as though a warning had in vague ways flitted through his intelligence, he turned his head and looked back at the overturned sled, at his team-mates, and at the two men who were calling to him.”

This moment is one of intense tension, as it is the calm before the storm of this dog’s death. London describes how the sharply intelligent wolves are able to lure the domesticated dogs into danger. Here, the frightening and powerful she-wolf is calculating and deceptive, exploiting her canine connection with the dog she will kill and eat. This passage emphasizes the danger of trusting others in the wilderness.

“With night came horror. Not only were the starving wolves growing bolder, but lack of sleep was telling upon Henry. He dozed despite himself, crouching by the fire, the blankets about his shoulders, the axe between his knees, and on either side a dog pressing close against him. He awoke once and saw in front of him, not a dozen feet away, a big gray wolf, one of the largest of the pack. And even as he looked, the brute deliberately stretched himself after the manner of a lazy dog, yawning full in his face and looking upon him with a possessive eye, as if, in truth, he were merely a delayed meal that was soon to be eaten.”

Here, Henry is the prey, and the wolf toys with him, as if mocking Henry’s inability to flee. The use of the word “deliberately” signals that London is personifying the wolf, giving it intentions that make its actions more compelling to the reader. The scene emphasizes the drama of the wilderness; there is horror in the darkness, and the threat of the wolves is presented as insurmountable. Henry can’t sleep because of the immediate threat of the wolves, contributing to his disintegrating psyche.

“Then he would cast a glance of fear at the wolf-circle drawn expectantly about him, and like a blow the realisation would strike him that this wonderful body of his, this living flesh, was no more than so much meat, a quest of ravenous animals, to be torn and slashed by their hungry fangs, to be sustenance to them as the moose and the rabbit had often been sustenance to him.”

Henry’s experience of corporeality reveals the fragility of the human body. Unlike his dogs, Henry can comprehend the paradox of his body being both beautiful and mortal. This quote uses the irony of the role reversal to explore how humans can become food for animals. Humans are not accustomed to being lower than other animals on the food chain, but this is the reality Henry must accept.

“Forgotten were the days they had hunted together, the game they had pulled down, the famine they had suffered. That business was a thing of the past. The business of love was at hand—ever a sterner and crueller business than that of food-getting.”

In the life cycle of the wild, the past is quickly left behind. It is within the wolves’ instincts to not dwell on their pain so that they can survive the next phase of the seasons. This differentiates the wolves from the humans, who worry about the past and care deeply about memory. That animals can turn away from those memories and live for the moment is crucial to their survival.

“And all the while the she-wolf sat on her haunches and smiled. She was made glad in vague ways by the battle, for this was the love-making of the Wild, the sex-tragedy of the natural world that was tragedy only to those that died. To those that survived it was not tragedy, but realisation and achievement.”

As a female wolf, the she-wolf can sit back and wait for the right mate to win her. It is important to the she-wolf to have a strong mate so she can reproduce; being a mother is part of her instincts. The male wolves literally kill for the chance to father the she-wolf’s cubs. This points to the harsh reality of male competition in animal circles.

“The sun had come back, and all the awakening Northland world was calling to him. Life was stirring. The feel of spring was in the air, the feel of growing life under the snow, of sap ascending in the trees, of buds bursting the shackles of the frost.”

London uses springtime as a symbol for rebirth and new beginnings. Just as the natural world around the wolves becomes slightly more hospitable due to thawing and slightly warmer temperatures, allowing life to start again, so too does the she-wolf give birth to new cubs. In literature, spring often symbolizes hope, a bright future, and new beginnings.

“Of her own experience she had no memory of the thing happening; but in her instinct, which was the experience of all the mothers of wolves, there lurked a memory of fathers that had eaten their new-born and helpless progeny. It manifested itself as a fear strong within her, that made her prevent One Eye from more closely inspecting the cubs he had fathered.”

This quote emphasizes the importance of natural instinct in the wild. Unlike humans, who are self-aware of their gaps or gains in knowledge, wolves have a knowledge that is inexplicable; it simply exists. Here, the she-wolf’s maternal instinct informs her not to trust the father of her cubs. In the wild, instincts can be confused, which can lead to detrimental consequences, highlighting the insecurity of living in the wild while questioning one’s instinct.

“In fact, the gray cub was not given to thinking—at least, to the kind of thinking customary of men. His brain worked in dim ways. Yet his conclusions were as sharp and distinct as those achieved by men. He had a method of accepting things, without questioning the why and wherefore. In reality, this was the act of classification. He was never disturbed over why a thing happened. How it happened was sufficient for him.”

This passage explains how the minds of wolves develop. Wolves do not question the world they encounter; they simply accept it and continue living. Wolves live in the moment and are not tortured by abstract questions of philosophy and morality. London shows an appreciation for a nonhuman way of relating to the world and highlights why wolves are superior survivors in the wild.

“It did not occur to him that this fearlessness was founded upon experience and knowledge. Its effect on him was that of an impression of power. His mother represented power; and as he grew older he felt this power in the sharper admonishment of her paw; while the reproving nudge of her nose gave place to the slash of her fangs. For this, likewise, he respected his mother.”

This quote characterizes the nature of the cub’s relationship with the she-wolf. The cub is awed by her power and intimidated by her abilities and instincts. This foreshadows an important transition from cubhood to adulthood, because soon the cub will also be powerfully in tune with his instincts and in possession of a powerful body. This quote also characterizes the relationships between animals as one of power; because the she-wolf can be harsh in her movements towards her cub, he fears her and therefore respects her. In the wild, love is based on nurturing and surviving through hierarchies of dominance. Thus, the cub’s love for his mother is not the same type of love that humans have for their mothers. The she-wolf is a protector and a provider, but for now, she is also superior to the cub in her powers.

“And out of this classification arose the law. The aim of life was meat. Life itself was meat. Life lived on life. There were the eaters and the eaten. The law was: EAT OR BE EATEN. He did not formulate the law in clear, set terms and moralise about it. He did not even think the law; he merely lived the law without thinking about it at all.”

While humans live according to man-made laws, wolves live according to natural laws, which they discern through experience. The wolves don’t think about the law because they don’t need to; in this way, they are superior to the constant apprehension of the philosophical human being. London’s writing celebrates the laws of “eat or be eaten” and “life lives on life” because there is an honesty and a directness to such laws. Though humans are technically part of that circle of life, they have created their own laws to live separately from the laws of the wild.

“He was to know fear many times in his dealing with man; yet it was a token of the fearless companionship with man that was ultimately to be his.”

This quote foreshadows White Fang’s up-and-down relationship with human beings. This foreshadowing implies that nearly everything is fragile in the wild, including relationships built within human society. This passage also signals that, despite the complexities of dealing with the human race, White Fang settles into a partnership with human beings permanently.

“And then shame came to him. He knew laughter and the meaning of it. It is not given us to know how some animals know laughter, and know when they are being laughed at; but it was this same way that White Fang knew it.”

In this quote, London personifies White Fang by giving him a human emotion: shame. It is not possible for us to know if animals can feel shame, a fact which London admits in this very quote. But the effect of the personification here is to relate to London’s reader’s sympathies and to emphasize the difficulty of White Fang’s growing up around new people and dogs.

“It was a placing of his destiny in another’s hands, a shifting of the responsibilities of existence. This in itself was compensation, for it is always easier to lean upon another than to stand alone.”

In Parts 1 and 2, London characterizes the setting of the wild as a fearful, awesome, but ultimately a free and beautiful space. Now that White Fang lives within the confines of a society, he is able to experience the benefit of not living in the wild, namely, the protection that is established when another being is responsible for your safety. White Fang learns how to rely on the humans, which is in some ways a relief. On the other hand, this shift in responsibilities ultimately degrades White Fang’s own abilities and instincts of survival.

“One cannot violate the promptings of one’s nature without having that nature recoil upon itself. Such a recoil is like that of a hair, made to grow out from the body, turning unnaturally upon the direction of its growth and growing into the body—a rankling, festering thing of hurt.”

This passage develops London’s message about the importance of instincts. All living beings have instincts that inform their genetic codes and the way they engage with the world. External conflicts challenge those instincts, and when that happens, an internal conflict between nature, self, and external conflict. Disruptions and violations of nature are a corporeal as well as mental internal conflict.

“It was at Fort Yukon that White Fang saw his first white men. As compared with the Indians he had known, they were to him another race of beings, a race of superior gods.”

The introduction of the white men in White Fang’s life is the start of a new chapter. White men show White Fang the worst and the best of humanity. Notably, this quote presents white men as inherently superior to Indigenous men. London uses his animal protagonist, who is not socialized to understand the constructs of race, to push a 19th and early 20th century belief in white supremacy.

“He raged and snarled at them, or lay quietly and studied them with cold hatred. Why should he not hate them? He never asked himself the question. He knew only hate and lost himself in the passion of it. Life had become a hell to him. He had not been made for the close confinement wild beasts endure at the hands of men.”

White Fang’s life is hellish. His loneliness has surpassed the solitary independence of his previous years, and his hatred for the men is unquestionable. In this quote, London challenges his reader’s perception of humans as superior to animals by pointing out the cruelty of men who keep animals sequestered. White Fang’s confinement is worse than any threat or danger he faced while living in the wild, emphasizing the harmful nature of keeping animals in captivity.

“‘Look at the intelligence of him,’ Scott went on hastily. ‘He knows the meaning of firearms as well as you do. He’s got intelligence and we’ve got to give that intelligence a chance. Put up the gun.’”

White Fang’s intelligence ultimately saves his life. This quote emphasizes White Fang’s special qualities and why he’s London’s ideal protagonist for a story about adaptation, resilience, and living in the wild. It also emphasizes Scott as an important character who can see and understand White Fang’s potential.

“He talked softly and soothingly, with a gentleness that somehow, somewhere, touched White Fang. In spite of himself and all the pricking warnings of his instinct, White Fang began to have confidence in this god. He had a feeling of security that was belied by all his experience with men.”

Despite White Fang’s recent history of abuse and his long history of enduring suffering, he is capable of sensing pleasure in kind words, soft tones, and affection. This quote highlights that such kindness is inherently attractive; it is always possible to reach a fellow living creature by extending kindness and patience. This quote also marks a major turning point in White Fang’s character development.

“It was the beginning of the end for White Fang—the ending of the old life and the reign of hate. A new and incomprehensibly fairer life was dawning. It required much thinking and endless patience on the part of Weedon Scott to accomplish this. And on the part of White Fang it required nothing less than a revolution. He had to ignore the urges and promptings of instinct and reason, defy experience, give the lie to life itself.”

Part 4 provides two plot twists: White Fang’s incarceration and abuse at the hands of Beauty and his freedom and newfound sense of love from Scott. This quote calls White Fang’s new life “incomprehensibly fairer,” emphasizing how White Fang never expected, dreamed, hoped, or could have predicted that his life could be stable, secure, and full of peace and love. White Fang needs to undergo a revolution in his instincts and his interpretation of his experiences, because his life will be so different than what it was before. Here, London celebrates the resilience and adaptability of the wolf.

“As the days went by, the evolution of like into love was accelerated. White Fang himself began to grow aware of it, though in his consciousness he knew not what love was. It manifested itself to him as a void in his being—a hungry, aching, yearning void that clamoured to be filled. It was a pain and an unrest; and it received easement only by the touch of the new god’s presence.”

White Fang isn’t conscious of what love is, nor does he miss love in his years without it, but once he experiences love, it fills a void he didn’t know he had. This new instinct is developed by a human, but it is nonetheless inherent to White Fang’s nature. The power of love changes White Fang’s life for the better.

“The log cabins he had known were replaced by towering buildings. The streets were crowded with perils—wagons, carts, automobiles; great, straining horses pulling huge trucks; and monstrous cable and electric cars hooting and clanging through the midst, screeching their insistent menace after the manner of the lynxes he had known in the northern woods.”

The narrative setting of this novel is mostly set in the wild, a setting which is characterized by its brutality and difficulty. In Part 5, London introduces a new setting, demonstrating the many ways of living unknown to White Fang. The industrialization in this passage is in juxtaposition to the Yukon. This new setting helps London emphasize the beauty and necessity of wild places like the Yukon as havens for wolves like White Fang.

“Between him and all domestic animals there must be no hostilities. If not amity, at least neutrality must obtain. But the other animals—the squirrels, and quail, and cottontails, were creatures of the Wild who had never yielded allegiance to man.”

White Fang starts to understand a new hierarchy in animal life. Now that White Fang is domesticated, he no longer needs to compete with other domesticated animals. Because squirrels and other woodland creatures are not domesticated, White Fang can run and hunt them, finding an outlet for his wild side while his tamer side helps him coexist with humans and other domesticated animals.