''White Fang'' is a novel by American author

Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...

(1876–1916) — and the name of the book's eponymous character, a wild

wolfdog A wolfdog is a canine produced by the mating of a domestic dog (''Canis familiaris'') with a gray wolf (''Canis lupus''), eastern wolf (''Canis lycaon''), red wolf (''Canis rufus''), or Ethiopian wolf (''Canis simensis'') to produce a hyb ...

. First serialized in ''

Outing Outing is the act of disclosing an LGBT person's sexual orientation or gender identity without that person's consent. It is often done for political reasons, either to instrumentalize homophobia in order to discredit political opponents or to com ...

'' magazine between May and October 1906, it was published in book form in October 1906. The story details White Fang's journey to domestication in

Yukon Territory Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

and the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush. It is a companion novel (and a thematic mirror) to London's best-known work, ''

The Call of the Wild ''The Call of the Wild'' is a short adventure novel by Jack London, published in 1903 and set in Yukon, Canada, during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, when strong sled dogs were in high demand. The central character of the novel is a dog named Bu ...

'' (1903), which is about a kidnapped, domesticated dog embracing his wild ancestry to survive and thrive in the wild. Much of ''White Fang'' is written from the viewpoint of the titular canine character, enabling London to explore how animals view their world and how they view humans. ''White Fang'' examines the violent world of wild animals and the equally violent world of humans. The book also explores complex themes including

morality Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of cond ...

and redemption. As early as 1925, the story was adapted to film, and it has since seen several more cinematic adaptations, including a 1991 film starring

Ethan Hawke Ethan Green Hawke (born November 6, 1970) is an American actor and film director. He has been nominated for four Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award. Hawke has directed three feature films, three off-Broadway plays, and a doc ...

and a 2018 original film for Netflix.

Plot summary

The story begins before the

wolf-dog hybrid A wolfdog is a canine produced by the mating of a domestic dog (''Canis familiaris'') with a gray wolf (''Canis lupus''), eastern wolf (''Canis lycaon''), red wolf (''Canis rufus''), or Ethiopian wolf (''Canis simensis'') to produce a hybri ...

is born, with two men and their

sled dog A sled dog is a dog trained and used to pull a land vehicle in Dog harness, harness, most commonly a Dog sled, sled over snow. Sled dogs have been used in the Arctic for at least 8,000 years and, along with watercraft, were the only transport ...

team on a journey to deliver the coffin of Lord Alfred to a remote town named Fort McGurry in the higher area of the

. The men, Bill and Henry, are stalked by a large pack of starving wolves over the course of several days. Finally, after all of their dogs and Bill have been eaten, more teams find Henry escaping from the wolves; the wolf pack scatters when they hear the large group of people coming. The story then follows the pack, which has been robbed of its last prey. When the pack finally brings down a moose, the

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, Demographic trap, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. Th ...

is ended; they eventually split up, and the story now follows a she-wolf and her mate, One Eye. One Eye claimed her after defeating and killing a younger rival. The she-wolf gives birth to a

litter Litter consists of waste products that have been discarded incorrectly, without consent, at an unsuitable location. Litter can also be used as a verb; to litter means to drop and leave objects, often man-made, such as aluminum cans, paper cups, ...

of five pups by the Mackenzie River, and all but one die from hunger. One Eye is killed by a

lynx A lynx is a type of wild cat. Lynx may also refer to: Astronomy * Lynx (constellation) * Lynx (Chinese astronomy) * Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory Places Canada * Lynx, Ontar ...

while trying to rob her den for food for the she-wolf and her pup; his mate later discovers his remains near the lynx's den. The surviving pup and the she-wolf are left to fend for themselves. Shortly afterward, the she-wolf kills all the lynx's kittens to feed her pup, prompting the lynx to track her down, and a vicious fight breaks out. The she-wolf eventually kills the lynx but suffers severe injury; the lynx carcass is devoured over a period of seven days as the she-wolf recovers from her injuries. One day, the pup comes across five

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

people, and the she-wolf comes to his rescue. One man, Grey Beaver, recognizes the she-wolf as his late brother's wolfdog, Kiche, who left during a famine. Grey Beaver's brother is dead, and so he takes Kiche and her pup and christens the cub "White

Fang A fang is a long, pointed tooth. In mammals, a fang is a modified maxillary tooth, used for biting and tearing flesh. In snakes, it is a specialized tooth that is associated with a venom gland (see snake venom). Spiders also have external fang ...

". White Fang has a harsh life in the native camp; the current puppy pack, seeing him as a wolf, immediately attacks him. The Natives protect him, but the pups never accept him, and the pups' leader, Lip-Lip, singles him out for persecution. White Fang grows to become a savage, callous, morose, solitary, and deadly fighter, "the enemy of his kind". It is at this time that White Fang is separated from his mother, who is sold off to another Native camp by Three Eagles. He realizes how hard life in the wild is when he runs away from camp, and earns the respect of Grey Beaver when he saves his son Mit-Sah from a group of boys seeking revenge for White Fang attacking one of them for trying to beat him for no reason. When a famine occurs, he runs away into the woods and encounters his mother Kiche, only for her to chase him away, for she has a new litter of cubs and has forgotten him. He also encounters Lip-Lip, whom he fights and kills before returning to the camp. When White Fang is five years old, he is taken to

Fort Yukon Fort Yukon (''Gwichyaa Zheh'' in Gwich'in) is a city in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska, straddling the Arctic Circle. The population, predominantly Gwich'in Alaska Natives, was 583 at the 2010 census, down from 595 ...

, so that Grey Beaver can trade with the gold-hunters. There, when Grey Beaver is drunk, White Fang is bought by a dog-fighter named "Beauty" Smith. White Fang defeats all opponents pitted against him, including several wolves and a lynx, until a

bulldog The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.

Characters

*White Fang, the novel's protagonist; a wolfdog who was born wild but becomes more dog-like after Gray Beaver domesticates him. He gets bullied by Lip-lip and was forced to become a fighting dog when he was bought by Beauty Smith. However, his life changed when a loving master named Weedon Scott buys him and takes him to his home in

Santa Clara Valley The Santa Clara Valley is a geologic trough in Northern California that extends 90 miles (145 km) south–southeast from San Francisco to Hollister. The longitudinal valley is bordered on the west by the Santa Cruz Mountains and on the east ...

in California. He eventually becomes a part of the family after saving Judge Scott from Jim Hall. *Kiche, White Fang's mother, a sled dog formerly owned by Gray Beaver's now-dead brother, known at the beginning of the novel as the "she-wolf". Possibly named for the Algonquian deity

Gitche Manitou Gitche Manitou (Gitchi Manitou, Kitchi Manitou, etc.) means "Great Spirit" in several Algonquian languages. Christian missionaries have translated ''God in Christianity, God'' as ''Gitche Manitou'' in scriptures and prayers in the Algonquian l ...

. *Lip-Lip, a canine pup who also lives in the Native American village and bullies White Fang until White Fang kills him in a fight. *One-Eye, White Fang's father, a true wolf, who was killed by the lynx. *Cherokee, a bulldog who was the only dog to defeat White Fang until Weedon Scott saved White Fang. *Collie, a sheepdog, mother of White Fang's whelps. *The Lynx, an aggressive

Canada lynx The Canada lynx (''Lynx canadensis''), or Canadian lynx, is a medium-sized North American lynx that ranges across Alaska, Canada, and northern areas of the contiguous United States. It is characterized by its long, dense fur, triangular ears ...

who was responsible for killing One-Eye, but later gets killed by Kiche in retaliation. Major human characters: *Gray Beaver, a Native American chief who is White Fang's first master. He is a neutral master, neither as cruel as Beauty Smith, nor as kind as Weedon Scott. *Beauty Smith, the main antagonist of the novel and White Fang's second master; a dogfighter. *Weedon Scott, a wealthy gold hunter who is White Fang's third master and the first one to truly show affection towards him. *Matt, Weedon Scott's assistant who helps tame White Fang. *Judge Scott, Weedon Scott's father who accepts White Fang as a member of the family after he saves him from Jim Hall. *Jim Hall, a violent fugitive who tries to get revenge on Judge Scott but gets killed by White Fang. *Henry, a character appearing in the introduction of the novel, carrying the coffin of Lord Alfred with Bill. *Bill, a character appearing in the introduction of the novel alongside Henry and was killed by the wolves led by Kiche. *Three Eagles, a Native American who buys Kiche from Gray Beaver.

Major themes

Critics have identified many underlying themes in the novel. Tom Feller describes the story as "an allegory of humanity's progression from nature to civilization". He also expresses that "the tory'simplication is that the metamorphosis of both the individual and society will require violence at some point." Paul Deane states that " n the novelsociety demands a conformity that undermines individualism." London himself took influence from

Herbert Spencer Herbert Spencer (27 April 1820 – 8 December 1903) was an English philosopher, psychologist, biologist, anthropologist, and sociologist famous for his hypothesis of social Darwinism. Spencer originated the expression "survival of the fittest" ...

's words: "survival of the fittest", as well as

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...

's idea of a "superman" (or "superdog", in this instance) and of "the worship of power".

Background

The novel is partly an autobiographical

allegory As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory th ...

based on London's conversion from teenage hoodlum to married, middle-class writer. In writing it, he was influenced by the ideas of

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

, and

. Conditions in the US also influenced the story.

Publication history

Since the novel has been published it has been translated into over 89 different languages and released as a three-volume

Braille Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are Blindness, blind, Deafblindness, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on Paper embossing, embossed paper ...

edition.

Reception

Upon its release, ''White Fang'' was an immediate success worldwide, and became especially popular among younger readers. Robert Greenwood called ''White Fang'' "one of London's most interesting and ambitious works." Virginia Crane claims that the novel is "generally regarded as artistically inferior to its companion piece 'The Call of the Wild'' but

hat it A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

helped establish London as a popular American literary figure". Shortly after the book's publication, London became a target in what would later be called the

nature fakers controversy The nature fakers controversy was an early 20th-century American literary debate highlighting the conflict between science and sentiment in popular nature writing. The debate involved important American literary, environmental and political fi ...

, a literary debate highlighting the conflict between science and sentiment in popular

nature writing Nature writing is nonfiction or fiction prose or poetry about the natural environment. Nature writing encompasses a wide variety of works, ranging from those that place primary emphasis on natural history facts (such as field guides) to those in w ...

. President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

, who first spoke out against the "sham naturalists" in 1907, specifically named London as one of the so-called "nature fakers". Citing an example from ''White Fang'', Roosevelt referred to the fight between the bulldog and the wolfdog "the very sublimity of absurdity." London only responded to the criticism after the controversy had ended. In a 1908 essay entitled "The Other Animals", he wrote:

Adaptations

The novel has been adapted into numerous pictures and sequels, animated specials, as well as an audiobook format. A television series, ''

White Fang ''White Fang'' is a novel by American author Jack London (1876–1916) — and the name of the book's eponymous character, a wild wolfdog. First serialized in ''Outing'' magazine between May and October 1906, it was published in book form in Oc ...

'', was filmed in

Arrowtown Arrowtown (Māori: ''Haehaenui'') is a historic gold mining town in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. Arrowtown is located on the banks of the Arrow River approximately 7.5 km from State Highway 6. Arrowtown is locat ...

, New Zealand, in 1993.

Films

* ''

'' (1925) * ''

'' (1936) * ''White Fang'' (1946) * ''

'' (1973) * ''

Challenge to White Fang ''The Return of White Fang'' ( it, Il ritorno di Zanna Bianca) is a 1974 Northern film. A sequel to ''White Fang'', it was directed, as was its predecessor, by Lucio Fulci, as part of a trend of films inspired by '' Call of the Wild'' (1972), wh ...

'' (1974) * '' White Fang to the Rescue'' (1974) * '' Zanna Bianca e il grande Kid'' (1977) * ''The Story of White Fang'' (1982), ''Shiroi Kiba Monogatari'', Japanese anime film produced by

Studio DEEN is a Japanese animation studio founded in 1975 by Sunrise producer Hiroshi Hasegawa and ex-Sunrise animators. The studio owns three subsidiaries: Danny Donghua (丹尼動画), a Chinese sub-contracting studio; Megumi (め組), a digital work sub-c ...

* ''

'' (1991) * '' White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf'' (1994) * ''White Fang'' (1997) * ''

'' (2018)

Television series

* ''

The Legend of White Fang ''The Legend of White Fang'' is an animated television series based on the 1906 novel ''White Fang'' by Jack London. The show focuses on the main dog protagonist and a young human companion, 12-year-old female Wendy Scott, in the place of the nov ...

'' (1992) * ''

'' (1993)

Music

* ''White Mountain'' on the album

Trespass Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels, and trespass to land. Trespass to the person historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery, wounding ...

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

''(1970)''

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:White Fang 1906 American novels American adventure novels American novels adapted into films Fiction about animal cruelty Klondike Gold Rush Klondike Gold Rush in fiction Novels about dogs Novels first published in serial form Novels set in Alaska American novels adapted into television shows Novels set in the Northwest Territories Novels set in San Francisco Novels set in Yukon Novels about wolves Works originally published in American magazines Works originally published in sports magazines Books illustrated by D. C. Eyles