White Fang

In Part 3, London develops a new context for the setting of his novel. Shifting away from the primary protagonist of Part 2 (the she-wolf), London presents the gray cub as the new protagonist and central character of the story. In giving the cub a name, White Fang, London develops new characterization for him. Naming something or someone gives it an identity. White Fang’s character development is able to begin because of his new identity and new life.

White Fang is immediately impressed by humans. While London has articulated how strong, ferocious, fierce, intelligent, and instinctive wolves are, in Part 3, London reintroduces humans as superior to the wolves. Grey Beaver and his group are characterized differently than Henry and Bill in Part 1 because Grey Beaver lives in a group of other people, a human pack, with a society, tools, and laws. Grey Beaver alone may not survive the wilderness, but with a community supporting him, he becomes infinitely more powerful to White Fang. Humans are more powerful in packs, just like wolves. Because White Fang is not in a pack, the humans easily overtake him and his mother.

London characterizes the humans as gods from White Fang’s point of view. This is another example of personification because London already established in Part 2 that wolves do not have the subconscious capacities that humans do. Therefore, White Fang’s treatment of the humans as gods is a human interpretation of his behavior rather than White Fang’s acknowledgement that god exists. In calling the humans gods, London draws on his reader’s association with godlike figures as all-powerful, which helps London emphasize the power the humans hold over the animals. Another example of personification is White Fang’s newly discovered sense of shame. He feels humiliated by the laughter and mockery of the men, but London declares in his text that it’s not possible to know what instinct allows White Fang to feel as human an emotion as shame. In humans, shame is connected to a person’s desire to be included, not excluded, from a group. But wolves handle group dynamics as a matter of power, hierarchy, and survival.

London’s shift away from animals as lacking a subconscious towards describing White Fang’s awakening consciousness is necessary in order to demonstrate the domesticity of animals and present White Fang as a full-fledge protagonist. The humans can force White Fang into submission, but crucial to this physical domination is White Fang’s emotional sacrifice. White Fang can’t help but feel loyalty to his new humans because they keep him alive and secure. He appreciates their contribution to his survival, thereby keeping him emotionally attached to them: White Fang is overpowered by the men but also desires their approval. Here, London shows how humans are able to have domination over animals by simultaneously entrapping them with the promise of physical safety and tapping into their emotions of loyalty. White Fang’s relationship with Grey Beaver mimics a wolf pack dynamic. The only difference here is that White Fang cannot easily overtake Grey Beaver as the new leader of his pack. This is highlighted when White Fang gives into his instinct to run away and live in the wild, but then changes his mind and tracks down his humans. White Fang can’t unlearn domesticity, just as his mother couldn’t.

London serves his reader both a critique and a celebration of the domestication of dogs. He critiques animal domesticity by demonstrating how White Fang’s life goes from free to trapped: Though the humans save White Fang, they also imprison him by making him reliant upon them. London celebrates the powerful and often intimate relationship between animals and humans. This is emphasized when Grey Beaver helps to protect White Fang against other dogs; Grey Beaver is attached to White Fang and appreciates his loyalty, leading Grey Beaver into fights with his own people. White Fang prioritizes his feelings for the humans over his attachment to his mother. He yearns for his mother when she first leaves, but eventually, he forgets her. Kiche forgets about White Fang because it is necessary to her survival not to dwell on her lost cubs. The relationship between wolves is therefore depicted as more fragile than the relationship between animals and humans.

London’s short chapters develop the tension inherent in living in harsh circumstances. Plot twists, such as the famine that nearly destroys the Indigenous camp and certainly destroys the dogs and wolves, are symbolic of how quickly life in the wild can change. London’s message is that life in the Yukon is unpredictable.