White Fang Review

            Jack London is without peers when it comes to stories about canines. The gift Dosteyevsky and Lawrence have with human interaction, London possesses with dogs. London’s two most recognized novels, Call of the Wild and White Fang act mostly as companion novels. Call of the Wild follows the story of a dog heading back to its wild roots, while White Fang displays the domestication of a wild wolf.

            White Fang is much more fleshed out than its predecessor. Call of the Wild almost just feels like a practice novel compared to the follow-up, which begs the question of why it is often thought of as the more respected novel. White Fang begins with a tale of a sled dog crew that is picked off one by one by a hungry pack of wolves. The story really builds suspense as the last man is left surrounded by the wolves and this excerpt really could have stood on its own as a compelling short story. As it was, it was the beginning of the story of a young wolf cub named White Fang. The cub is born in the wild before it is taken in by a Native American tribe. White Fang grows up without much love from his human companions or his fellow dogs. The distrust of humans grew when his next owner used him in dog fighting matches. The wolf is within an inch of death at the hands of a bulldog before being rescued by a passing sled dog trainer. This trainer is the one who finally reaches White Fang and helps convert the savage wolf into a domesticated pet.

            Many readers dismiss London’s work for its use of animals rather than people as the main protagonists. Those people fail to see the correlations that can be made between man and beast actions. The dogs in London’s works view man as “Gods” and are amazed by their every action. It is an interesting way to view how man’s best friend views mankind. In addition, many correlations can be made between the religion the dogs follow from mankind and mankind’s own religion they follow for their own higher being. The dogs have that physical proof of their Gods while mankind seems to not need such physical evidence.

            Mankind also struggles with the same indecision of freedom vs. safety. The dogs in London’s book struggle with their dual instincts to live in the wild or accept a domestic lifestyle at man’s side. How often does a person wish for more freedom from their current routine, or those who wish for more structure? Sometimes it just takes the simplicity of animals to display complex ideas. As long as the reader keeps this concept in mind, then White Fang is well worth a read.

Score: 7/10