White Fang: Jack London

Image Credit: mittray

I have somehow clawed my way back into a momentum for reading again. I guess it was my choice of books that helped. Albeit the last 3 weeks have been busier than usual, I have had slivers of spare time, which I have utilized for reading. I finished reading White Fang by Jack London and another book which I will cover in my next review. Here’s the background on White Fang –

White Fang is the adventure of an animal – part dog, part wolf – turned vicious by cruel abuse, then transformed by the patience and affection of one man.

This is an out an out animal book. There are very few humans around and more of dogs and wolves. Hence someone who is not too excited by animals might find this boring. To me though it was fascinating. I loved the landscapes, the relationships that formed (and unformed) and of course White Fang. I loved the beginning of the book, the landscape that sets the tone for the rest of the novel,

Dark spruce forest frowned on either side of thee frozen waterway. The trees had been stripped by a recent wind of their white covering of frost, and they seemed to lean toward each other, black and ominous, in the fading light. A vast silence reigned over the land. The land itself was a desolation, lifeless, without movement, so lone and cold that the spirit of it was not even that of sadness.

I was reminded of the movie “Grey” instantly. If any of you have watched it, you will know what I mean. It contains the same desolate whiteness stretching beyond the horizon and a silence that is deafening. The first couple of chapters beautifully describe the perils faced by 2 men on their journey across this hostile country with their sled dogs. They are attacked by wolves and most of their sled dogs disappear. From there the story turns to follow the trail of the ferocious she-wolf named Kiche.

Kiche takes great care of her son White Fang and he gambols around the forest until they land in an Indian (American) contingent. They are adopted as pets, but White Fang is constantly bullied by Lip-Lip, another wolf-dog. But White Fang is made of sterner stuff –

Though he suffered most of the damage and was always defeated, his spirit remained unsubdued. Yet a bad effect was produced. He became malignant and morose. His temper had been savage by birth, but it became more savage under this unending persecution. The genial, playful puppyish side of him found little expression. 

There begins White Fang’s long expeditions as a sled dog, pet and even a fighter. He endures brutal beatings and harsh punishments and many a time is bullied by men and animals alike. He becomes savage and wild and achieves a reputation for being ferocious and strong. But ultimately White Fang is adopted by a gentle, young man who rescues him from a fighting match. The rest of the book details how White Fang undergoes a remarkable change and how his life takes a turn for the better.

London’s writing is evocative and observant. While he marvelously details the setting, which is breathtaking American snowy hinterland, London equally etches the nuances of relationship between human and animal. How an animal can be molded with love or hate is shown beautifully through White Fang’s interactions with Beauty Smith and then Weedon Scott. White Fang had been brutally abused by Beauty Smith but Scott changed White Fang’s life with a love and kindness that the wolf-dog had never experienced.

“Weedon Scott…had gone to the roots of White Fang’s nature, and with kindness touched to life potencies that had languished and well-nigh perished. One such potency was love.”

Though White Fang had had such terrible ordeals with humans, he was still able to forgive and I suspect even forget towards the end and give love back. If only we humans were capable of this. 

Verdict: A well wrought story that shows the greatness of animals in all ways.
 

Rating: 4/5