Influence of Heredity and Environment

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London described White Fang as the "complete antithesis" of The Call of the Wild. While the dog protagonist in The Call of the Wild moves from wilderness to civilization, White Fang still showcases the author's belief in the impact of heredity and environment. He portrays heredity as "a life-stuff... capable of being moulded into many forms" by the "thumb of environment." In contrast to Buck, who learns the law of "club and fang," Weedon Scott's kindness awakens "potencies that had languished and well-nigh perished" in White Fang, particularly the ability to love. London implies that kindness can be as transformative as violence. The final showdown between White Fang and the escaped criminal Jim Hall, where a wolf shaped by affection defends his master against a man warped by societal pressures into a killer, highlights London's belief that environmental factors predominantly shape morality.

Portrayal of the Yukon

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In "The Call of the Wild," Jack London illustrates the Yukon as a raw and invigorating landscape, where men can strip away their superficial layers and discover their true identities. In contrast, "White Fang" presents the "vast silence" of the Yukon as a formidable adversary to life: "Life is an offense to it, for life is movement; and the Wild aims always to destroy movement." This wilderness lacks any human emotion and is described as a "desolation... so lone and cold that the spirit of it was not even sadness." It is a domain dominated by death, where the actions of men and dogs seem trivial. Through his depiction of the setting in "White Fang," London communicates the "masterful and incommunicable wisdom of eternity laughing at the futility of life and the effort of men."

Nature versus Nurture

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The novel's primary theme examines how both genetics and surroundings influence White Fang's fate. London ultimately suggests that nurture has a more significant impact. White Fang's innate nature is flexible, enabling him to adapt to his environment for survival. Under Beauty Smith's brutality, White Fang becomes a vicious killer, whereas under Weedon Scott's kindness, he turns into a gentle companion.

This theme is consistently woven throughout the novel and is clearly expressed in the following passage:

White Fang grew stronger, heavier, and more compact, while his character developed according to his heredity and surroundings. His heredity was like life-stuff that could be compared to clay. It had many possibilities and could be shaped into various forms. The environment acted to shape the clay, giving it a specific form. Thus, if White Fang had never encountered humans, the Wild would have shaped him into a true wolf. However, the gods provided him with a different setting, and he was shaped into a dog that was somewhat wolf-like, but ultimately a dog and not a wolf.

Survival of the Fittest

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The novel juxtaposes the natural world with the human realm, illustrating that both are ruled by the principle of survival of the fittest. Humans and animals alike are acquainted with famine, and when it occurs, the weak, sick, and elderly are the first to succumb. When the Indigenous people run out of food for their dogs, these animals revert to their wild instincts, striving to endure until the famine subsides. If they manage to survive and reunite with their previous owners, they often reintegrate into human society. Yet, in difficult times, every being—whether man, woman, child, dog, wolf, or pup—must fend for themselves. Connections are formed based on mutual advantage rather than affection.

In the novel's concluding section, White Fang discovers a kind of paradise where the harsh rule of survival is replaced by the law of love. Weedon Scott rescues him just when the severe law suggests he...

(This entire section contains 214 words.)

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should perish. From that point onwards, White Fang enters an entirely new world. This world of love is one that most creatures never encounter. White Fang reaches it only after enduring immense hardship—thanks to a compassionate man who arrives at the crucial moment, his innate intelligence that facilitates his rehabilitation, and most importantly, his resilience that has kept him alive until then.

Transformation from Wild to Domestic

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London considered White Fang to be the companion piece to his more famous work The Call of the Wild (1903). The latter story describes the transformation of a domestic dog into a wild one. The former, on the other hand, shows a wild wolf-dog hybrid becoming a domestic dog, which London considered to be progress. White Fang is partly an autobiographical allegory based on London’s conversion from teenage hoodlum to married, middle-class writer. White Fang’s puppyhood parallels London’s childhood. Because he is three-quarters wolf, White Fang is different from the other dogs both in the Native American camp and in civilization. Likewise, London was an outcast because of his illegitimacy. His biological father refused to marry his mother, and he was born out of wedlock. Both White Fang and the young London regarded themselves as surrounded by enemies and reacted with violence and aggression. They both had mothers who became indifferent to them. Kiche raises another litter; London’s mother was obsessed with astrology and get-rich-quick schemes.

Allegory of Humanity's Progression

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On another plane, the story is an allegory of humanity’s progression from nature to civilization. Love and discipline change a wild wolf into a domestic dog. By implication, such values can also transform society from one that lives by a disguised law of “eat or be eaten” to one founded on humane values.

Role of Violence in Transformation

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At the same time, White Fang moves up the hierarchy by killing. Beauty Smith values him for his ability to kill other dogs. Scott’s family finally accepts White Fang when he kills an escaped convict who threatens to kill Scott’s father. The implication is that the metamorphosis of both the individual and society will require violence at some point.

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