- 03
- May
Two of Jack London’s novels, White Fang and The Call of the Wild are remarkably similar in theme. Both novels revolve around a wolf facing internal and external conflict. While so many similarities exist, the time setting is perfect for The Call of the Wild to be a sequel to White Fang, yet it is apparent that London did not intend this by his sharply shifted view point and differing characters.
White Fang begins with an awkward and hardly related piece describing two men and a sled team of six dogs attempting to flee from a wolf pack. After a brilliantly written description of the fear within the last man standing, he is rescued and the book commences in a way of being told that will continue throughout the course of the novel. One of the wolves of the pack has a litter of cubs, one of which is White Fang. The novel progresses through White Fang’s birth and development, through it’s learning to hunt and survive. All the other cubs of the litter die except White Fang, which introduces the novel’s theme of survival of the fittest. White Fang gets abducted by an Indian child and sold a few times, eventually becoming a fierce fighting dog. As it almost faces death one day in a fight, it is saved by Weedon Scott. From here White Fang is domesticated and lives through the end of the novel.
The irony in Call of the Wild is the story begins with Buck, the part husky, part wolf, exactly like White Fang, living on a nice mansion under the care of Judge Miller. White Fang concluded with the dog living on a mansion property owned by Judge Scott, both judges. This is where it seems both novels could be sequential in order, though character names are changed, the ending setting of White Fang is near identical to the opening scene of The Call of the Wild.
The most noticeable difference between the novels is the point of view. Call of the Wild is written from an objective point of view, where White Fang is written from a third person point of view, following White Fang. White Fang goes from birth to domestication, while The Call of the Wild begins with domestication and goes to instinctual and free.
The novels examine two aspects of the wolves. The Call of the Wild focuses more on the dog’s life with people- the treatment, care, and behavior of humans to and around dogs. White Fang was more of an inside look into the dog’s mind. The reader watched White Fang kill by instinct in the woods and the fear from being captive by humans. It shows the feelings of the dog, rather than an objective sense of how the humans treated it.
In writing these novels, it almost seems that Jack London was experimenting. He obviously had a deep passion for wolves, and through writing two novels of similar caliber, as well as doing immense research to be able to scribe these books, Jack London dedicated a large chunk of his life towards this infatuation. After writing Call of the Wild, he received rave reviews and decided to write White Fang. Most authors would immediately seek to write a sequel or prequel to a successful novel, not a “companion” such as was done here. This adds to the uniqueness of these books and respect for Jack London’s style.
May 3rd, 2006 at 8:31 am
“obviously had a deep passion for wolves…”
“Wolf” was George Sterling’s nickname for Jack London (”Greek” was Jack London’s nickname for George Sterling). He used a wolf image on his bookplate, and his mansion (whose ruins at Jack London State Park are still impressive), which was destroyed by fire when almost complete, was to be called “Wolf House.”
July 28th, 2006 at 2:21 pm
I like your article, it is quite insightfull! There is just one thing that I would like to point out. Buck is not a husky/wolf mix as White Fang is. He is in fact a St Bernard/Collie mix.
October 22nd, 2006 at 6:10 pm
Nice post. Bare in mind though, that London didn’t only wrtie about wolves…..
http://www.spikemagazine.com/0806-jack-london-iron-heel.php
November 2nd, 2006 at 12:07 am
You said Buck’s a collie mix. Is a “scotch shepherd” mentioned in the book, in fact a Collie? I’ve never heard of a Scotch Shepherd, and I’m practically a walking dog-book. Lol
January 8th, 2007 at 11:47 pm
Very nicely written. But I would also like to point out that White Fang was not “abducted by an Indian child”, and was in fact only sold once (if you don’t count Scott’s intervention).
February 19th, 2007 at 12:20 pm
According to this article “Buck” from “Call of the Wild” was part husky/part wolf…he was not. Buck was in fact part St. Bernard/part Scottish Shepard (believed to be a common name of the time for a Collie). The books are actually quite different, although the fact that both take place thru the dog’s eyes can make them seem so.
White Fang is born to the wild and must adapt to the world of man….Buck is born into the world of man and must adapt to the wild. Actually if you read Call of the Wild people may be surprised to learn that Buck actually gets to stay in society.
I highly suggest reading the Gutenberg online version of the book, it is a transcript of the original manuscript and has not been changed to fit the times. Both books are in the public domain at http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/ look under “London” for author searches.
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You can also check http://librivox.org/librivox-catalogue/ for audio versions of the books as well. If not there I know there is at least one site out there that has them because I was able to d/l them (its just librivox is the one I use most often).
March 1st, 2007 at 10:13 pm
“through it’s learning to hunt and survive. ” there is a punctuation error
“As it almost faces death one day in a fight, it is saved by Weedon Scott. ” “it” should be he.
“The reader watched…” it should be watches
“White Fang was…” it should be is
May 29th, 2007 at 7:19 am
i believe that the way the story progressess are vice versa for the two books. white fang was tamed while wild, while buck developed from tame to wild. they are opposites of each other
November 14th, 2007 at 8:01 am
Buck does leave society in the end of the book to join a wolf pack (although he is, as pointed out above, not a wolf).
January 9th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
I Think, İt’s Very Nice…
February 29th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
I’m infacted reading this book for Language Arts. So far it is very well put to geather but at some points I find my self getting lost. It is sad at some times to. I can’t wait until I finish it!
September 16th, 2008 at 2:17 am
Thank You
September 16th, 2008 at 2:17 am
Thank
September 16th, 2008 at 2:17 am
You Thanks
November 9th, 2008 at 9:52 pm
Hi webmaster!