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45 pages 1 hour read

Jack London

White Fang

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1906

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Character Analysis

White Fang

White Fang is the titular character of the novel. First introduced as “the gray cub,” White Fang is named by Grey Beaver for the ferociousness of his teeth, an indicator of his wolf heritage. The majority of London’s novel is told through a third-person omniscient point of view focusing on White Fang’s experiences. The novel follows White Fang’s character development from cubhood into adulthood.

White Fang’s life is characterized by constant conflict. As a cub, he is ripe for an early death and relies on his mother for her protection. HIs coming of age has several phases. First, he must learn how to hunt and live on his own in the wild. Next, White Fang’s experience of independence is cut short when he and his mother are overtaken by Grey Beaver’s group, and White Fang must learn how to depend on humans without letting go of his wild instincts. White Fang then experiences animal cruelty and abuse at the hands of Beauty but is saved by Scott. Finally, with Scott’s care, White Fang learns to love.

White Fang’s character development represents the value London places on civilization: Love is not possible in the Yukon wilderness, either among animals or men. Though San Francisco is negatively characterized, being near a metropolis in a well-governed, wealthy society allows White Fang to let go of the kill-or-be-killed mentality that was necessary when he was in the North. London’s lesson with White Fang, therefore, is balance: humans should maintain their connection to the land, as Scott and his family do by living in the countryside, but they should uphold civilization’s law, which make peace and love possible. This is Euro-centric viewpoint that aligns with the white supremacy London expresses in the narrative, so the “lesson” should be taken in that context, rather than being accepted as a universal truth.

Henry

Henry is the man in Part 1 who leads the sled team through the Yukon Territory with his companion, Bill, on a journey to deliver a coffin bearing Lord Alfred’s body to town for his funeral. London uses Henry to introduce the merciless setting of the Arctic wilderness and to show the predatory nature of the wolves steadily hunt Henry’s group until he is the only one remaining. Though Henry is eventually saved from the wolves by another sled team, his inclusion in the narrative shows the precariousness of human life in the extreme setting of the Yukon and the psychological strain that constant proximity to death creates. London also uses Henry as an easy narrative point of entry for the reader. Readers learn about the novel’s world through the eyes of a human protagonist first, and this allows London to characterize the wolves from a distance before centering them in the narrative. Henry does not appear after Part 1, but his story sets up the setting, conflicts, themes, and events that develop during the rest of the novel.

Kiche

Kiche, also known as the she-wolf, is the protagonist of the first two chapters of Part 2. She is a wolfdog, half wolf, and half domestic dog. She is characterized as a fierce, fearless leader who is intelligent, cunning, and protective of her pack. She mates with her pack’s dominant male, One Eye, and has a litter, from which only a gray cub (White Fang) survives. When One Eye dies, Kiche must protect White Fang alone.

In Parts 1 and 2, Kiche is central to the development of the narrative. She is the wolf who terrorizes Henry and Bill’s sled team. She lures their dogs away from camp so her pack can attack, kill, and eat the dogs. In Part 2, Kiche’s experience as a female wolf in the wild is explored through the dynamics of the male wolves in her pack as well as through her maternal instinct. London presents a plot twist when it’s revealed that Kiche was once domesticated by Grey Beaver’s group, which foreshadows White Fang’s domestication.

Kiche becomes a secondary and then tertiary character as her son, White Fang, grows up. Kiche disappears from the narrative so that White Fang can grow up without the influence of another wolf and learn to fend for himself among other animals and men. Though she is formative in his early development and in London’s articulation of life in the wild, Kiche is ultimately a support character in White Fang’s growth arc.

Grey Beaver

Grey Beaver is White Fang’s first human guardian, and the person who starts the process of domesticating White Fang. He is a mentor character because he teaches White Fang how to behave in a community humans and animals and how to use and curb his wild instincts as needed. London does not specify Grey Beaver’s tribal affiliation, referring to Grey Beaver and the other Indigenous characters as “Indians.” Grey Beaver is sometimes gentle, sometimes aggressive with White Fang, depending on the situation. White Fang feels loyalty to Grey Beaver, and Grey Beaver takes care of White Fang in return. There are limitations to their relationship because it is transactional: Grey Beaver needs White Fang to do a job, and in grooming White Fang to be the sled team leader, Grey Beaver encourages White Fang’s vicious, dominant instincts. Grey Beaver and White Fang like each other, but their relationship does not include love. Grey Beaver sells White Fang to Beauty for alcohol, placing White Fang in a dangerous situation. Grey Beaver’s desperation to survive is a parallel to White Fang’s struggle with life in the wild.

Beauty Smith

Beauty is the primary antagonist of the novel. He is a cruel white man who has no respect for animals. He doesn’t see White Fang as a sentient being with a soul. Instead, Beauty treats White Fang as an object to be used for his own needs. He enters White Fang into dog fights that are physically and emotionally challenging for White Fang. White Fang risks his life in every dog fight, and the constant dog fighting chips away at his soul. Beauty is a mentor figure to White Fang, even though he is teaching him the wrong things: From Beauty, White Fang learns that life is not only ruthless, but also spiteful. White Fang begins to enjoy dominating other dogs whom he would ordinarily have no need to confront. White Fang’s time with Beauty is a deplorably sad and dark period in White Fang’s life. Beauty is a foil for Scott, because Beauty’s cruelty highlights Scott’s ability to show White Fang love. London uses Beauty to build tension into White Fang’s character development; if Scott had bought White Fang from Grey Beaver, White Fang would not have been as much of a challenge to domesticate because he already trusted humans. After being abused by Beauty, White Fang has learned distrust and poses more danger to Scott, the human who wants to rehabilitate him.

Weedon Scott

Scott is the man who rescues White Fang in Part 4 and rehabilitates him into domestic life in Part 5. Scott represents all that is good in a human being. He is kind, empathetic, and believes that animals are his fellow sentient beings. He prevents White Fang’s death from both the dog fights and the humans who want to shoot him for his wild behavior. Scott uses love to teach White Fang how to live without being constantly on the defensive or offensive. Scott’s home in the countryside provides White Fang with the safe environment he needs to recover from his traumatic experiences in the Yukon Territory. Successfully defending Judge Scott from the intruder, Jim Hall, proves that White Fang now knows how to differentiate between the humans that are safe and those who pose a threat. Thanks to Scott, White Fang manages to balance his domestic and wild instincts so that he can give and receive love as only an animal who lives in harmony with its human guardians can.

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