Research Paper:
The Call of the Wild
and
White Fang
by
Jack London

Forces of nature and changes in the environment affect all living things drastically. In his novels, The Call of The Wild and White Fang, Jack London demonstrates how these factors change the main characters. Buck, the great powerful Sheppard dog protagonist in The Call of The Wild, changes from a domesticated pet to a fierce wild beast in the harsh Northland. On the contrary, White Fang who is part wolf and part dog, is brought up in the cruel Northland, thus making him a beast from the beginning, but eventually adapts to civilized ways towards the end of the novel. White Fang, written in 1906, three years after The Call of the Wild (DISCovering Authors CD-Rom), further exemplifies London’s belief that “environmental factors are the primary determinant of morality (Buckner 4640).” White Fang and Buck make their transformations in large part due to the harsh environment. Thus both White Fang and The Call of the Wild vividly portray the ways in which the canine protagonists develop, and reinforce the main theme of London, which shows how natural instincts of survival overcome learned civilized behavior as a result of harsh settings and situations encountered.

The Yukon during the gold rush in the late 1800’s is the setting for both The Call of the Wild and White Fang. This is a place London knew all too well, because he had traveled there only eleven days after the news of gold had been reported (Buckner 592). “Like thousands of other adventurers, Jack responded immediately to the opportunity to relieve the spirit of the frontier, to test their manhood against a hostile environment, and to win the prize of great wealth (Buckner 596).” London returned a year later to California penniless, but with a wealth of memories that provided the raw material for his books (DISCovering Authors CD-Rom). After his one year excursion to the Northland, London wrote The Call of the Wild in which he “compressed the entire sprawling Klondike experience into a spare and poetic thirty-thousand words (Dyer 19).” In fact London’s own life reflects much of what transpires in the book(Walcutt 462). London went to the Northland from California (DISCovering Authors CD-Rom), as did Buck in The Call of the Wild. Also the harshness of the Northland affected London so dramatically that he is able to transpire these events to the dogs’ experiences in both the novels. It is London’s belief that the environment determines the actions of living beings (Buckner 4639). This setting literally controls every action the characters take in the novels.

The Yukon is one of the coldest most treacherous places on earth. “It was the Wild, the savage, frozen-hearted Northland Wild (London White Fang 1).” The books could have only taken place in extreme settings as this one. This is the controlling aspect of the outcome and turn of events that occur throughout the books. The Yukon is a place of cold, snow, wind, danger, and above all, hunger. Jack London depicts the Yukon as a beautiful but treacherous place, as he most likely saw it on his journey. It is a place where all living things must fight to survive. To achieve survival was to conquer the Wild that aims at destroying all movement and life. "Six days of exhausting toil were required to cover those thirty terrible miles. And terrible they were, for every foot of them was accomplished at the risk of life to dog and man(London Call of the Wild 23 )." This extreme setting establishes the lifestyles of White Fang and Buck. They are both forced to always be alert and to never let their guard down. If they relaxed they would be killed, because all creatures are looking for food in the starving Northland. They must do this until they become the conquerors of the wild and the readers are shown how the canines adapted to achieve this.

The first theft marked Buck as fit to survive in the hostile Northland environment. It marked his adaptability, his capacity to adjust himself to changing conditions, the lack of which would have meant swift and terrible death. It marked, further, the decay or going to pieces of his moral nature, a vain thing and a handicap in the ruthless struggle for existence(London Call of the Wild 17).

Due to this extreme setting, nature has a hold on the novella; a hold so strong that it controls the theme and development of both White Fang and Buck.

All of the themes in either novel are controlled by the hostility of Nature. This is because “London was fascinated with environmental determinism, which states that the world shapes us in ways we are powerless to resist. This is the theme of London’s two great animal novels(World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia CD-Rom).” In White Fang nature put White Fang in a place where he was in conflict between his natural instincts of survival by any means when he came into contact with man, and the civilizing influences that men demanded of him. Nature was saying “EAT OR BE EATEN (London White Fang 82),” but that is not what the club or fire expressed when in possession of the “gods(humans).” However, in Buck’s case in The Call of the Wild, his civilized actions are not in any way vicious or evil. They are that of a friendly house pet who is thrust into a conflict between his natural instincts and his civilizing influences. “The Call of the Wild is a mythic romance, a beast fable, in which the transformation of Buck, the canine protagonist, offers readers a vicarious return to life which transcends civilized restraints and regulations (Buckner 496).” Because of the interactions that the two dogs have with humans, and their interactions with the wild, they must learn to adapt accordingly. Buck saw how his previous behavior could no longer exist with the conditions that existed in the Northland. He had to resort back to his primordial being. He now was a being that fought for survival, and longed for domination; a being that ruled over all the weaker, and was ruled by all the stronger; a being that had no civilized influences, only influences of survival. “He did not steal for the joy of it, but because of the clamor of his stomach (London Call of the Wild 18).” “Jack London’s great theme is the cruelty of Nature. Life is a savage struggle, and victory has nothing to do with justice (Orwell 2282).” It is this hostility of nature that caused this transformation in Buck. Nature had control over him and anyone who tried to exist in the Northland. Perhaps fierceness is bad, but fierceness is the price for survival. The young slay the old, the strong slay the weak, by an inexorable law. Man fights against the elements or against his fellow man, and there is nothing except his own toughness to help him through (Orwell 2282). White Fang, on the other hand knew only the way of the wild, and he has to learn and adapt to the lifestyle he encounters in the presence of man. White Fang had to learn which laws to abide by when he was in contact with man. Normally he would kill all meat, and anything that moved, but he soon learned humans were of a higher power than him. Because of these different changes in Buck’s, and White Fang’s lifestyles the dogs have to change and develop to fit in with their surroundings.

In The Call of the Wild, Buck is faced with many encounters with other dogs and men that helped him learn and adapt for survival in the Northland, as does White Fang. But the most educational experiences were the ones that Buck encountered with man in the Northland.

He saw once and for all, that he stood no chance against a man with a club. He had learned the lesson, and in all his after life he never forgot it. The club was a revelation. It was his introduction to the reign of the primitive law, and he met the introduction half-way. The facts of life took on a fiercer aspect; and while he faced that aspect uncowed, he faced it with all the latent cunning of his nature aroused (London Call of the Wild 9).

Buck learned in a extremely short time to live and abide by the “law of the club and fang.” This was the law that said a man with a club is of higher power than a dog. It states then the strong are the more powerful, and the weak are preyed upon by the strong. This law taught Buck to respect, or at least fear, humans, and abide by their laws. If he did not he would be beaten. It taught him that he could rule upon all weaker than he, and he would be ruled by all stronger than he. This lesson that he had learned was the basis for the rest of his development in the wild. “Buck’s transformation is conditioned by experience, the brutal lessons that teach him ‘the law of club and fang,’ as well as hereditary memories of ‘the eternity behind him,’ a precivilized time that ‘throbbed through him in a mighty rhythm’ (Buckner 597).” These types of lessons that Buck learns, at the hands of men, are much like the lessons White Fang learns as well.

White Fang’s experiences with humans teaches him the ways to act when in their presence. He learned to obey them and be their “slave.” White Fang soon saw that he “could not beat them, so he joined them.” He respected them, and respected their ways of life. Grey Beaver, the first god that “mastered” over him, was gentle in nature and was very kind to White Fang. But if White Fang was ill-behaved, he would be clubbed or whipped. For this reason White Fang did not cause any harm to Grey Beaver. Ultimately, White Fang did not harm Grey Beaver because he feared and respected him, not because he loved him. White Fang, and Buck have both been taught that they are not stronger, and will never overcome man. Thus they have learned and adapted to their surroundings, which is the most dominant key to survival in the Northland.

In The Call of the Wild, Jack London exhibits that despite the importance of the environment, the major key to Buck’s success is his adaptability that enables him to survive, and finally triumph (Buckner 597). Buck has learned that,

He must master or be mastered; to show mercy was a weakness. Mercy did not exist in the primordial life. It was misunderstood for fear, and such misunderstanding made for death. Kill or be killed, eat or be eaten, was the law; and this mandate, down out of the depths of Time, he obeyed(London Call of the Wild 51).

This is his learning, and this is why he strives to become the leader of the pack; not because he wanted to, but because he had to. If he did not, death would result. That was Buck’s strength; how to learn, and learn fast. “He was older than the days he had seen and the breathes he had drawn(London Call of the Wild 51).” Jack London portrays him as a smart dog. He knew when to steal, and when not to. He knew what dogs and what humans to respect, and which not to respect but rather reign over. Buck had been transformed to a fierce killing machine that ruled over all other beasts except humans. Buck’s transformation much resembles that of White Fang’s, in that they both have one and only one goal: survival. White Fang is taught from birth that he had to go to any extreme for survival. If he did not take this risk, his life would be incredibly short lived. So in his early years he took risks, such as killing a baby weasel that was like a play toy to him. But when the mother weasel came searching for her young, White Fang’s mother was there to protect him from her wrath. He learned from this, and other incidents. It was these early experiences that taught him the law of the Wild.

The code he learned was to obey the strong and to oppress the weak. . . He became quicker of movement than the other dogs, swifter of foot, craftier, deadlier, more lithe, more lean with iron-like muscle and sinew, more enduring, more cruel, more ferocious, and more intelligent. He had to become all these things, else he would not have held his own nor survived the hostile environment in which he found himself (London White Fang 88).

This changes that Buck, and White Fang are caused by the hostility of nature in the Northland. Both dogs are portrayed throughout most of the books as fierce killers who did not answer to anyone except humans. This however presents an unseen need; the need to be loved and the need to be able to trust and care for someone for both of the characters. This void in their lives is changed by the coming of two different humans that want to love, and care for the dogs.

Buck did not experience a human that loved, and cared for him until near the end of the novella when John Thornton takes Buck into his home. He shows Buck that he loves him, and he gives Buck someone to trust and care for. He could not trust anyone in the wild, because that was not the law of the wild; to put down your guard would result in death. But these needs that John provides Buck gives Buck a feeling of security; a feeling he had not felt since he lived in California as a pet. Because of these things John had given to Buck, he would do anything for John, and he does several times. He killed for John. He saved John’s life on a number of different occasions. This proves that Buck knew how to care, and trust, and not just how to survive. White Fang also found it in his heart to care as well.

Weeden Scott had saved White Fang’s life, and now in return all he wanted was for the dog to love him, and trust him. This however took a great deal of time and patience. White Fang was not going to change from his savage state of being on account of some nice words. White Fang only knew to hate, and this hate caused him to hate Weeden. But Scott’s persistence cause a revolution inside White Fang.

It was the beginning of the end for White Fang---the ending of the old life and the reign of hate. A new incomprehensibly fairer life was dawning. It required much thinking and endless patience on the part of Weeden Scott to accomplish this. And than a revolution. He had to ignore the urges and prompting of instinct and reason, defy experience, give the lie to life itself(London White Fang 195).

White Fang showed he could love, just a Buck did. Both dogs transformed from the Wild into loving pets with the help of kind “gods.”

However, this type of portrayal of Buck changes rapidly on the last few pages of the story. Buck shows that the Northland has changed him forever, and even with short glimpses of Buck’s nicer side he is still a beast. “He was a killer, a thing that preyed on, living on the things that lived, unaided, alone, by virtue of his own strength and prowess, surviving triumphantly in a hostile environment where only the strong survived(London Call of the Wild 65).” Buck transformed again, “Guided by that instinct which came from the old hunting days of the primordial world(London Call of the Wild 67).” Buck can never escape his primordial lifestyle that the Northland created, even though he shows flashes of civilization.
Jack London’s use of the hostility of nature, and the canine protagonist’s will to survive and dominate are what causes their transformations. Without the harsh conditions of the Northland, or another type of extreme setting, the events that transpired could not have taken place. White Fang is a novel that is different then The Call of the Wild in one major aspect. It is that Buck was being held by the call of the Wild, and White Fang was being held by his learned civilizing behaviors. At the conclusion of the two novels, the canine protagonist’s went in opposite directions after they encountered the same setting. This probably occurred due to the different circumstances encountered by the two animals. Buck traveled back to the Wild, and White Fang became civilized. The call of the Wild that had control over White Fang in the beginning did not remain with him, because of his civilizing influences humans brought upon him. However, the call that controls Buck throughout the novella will not let him go, and because of the call he had to resort to his primordial self, and could not cling to the civilizing influences that he was once taught. These two novels prove London’s belief that setting is the primary factor of change, and thus he portrays the grasp that the setting has over the theme and character development in The Call of the Wild, and White Fang.