White Fang: an adventure of Nature versus Nurture

White Fang (1906)- Jack London (329 pages)

White Fang by Jack London is a tale of a wolf, White Fang, and his progression from a wild animal to a slightly tamer wolf as he enters civilization. The tale starts with a horrific scene of a dogsled team being overtaken by a pack of wolves before White Fang is even born. This wolf pack separates and shortly thereafter the main character is born. The rest of the book surrounds White Fang, from birth to roughly middle age, and his experiences throughout life. White Fang comes to know a series of masters as he enters civilization, and his behavior changes accordingly. Lastly, I want to mention I am aware of a number of film adaptations of White Fang but I have not watched any of them so I will withhold my judgment.

Jack London’s White Fang is a relatively simple read. Although there are relatively few conversations or scenes of significant dialogue, considering the main character is a wolf, London does an excellent job of showing the inner dialogue of the animal. There are quite a few scenes of imagery but again London does an excellent job showing the rationale, yet primitive, thought process of a beast and White Fang’s ability to adapt and please.

I have often found in my readings of different novels that those with the most primitive plots often allow for the most profound and best thematic discourse, this holds true with this novel. At the center of the themes of White Fang is the crucial question of nature versus nurture. Nature versus nurture meaning the process by which a person’s characteristics are formed either by nature, or biological factors, or nurture, meaning upbringing or life experiences. Throughout the entire novel, White Fang is at odds with his nature and how he is being nurtured. London does an excellent job explaining the almost constant state of inner conflict that White Fang is in as he progresses through becoming tamer. I will not attempt to state which one I think holds true although London often refers to White Fang’s personality as a piece of clay that starts soft and becomes harder but is forever malleable. Additionally, White Fang is often thought of as an allegory of man’s own journey from the wilderness of nature into civilization.

White Fang was an enjoyable read. The plot and progression of the work are nowhere near a David Copperfield or a Moby Dick but not every book needs to be a profound statement of life and complexity. White Fang’s plot is beautiful in its simplicity and in its simplicity allows for rich thematic discourse as mentioned above. The plot of White Fang is also very much a page-turner as White Fang grows up through his puppy years and matures into an impressive wolf. The tribulations of White Fang’s life make it an effortless and quick read and one that I can recommend.

Overall, I enjoyed White Fang. I think sometimes my reviews are skewed by the book I read previously, in this case, the Winds of War, and while I think that might be the case in this book it does not discredit White Fang but rather helps to provide contrast. The Winds of War is a lengthy, verbose, web of characters attempting to explain the progression of World War II. White Fang follows a wolf from nature to civilization, but this simplicity is exactly what I was looking for. After reading the Winds of War, I wanted a quick, enjoyable read and that is exactly what this book provided me.

As always, my scoring breakdown is below. Thanks for reading!

Overall: 7.3, one of my stronger scores and one that I can fully support.

Readability: 8, a straightforward read aided by a simplistic plot and relatively recent publication.

Thematic Questions: 7, a surprisingly large discourse of nature versus nurture.

Enjoyment: 7, a great tale of White Fang’s life from his rough puppyhood to finding his final home.