KidLit Forum

How do you White Fang’s earlier discovery of the world?

He begins to feel the world bit by bit, taking small steps until his eyes adjust with the new view from the outside. He's taking care of his mother who brings food to their shelter. He's more like a child who becomes more and more curious about what lays over the walls and far away.

"Most of the first month of his life had been passed thus in sleeping; but now he could see quite well, and he stayed awake for longer periods of time, and he was coming to learn his world quite well. His world was gloomy; but he did not know that, for he knew no other world. It was dim- lighted; but his eyes had never had to adjust themselves to any other light. His world was very small. Its limits were the walls of the lair; but as he had no knowledge of the wide world outside, he was never oppressed by the narrow confines of his existence." (part 3, ch. 3)

Yet his curiosity brought him near the exit but the careful mother took care of his interest in what's outside. She was still protective.

"It was in this way that the grey cub learned other attributes of his mother than the soft, soothing, tongue. In his insistent crawling toward the light, he discovered in her a nose that with a sharp nudge administered rebuke, and later, a paw, that crushed him down and rolled him over and over with swift,calculating stroke. Thus he learned hurt; and on top of it he learned to avoid hurt, first, by not incurring the risk of it; and second, when he had incurred the risk, by dodging and by retreating. These were conscious actions, and were the results of his first generalisations upon the world." (part 3, ch.3)

It was inevitable to avoid famine. As days passed he learned more and more about life and about himself:

"He was a fierce little cub. It was to be expected. He was a carnivorous animal. He came of a breed of meat- killers and meat-eaters." (part 3, ch. 3)

"Like most creatures of the Wild, he early experienced famine. There came a time when not only did the meat-supply cease, but the milk no longer came from his mother's breast. At first, the cubs whimpered and cried, but for the most part they slept. It was not long before they were reduced to a coma of hunger." (part 3, ch. 3)

He experienced the loss of his brothers and father. The lesson is better learnt if it is the hard way:

"when he had bumped his nose on the back-wall a few times, he accepted that he would not disappear into walls..." (part3, ch.3)

In fact, White Fang never stopped learning throughout his wolf-dog life. He entered in different worlds: of human and dog nature. From experiencing to defending, Fang only tried to survive.

Even from the beginning was about survival. The little cub tried to survive in a hard world dominated by famine and enemies.

"He began to get accurate measurement of his strength and his weakness, and to know when to be bold and
when to be cautious. He found it expedient to be cautious all the time, except for the rare moments, when,
assured of his own intrepidity, he abandoned himself to petty rages and lusts."

When we speak about animals we have to talk about primary instincts. This is the case of the young White Fang. His world is different from humans. The only thing that he knew was to eat and survive. He had to learn how to survive step by step according to his needs.

"But the cub did not think in man-fashion. He did not look at things with wide vision. He was single-purposed,
and entertained but one thought or desire at a time. Besides the law of meat, there were a myriad other and
lesser laws for him to learn and obey. The world was filled with surprise. The stir of the life that was in him,
the play of his muscles, was an unending happiness. To run down meat was to experience thrills and elations.
His rages and battles were pleasures. Terror itself, and the mystery of the unknown, led to his living."

" His desire to kill strengthened with the days, and he cherished hungry
ambitions for the squirrel that chattered so volubly and always informed all wild creatures that the wolf-cub
was approaching."

He discovered who are his enemies and which are suitable for him to eat. World means battle, battle for survival. White Fang acknowledged how things go in his environment. It is all about power and adaptation. He was part of the wild and the laws for him are discovered not taught by others. That is way the narrator reveals an entire food chain.

"He saw the law operating around him on every side. He had eaten the ptarmigan chicks. The hawk had eaten
the ptarmigan-mother. The hawk would also have eaten him. Later, when he had grown more formidable, he
wanted to eat the hawk. He had eaten the lynx kitten. The lynx-mother would have eaten him had she not
herself been killed and eaten. And so it went. The law was being lived about him by all live things, and he
himself was part and parcel of the law. He was a killer. His only food was meat, live meat, that ran away
swiftly before him, or flew into the air, or climbed trees, or hid in the ground, or faced him and fought with
him, or turned the tables and ran after him."

The Chapter The Grey Cub in the book is very descriptive and seems like a part from biology. Nature has its own rules. Wildness is an enigma for humans. They will never understand its meaning. That is way the narrator talks in term of biology.