Previous
Mood
Definition of Motif
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the central themes of a book... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of... read full definition
Part 1, Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Fire vs. The Wild:
Throughout the novel, fire is a motif that represents the triumph of civilization over nature. The first instance of this is in Part 1, Chapter 1, when Bill and Henry use fire to ward off a pack of hungry wolves surrounding their camp. The light from the fire drives the wolves back, who hide in the forest’s shadows, waiting for the light to die down:
The men slept, breathing heavily, side by side, under one covering. The fire died down, and the gleaming eyes drew closer the circle they had flung about the camp. The dogs clustered together in fear, now and again snarling menacingly as a pair of eyes drew close. Once their uproar became so loud that Bill woke up. He got out of bed carefully […] and threw more wood on the fire. As it began to flame up, the circle of eyes drew farther back.
Here, the circle of firelight that Bill and Henry “had flung about the camp” represents the circle of civilization where the threat of the wilderness cannot reach them. Within civilization, humans are in charge; nature obeys their will, as demonstrated by the dogs they have domesticated huddling in the firelight. Whereas the Wild is in charge in nature—driving living things to violence, domination, and fighting to survive—humans are in charge within the boundaries of society and can create their own laws.
Fire, in addition to symbolizing civilization in the novel, is also a literal example of human mastery over nature. By making fire, humans are wielding a natural, elemental force to their own ends. White Fang recognizes this fact shortly after he first encounters fire for the first time in Part 3, Chapter 1, leading him to believe that humans are gods with supernatural powers:
[White Fang] watched the man-animals coming and going and moving about the camp […] They were creatures of mastery, possessing all manner of unknown and impossible potencies, overlords of the alive and the not alive—making obey that which moved, imparting movement to that which did not move, and making life, sun-colored and biting life, to grow out of dead moss and wood. They were fire-makers! They were gods.
Although fire is a product of nature, humans have harnessed it for their own ends, using it not only to make campfires to ward off predators (as Bill and Henry do) but also to develop electricity and other technologies that have made modern civilization what it is today. Further, fire could be read as symbolizing the moment humanity broke away from nature and began to move toward civilization. While animals, such as the wolves at the beginning of White Fang, are afraid of the destructive power of fire and stay as far away from it as possible, humans in prehistoric times grew bold enough to use it to cook food, make tools, and stay up later at night. All of these innovations allowed early humans to exert control over their natural environment rather than allowing their environment to control them.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—The Wild at War:
At several points in the novel, London depicts the Wild and life as being at war with one another. This emphasizes the way that animals must struggle for their survival against the hardships of nature. Every moment of life in this hostile environment is represented as a heroic victory against nature, which in this passage from Part 1, Chapter 1 is personified as a tyrannical and overbearing ruler striving to “crush [life] into submission”:
It is not the way of the Wild to like movement. Life is an offense to it, for life is movement, and the Wild aims always to destroy movement. It freezes the water to prevent it running to the sea; it drives the sap out of trees till they are frozen to their mighty hearts; and most ferociously and terribly of all does the Wild harry and crush into submission, man—man, who is the most restless of life, ever in revolt against the dictum that all movement must in the end come to the cessation of movement.
London characterizes the laws of nature as a “dictum,” or a pronouncement from an authoritative source (in this case, the Wild) which humanity rebels against. While animals follow their instincts, thus obediently following the laws of nature, humans are more complicated: they build shelters against the cold, keeping themselves from freezing in the winter; grow crops and domesticate animals, protecting themselves from famine; and use fire and electricity to keep away the darkness, driving away predators that may attack them in the night. In White Fang, London represents these fundamentally human innovations as a rebellious affront to nature, who because of this harbors a particular hatred toward humanity, “ferociously and terribly” striving to destroy them. Throughout the novel, London glorifies this human tendency to rebel against the laws of nature, painting humankind as the epitome of the will to survive.
This depiction of nature as a cruel tyrant waging war on life is in line with literary Naturalism, which was influenced by Charles Darwin’s concept of the “survival of the fittest.” In White Fang’s naturalist depiction of nature, it is constantly testing life with hardships to see who is the fittest, and thus worthy to survive and pass along their genes to the next generation.
Related Themes:
Part 3, Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Fire vs. The Wild:
Throughout the novel, fire is a motif that represents the triumph of civilization over nature. The first instance of this is in Part 1, Chapter 1, when Bill and Henry use fire to ward off a pack of hungry wolves surrounding their camp. The light from the fire drives the wolves back, who hide in the forest’s shadows, waiting for the light to die down:
The men slept, breathing heavily, side by side, under one covering. The fire died down, and the gleaming eyes drew closer the circle they had flung about the camp. The dogs clustered together in fear, now and again snarling menacingly as a pair of eyes drew close. Once their uproar became so loud that Bill woke up. He got out of bed carefully […] and threw more wood on the fire. As it began to flame up, the circle of eyes drew farther back.
Here, the circle of firelight that Bill and Henry “had flung about the camp” represents the circle of civilization where the threat of the wilderness cannot reach them. Within civilization, humans are in charge; nature obeys their will, as demonstrated by the dogs they have domesticated huddling in the firelight. Whereas the Wild is in charge in nature—driving living things to violence, domination, and fighting to survive—humans are in charge within the boundaries of society and can create their own laws.
Fire, in addition to symbolizing civilization in the novel, is also a literal example of human mastery over nature. By making fire, humans are wielding a natural, elemental force to their own ends. White Fang recognizes this fact shortly after he first encounters fire for the first time in Part 3, Chapter 1, leading him to believe that humans are gods with supernatural powers:
[White Fang] watched the man-animals coming and going and moving about the camp […] They were creatures of mastery, possessing all manner of unknown and impossible potencies, overlords of the alive and the not alive—making obey that which moved, imparting movement to that which did not move, and making life, sun-colored and biting life, to grow out of dead moss and wood. They were fire-makers! They were gods.
Although fire is a product of nature, humans have harnessed it for their own ends, using it not only to make campfires to ward off predators (as Bill and Henry do) but also to develop electricity and other technologies that have made modern civilization what it is today. Further, fire could be read as symbolizing the moment humanity broke away from nature and began to move toward civilization. While animals, such as the wolves at the beginning of White Fang, are afraid of the destructive power of fire and stay as far away from it as possible, humans in prehistoric times grew bold enough to use it to cook food, make tools, and stay up later at night. All of these innovations allowed early humans to exert control over their natural environment rather than allowing their environment to control them.
Related Themes:
