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Similes
Part 2, Chapter 4
Explanation and Analysis:
The style of White Fang is straightforward and realistic. The sentences are short and to the point, focusing primarily on action and physical sensations. This short and to-the-point style mimics the psychology of White Fang himself, who, as a wolf, is not so much thinking logically about the things he does or feels (as a human might), but rather is following his instincts and acting to satisfy basic, immediate needs like food, sleep, and shelter.
In Part 2, Chapter 4, when White Fang leaves the cave he was born in for the first time, London describes him as feeling emotions and using very basic reasoning. London conveys these thoughts in emotions in simple, straightforward language, mimicking White Fang’s simple perception of the world:
A great fear came upon him. [Outside] was more of the terrible unknown. He crouched down on the lip of the cave and gazed out on the world. He was very much afraid. Because it was unknown, it was hostile to him. Therefore the hair stood up on end along his back and his lips wrinkled weakly in an attempt at a ferocious and intimidating snarl […] Nothing happened. He continued to gaze, and in his interest he forgot to snarl. Also, he forgot to be afraid.
Here, White Fang’s emotions are expressed in short, simple, declarative sentences: “A great fear came upon him;” “He was very much afraid;” “Also, he forgot to be afraid.” This simplicity and immediacy of language conveys the simplicity and immediacy of his feelings. He doesn’t think about his fear; he experiences it and reacts instinctively. When White Fang’s hair stands on end and he draws his lips back in a snarl, it is clear that his actions are an instinctive reaction to fear, not a conscious decision on his part; his hair and his lips seem to act of their own accord, and are given the agency in the sentence rather than White Fang himself.
This simplicity, directness, and focus on automatic, instinctual reactions to basic emotions and reasoning is consistent throughout the novel. In Part 3, Chapter 4, for example, when White Fang howls at the moon in loneliness after he is separated from Gray Beaver, he is described in the following terms:
He came to where Gray Beaver’s tepee had stood. In the center of the space it had occupied, he sat down. He pointed his nose at the moon. His throat was afflicted with rigid spasms, his mouth opened, and in a heart-broken cry bubbled up his loneliness and fear, his grief for Kiche, all his past sorrows and miseries as well as his apprehension of suffering and dangers to come.
Although emotion is present in the passage—White Fang is described as feeling heartbreak, “loneliness,” “fear,” “grief,” “sorrows,” “miseries,” and “apprehension” all at once—his reaction to these emotions is not a conscious decision, but rather the result of instinct, and again his body (in this case, his throat) is given agency over his actions rather than his mind. Throughout the novel, London strives to capture what he imagines a wolf-dog’s consciousness might authentically be like and is careful not to give him overly-human thoughts or feelings. This interest in realistically representing an animal’s consciousness is typical of literary Naturalism, a late 19th- and early 20th-century literary movement to which Jack London and White Fang are generally considered to belong.
Part 3, Chapter 4
Explanation and Analysis:
The style of White Fang is straightforward and realistic. The sentences are short and to the point, focusing primarily on action and physical sensations. This short and to-the-point style mimics the psychology of White Fang himself, who, as a wolf, is not so much thinking logically about the things he does or feels (as a human might), but rather is following his instincts and acting to satisfy basic, immediate needs like food, sleep, and shelter.
In Part 2, Chapter 4, when White Fang leaves the cave he was born in for the first time, London describes him as feeling emotions and using very basic reasoning. London conveys these thoughts in emotions in simple, straightforward language, mimicking White Fang’s simple perception of the world:
A great fear came upon him. [Outside] was more of the terrible unknown. He crouched down on the lip of the cave and gazed out on the world. He was very much afraid. Because it was unknown, it was hostile to him. Therefore the hair stood up on end along his back and his lips wrinkled weakly in an attempt at a ferocious and intimidating snarl […] Nothing happened. He continued to gaze, and in his interest he forgot to snarl. Also, he forgot to be afraid.
Here, White Fang’s emotions are expressed in short, simple, declarative sentences: “A great fear came upon him;” “He was very much afraid;” “Also, he forgot to be afraid.” This simplicity and immediacy of language conveys the simplicity and immediacy of his feelings. He doesn’t think about his fear; he experiences it and reacts instinctively. When White Fang’s hair stands on end and he draws his lips back in a snarl, it is clear that his actions are an instinctive reaction to fear, not a conscious decision on his part; his hair and his lips seem to act of their own accord, and are given the agency in the sentence rather than White Fang himself.
This simplicity, directness, and focus on automatic, instinctual reactions to basic emotions and reasoning is consistent throughout the novel. In Part 3, Chapter 4, for example, when White Fang howls at the moon in loneliness after he is separated from Gray Beaver, he is described in the following terms:
He came to where Gray Beaver’s tepee had stood. In the center of the space it had occupied, he sat down. He pointed his nose at the moon. His throat was afflicted with rigid spasms, his mouth opened, and in a heart-broken cry bubbled up his loneliness and fear, his grief for Kiche, all his past sorrows and miseries as well as his apprehension of suffering and dangers to come.
Although emotion is present in the passage—White Fang is described as feeling heartbreak, “loneliness,” “fear,” “grief,” “sorrows,” “miseries,” and “apprehension” all at once—his reaction to these emotions is not a conscious decision, but rather the result of instinct, and again his body (in this case, his throat) is given agency over his actions rather than his mind. Throughout the novel, London strives to capture what he imagines a wolf-dog’s consciousness might authentically be like and is careful not to give him overly-human thoughts or feelings. This interest in realistically representing an animal’s consciousness is typical of literary Naturalism, a late 19th- and early 20th-century literary movement to which Jack London and White Fang are generally considered to belong.
