"White Fang": summary. Jack London, "White Fang"

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Among the huge number of works about the attitude of people towards animals, the novel "White Fang" is distinguished by its special depth. A very brief summary of this work can begin with the scene of an attack by a pack of hungry wolves on two travelers traveling on a dog sled.

The beginning of the story

Wolves follow on the heels of people, waiting for the right moment to start hunting. Predators begin to take away one dog after another. Surprised people notice that their dogs are leaving for a large she-wolf, apparently understanding dog habits. They conclude that this wolf used to live among people and dogs. After the death of all the dogs, one of the travelers becomes a victim of the pack, and the other is saved by the Indians. It turned out that the assumptions of travelers are confirmed. The she-wolf's parents were a wolf and a dog, and she really lived among dogs and Indians for a long time.

A pack of wolves that attacked travelers breaks up, and our she-wolf, together with a seasoned old wolf, begins to look for food on her own. After some time, offspring are born to them, all wolf cubs, except for one, die. This wolf cub is White Fang. Briefthe content of the story of his extraordinary and difficult life awaits you further.

The old wolf is dying in the tenacious paws of a lynx. With his mother, Kichi, the wolf cub begins to learn how to hunt, the main rule of which is if not you, then you. However, full of strength, the little wolf enjoys life on the loose.

White Fang's first encounter with humans

Fate brings him a meeting with people. Seeing these unusual creatures, the cub shows obedience, following the ancient call laid down in him by his ancestors. But as soon as a person stretches out his hand to him, the wolf cub bites him and receives a strong blow to the head. From pain and horror, he begins to whine, calling for help from a she-wolf. The mother hurries to help her offspring, but then an Indian named Gray Beaver recognizes her as his dog Kichi and calls her imperatively. The astonished wolf cub sees his proud mother wolf crawling on her belly towards her former master. Now they both belong to an old Indian who calls the wolf cub White Fang.

Life in the camp of the Indians

Next, we watch White Fang getting used to his new life among the people. We will continue the summary of the novel with a description of the trials that the little wolf will face in the camp of the Indians.

Master Kichi sells the she-wolf and White Fang is left alone. It is difficult for him to adapt to new conditions. People, sometimes cruel, sometimes just, dictate new laws of life to him. One of them is that he must always obey the Master, and never, under any circumstances, try to bite again.him.

In addition, he has to constantly fight with dogs, his brothers do not want to recognize him as one of them, they consider him a stranger. He understands that in a fight, the one who is stronger always wins.

White Fang is growing strong, agile, cruel and cunning. In his heart there is no place for good feelings and the need for affection, because he himself is deprived of them. But he can run faster than anyone and fight harder than anyone, and really comes out the winner from numerous fights.

Escape and return of White Fang

Summary of the book "White Fang" we will resume at the moment of the escape of the wolf from the Indians. During the transition of the Indians to another pasture, the young wolf decides to escape, but, being alone, he cannot resist the melancholy and loneliness that has taken possession of him. He is forced to return to the owners.

After his return, the young wolf learns the craft of a sled dog. After a while, he leads the team and rules his brothers with resolute inflexibility, which further angers them.

Working in a sleigh makes White Fang stronger, but turns him from a wolf to a dog. He perceives the world as he sees it, cruel and harsh, and from now on and forever he will forever serve his master - Man.

With such knowledge, the childhood of a wolf cub named White Fang ends. The summary moves on to describe his adult life.

White Fang and Handsome Smith

One day the owner of the White Fang goes to the fort and takes with himwolf. Gold miners live there, buying furs from the Indians. A strong dog-wolf attracts the attention of Pretty Smith, who tries to persuade the Indian to sell him a dog, but he flatly refuses. Then Handsome Smith generously treats the Indian with alcohol, and he agrees to exchange White Fang for several bottles of alcohol.

"White Fang", a summary of the chapter on the life of the protagonist in Handsome Smith, will cause only pity and sympathy in the reader.

The new owner was even more ruthless than before. He often savagely hits White Fang, who tries to run twice, but both times Handsome Smith finds him. The dog has no choice but to accept and obey the owner, hating him with all his heart.

Handsome Smith loves to have fun at dog fights and puts White Fang there. His win-win triumph ends with a loss to the bulldog. This fight almost ended in the death of White Fang, he was saved by engineer Weedon Scott, opening the bulldog's mouth. He then persuaded Pretty Smith to sell him the dog. So the White Fang got a third owner.

White Fang gets a new owner

Let's continue to follow the storyline that Jack London is leading. "White Fang" - summary - omits all the details of White Fang's new life, but includes the main events.

So, embittered by the ordeal, White Fang soon came to his senses and showed Weedon Scott all his fury. But the new owner treats the White Fang with patience and kindness, awakening indog feelings that were practically killed in him by a hopeless and cruel life.

The master is trying to atone for the guilt of the people who treated the White Fang so inhumanly. One day, when Scott has to leave unexpectedly, the dog suffers so much without him that he completely loses interest in life. And when the owner returns, White Fang shows him all his love for the first time, pressing his head against him. One day, Handsome Smith shows up at Mr. Scott's house to surreptitiously steal the dog, but White Fang is able to stand up for himself.

But it's time for the engineer to return home to California. Scott is not sure that a dog accustomed to the northern cold will be able to live normally in the unusual heat. In the end, Scott decides to leave Fang. But the dog managed to get out of the house, breaking the window, and ran to the departing steamer. The owner takes the dog with him.

White Fang Life in California

The summary of the story "White Fang", as well as the work itself, shows the reader all the power of goodness.

White Fang's life continues in California, at the home of Whedon Scott. Here the dog's life changes completely. He meets a girlfriend, a shepherd named Collie. White Fang gets used to Scott's children and begins to truly love them, they also do not have a soul in him. But he especially likes the owner's father - Judge Scott. White Fang becomes the favorite and protector of the entire Whedon family.

Rescue the referee

One day, White Fang even saves the judge from certain death at the hands of the once condemned by himviolent criminal Jim Hill. The dog bit him, but he himself was seriously injured. Hill shot the dog three times, breaking its hind leg and several ribs. White Fang is between life and death, the doctors are sure that after such injuries the dog will not survive. But the amazing vitality and he althy body of a dog that grew up in the northern wilderness pull him out of the arms of death. White Fang is recovering.

A summary of the novel "White Fang", no less than a complete work, makes you think first of all about human qualities.

The work ends with a peaceful scene, when the dog, weakened after wounds, staggers slightly, goes out onto the lawn, flooded with bright sunlight. Little puppies crawl up to him, their and Collie's offspring, and, basking in the sun, he plunges into the memories of his life.