Whereas Part Two focused on an animal surviving in the wilderness by primitive instinct, Part Three will now reverse this theme and essentially shows the gray cub (White Fang) beginning to learn a more difficult lesson—that of surviving in a civilized society, where he will have to learn to live among men—and friendly dogs. (Whereas Call of the Wild showed us how Buck moved from a comfortable and easy life in civilization into an environment in which he had to learn how to survive in the primitive world, this will be a reversal of that idea.)
White Fang’s life in the Indian camp becomes daily more intolerable—principally because of the constant persecution of Lip-lip, who somehow manages to turn all the other dogs against White Fang. For example, whenever White Fang ventures away from Kiche, he is savagely attacked by Lip-lip. Consequently, he never has a chance to allow the genial, playful, “puppy-ish” side of his nature to find expression. He has to be constantly alert to the dangers represented by Lip-lip. But even though Lip-lip is a larger dog, White Fang can run more swiftly, and one time he engages Lip-lip in a chase, and as they dart in and out of the camp, White Fang deceptively leads Lip-lip past Kiche, who, although she is tied up, is able to grab Lip-lip and repeatedly rip and slash him with her fangs. Then, taking advantage of Lip-lip’s weakened condition, White Fang sinks his teeth into Lip-lip’s hind leg, and he would have destroyed Lip-lip had not the Indians driven him away.
One day, Gray Beaver decides that Kiche will probably not try to escape, and so he releases her. White Fang is delighted with his mother’s new freedom, and time and again, he tries to lead her away from the Indian camp. He runs out toward the wilderness, and she follows, but eventually she always returns to the Indian camp. Thus, we see that “the call of the wild” is not as strong in White Fang as is the call of his mother, for he always follows her back. Apparently, Kiche has found an element of contentment in the protection of the man-animals and does not wish to leave them.
It is at this point that White Fang is confronted with his most difficult lesson. Gray Beaver owes a debt to another Indian—Three Eagles—and in order to settle the debt, Gray Beaver gives Kiche to him. When Three Eagles leaves in his canoe, along with Kiche, White Fang tries to follow, swimming after the canoe, in spite of the fact that Gray Beaver sternly commands him to return to camp. It is unpardonable not to obey the commands of the man-gods, and White Fang learns this lesson when Gray Beaver gets into his canoe and pursues White Fang downriver, picking him up, and giving him one fierce blow after another—until White Fang lies almost unconscious, limp in the bottom of the canoe. Then Gray Beaver kicks White Fang out of his way. In retaliation, White Fang bites Gray Beaver, and White Fang learns a lesson that he never forgets. As a result of his biting Gray Beaver, White Fang receives a very severe beating from Gray Beaver and never again, regardless of the circumstances, does he bite “the god who was lord and master over him.”
Lip-lip, seeing White Fang in such a weakened condition, takes advantage of this opportunity to attack him, and White Fang, of course, is too weak to defend himself and would have been destroyed by Lip-lip if Gray Beaver had not been there to defend White Fang. Thus, White Fang learns another lesson—that is, his lord and master is also his protector.
Now that White Fang is totally alone—without his mother’s protection—Lip-lip uses this opportunity to encourage the other dogs to become constant and fierce enemies of White Fang. As a result, White Fang becomes a total outcast. From this constant persecution of the entire pack, White Fang learns two important things: (1) how to defend himself against a mass attack by other dogs; and (2) how to inflict the greatest amount of damage upon another dog in the shortest length of time. In London’s emphasis upon White Fang’s being the total outcast, he is preparing us for White Fang’s later, alienation from all living beings, particularly in his later relationship with Beauty Smith, so that White Fang’s final transformation into a civilized animal under the care of Weedon Scott will be as dramatic as possible.
At present, throughout this part of the novel, the emphasis will continue to be on White Fang as a single entity, pitted against a hostile universe, comprised of both man and animal.
It is surprising that White Fang never runs away from the Indian camp, even though he is not accepted in the camp, and even though he is in constant fights against overwhelming odds. He hangs tenaciously onto his position in the camp and to Gray Beaver, although Gray Beaver will never be the “perfect master” that Weedon Scott will prove to be. By defending himself, White Fang becomes, in London’s words, “hated by man and dog.” White Fang steals food wherever and whenever possible; he slyly attacks other dogs when they are off guard, and, ultimately, he becomes the terror of the camp, as well as the scapegoat of the camp. He is blamed for all of the camp’s hardships—particularly by the women.
Being part wild, White Fang is always able to outrun the other dogs, and, therefore, he is able to escape any injury that might be inflicted by the other dogs. According to London, White Fang is “hated by his kind and by mankind . . . his development was rapid and one-sided.” Throughout his growth, though, he proves that he can learn to obey the strong and oppress the weak. Consequently, he obeys Gray Beaver, whom he sees as a god, and he attacks anything that is weaker or smaller than he is.
