This section of the novel presents the final changes that will take place within White Fang. Beginning with Part Two, when we saw White Fang as a young puppy, we have followed him from being a creature of the wild to becoming a part of civilization.
At the beginning of Part Five, White Fang senses that there is going to be a change. We find out that Weedon Scott is planning to return to his home in the Southland — Sierra Vista, California. Since Weedon Scott had left White Fang for a short time in Part Four, White Fang is intelligent enough now to know that his master is about to leave him again. Both Weedon Scott and Matt agree that it will be totally impossible to take a wild wolf back to live in the civilization of the Southland. They assume that he would be impossible to domesticate. Thus, when they leave the cabin, they lock the front door, and Matt goes out the back door, locking it. White Fang is left inside. As the two men head down to the boat, they hear White Fang howling, as though "his master was dead." He is "voicing utter woe. His cry [burst] upward in great heartbreaking rushes, dying down into quavering misery."
When Weedon Scott boards his homeward-bound ship, he finds White Fang sitting on the deck of the ship. Upon examining the animal, Matt and Weedon Scott decide that White Fang must have broken through the window in the cabin in order to follow his master. Realizing anew the degree of devotion which White Fang has for him, Scott decides to take the animal with him to the Southland despite the fact that he believes that the dog will never be able to become civilized, much less endure the hot climate.
When he arrives in San Francisco, White Fang feels as though he is experiencing some type of nightmare. He is bombarded by strange sounds, sounds of the city, and he is overwhelmed by the sight of all of the tall buildings and crowded streets. He is completely bewildered. He then has to endure being chained in the baggage car, his only consolation being that he can see and smell his master's luggage, which he will not allow anyone to approach.
