White Fang

I have a habit – whenever something awful or disappointing happens in my life, I withdraw and immerse myself in books and wait for the whole thing to pass or appear like a dream. The world in books is wonderful to get lost into, isn’t it?

People tell you all over that failure is the stepping stone to success – but, who waits for your time? Who would watch you fall over and over and go – try again! in this present world filled with selfish people waiting to trample on you? You do it for yourself, but is the world always fair to you?

I always choose a book to cope with during such times. Last year, I had been reading Spellslinger during this phase, which I described in detail. I call these reads as comfort books.

And this year, I chose White Fang, that classic tale by Jack London.

Funny thing is, that I bought this book a waaay long time ago. It’s the sort of classical editions that are reprinted for Children to follow easily. But, I’ve always felt at home whenever I read it, even though I am twice the age I was then.

The book starts off with two men travelling through the snowy Arctic forests with their sled, being hunted by a pack of hungry wolves. They slowly begin losing their sled dogs one by one to them, until finally, the last survivor is rescued.

We are then introduced to the hero of the story – a half dog, half wolf canine who is the odd one of the litter of the she-wolf who had lead the hunt. Growing up through famines under her guidance, the grey cub slowly learns about the outside world through his various experiences.

He is ultimately caught by a group of Indians who had set camp near a river close to his cave. And from there, he earns the name White Fang.

Not completely fitting in with any other dogs in the area, he is a loner, albeit being the most powerful animal in the camp. He is taught about loyalty from his master Gray Beaver. Its clear that he doesn’t know the concept of love from Beaver, but rather, every piece of meat his master served him was worth more than the ones he get for free from the others in the camp.

He is then passed on to Beauty Smith, a harsh man who uses White Fang as a means to earn money by fighting dogs. He is rescued by another man Weedon Scott, who saw him suffering. It is finally from Scott that he learns the concept of love.

What I absolutely love about this story is the main character White Fang himself. He is lonely, powerful and suffers loses in the world, yet with the right people around him, he stands up and learns to grow into something majestic. I loved every bit of his journey, the hope that he stood for.

Life has taught me several times in a disgusting way that hope is not only positive. It has the ability to shatter your heart/ conscience or whatever it is that feeling we get when our hopes crash.

But, Fang, a wolfdog who did not fit in, was forced into several situations in which he struggled to get out. He is thrown into kennels, had his mother taken away at a very tender age, had been thrown into kennels, suffered famine, failure and travelled to places where he is not meant to survive. Yet, he proved everyone wrong by braving anything that was thrown at him.

Sometimes, watching my cats and reading stories like these make more meaning than what people tend to repeat to you. His story is something that I’d read over again, lest something like this awaits me in the future.

He ended his journey happy, and I sincerely wish that I’d be happy by the end of this year, too.

Sincerely, Squeaky Blogger