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Literary Devices
Definition of Allegory
An allegory is a work that conveys a hidden meaning—usually moral, spiritual, or political—through the use of symbolic characters and events. The story of "The Tortoise and The Hare" is... read full definition
An allegory is a work that conveys a hidden meaning—usually moral, spiritual, or political—through the use of symbolic characters and events. The story of "The... read full definition
An allegory is a work that conveys a hidden meaning—usually moral, spiritual, or political—through the use of symbolic characters and... read full definition
Part 2, Chapter 3
Explanation and Analysis—Journey to Civilization:
White Fang is often read as an allegory for humanity’s progression toward civilization. White Fang’s journey from his birth in the wilderness, to his domestication by Gray Beaver, to his growth of a capacity for love and affection with his final owner Weedon Scott, mirrors the advancement of humanity from animal origins to present-day civilized and technologically-advanced societies. This focus on evolution reflects the profound influence of the ideas of Charles Darwin on Jack London’s novels, including White Fang.
London begins his evolutionary allegory before human history, at the dawn of life itself. In Part 2, Chapter 3, when White Fang is still a puppy living in the cave where he was born, he is metaphorically compared to a plant moving mindlessly toward the light of the sun, a description that evokes some of Earth’s earliest life-forms, like algae and other simple microorganisms:
He had discovered that [the cave entrance] was different from the other walls long before he had any thoughts of his own, any conscious volitions. It had been an irresistible attraction before ever his eyes opened and looked upon it. The light from it had beat upon his sealed lids, and the eyes and optic nerves had pulsated to little, sparklike flashes, warm-colored and strangely pleasing. The life of his body […] had yearned toward this light and urged his body toward it in the same way that the cunning chemistry of a plant urges it toward the sun.
Related Themes:
