White Fang Assignment

White Fang by Jack London

Dark spruce forest frowned on either side of the frozen waterway. The trees had been stripped by a recent wind of their white covering of frost, and they seemed to lean toward each other, black and ominous, in the fading light. A vast silence reigned over the land. The land itself was a desolation, lifeless, without movement, so lone and cold that the spirit of it was not even that of sadness. There was a hint in it of laughter, but of a laughter more terrible than any sadness – a laughter that was mirthless as the smile of the Sphinx, a laughter cold as the frost and partaking of the grimness of infallibility. It was the masterful and incommunicable wisdom of eternity laughing at the futility of life and the effort of life. It was the Wild, the savage, frozen-hearted Northland Wild.

But there was life, abroad in the land and defiant. Down the frozen waterway toiled a string of wolfish dogs. Their bristly fur was rimed with frost. Their breath froze in the air as it left their mouths, spouting forth in spumes of vapor that settled upon the hair of their bodies and formed into crystals of frost. Leather harness was on the dogs, and leather traces attached them to a sled which dragged along behind. The sled was without runners. It was made of stout birchbark, and its full surface rested on the snow. The front end of the sled was turned up, like a scroll in order to force down and under the bore of soft snow that surged like a wave before it. On the sled, securely lashed, was a long and narrow oblong box. There were other things on the sled – blankets, an axe, and a coffee-pot and frying-pan; but prominent, occupying most of the space, was the long and narrow oblong box.

In advance of the dogs, on wide snowshoes, toiled a man. At the rear of the sled toiled a second man. On the sled, in the box, lay a third man whose toil was over – a man whom the Wild had conquered and beaten down until he would never move nor struggle again. It is not the way of the Wild to like movement. Life is an offense to it, for life is movement; and the Wild aims always to destroy movement. It freezes the water to prevent it running to the sea; it drives the sap out of the trees till they are frozen to their mighty hearts; and most ferociously and terribly of all does the Wild harry and crush into submission man – man, who is the most restless of life, ever in revolt against the dictum that all movement must in the end come to the cessation of movement.

Assignment – Writing, White Fang, rough draft due 11/25, final draft due 12/9

You have two options for this paper. Please choose ONE of the following options.

Option One – Non-fiction

Using the passage you have been given from Jack London’s White Fang, attempt to answer the following question: Is the Wild something worth entering and exploring, or should men stay within the bounds of already civilized areas and not venture into new frontiers? Please use excerpts from the text to demonstrate your point. You may want to use outside sources to find information about the Yukon frontier in the 1890’s – its attractions, its dangers, etc, but please cite any and all sources you use. In other words, any time you quote or paraphrase from an outside source, please cite the source. For the purposes of this essay, you may cite by putting the name of the website or book author in parenthesis following the information. Then, at the end of the essay, provide a list of your sources including website or book name, author, and publication date or website. I will not hold you to strict formatting regarding these citations, but do not forget to do them. Plagiarism (not giving credit to your sources) is illegal. Please see the example below for examples of citation. Your final paper should be at least 2-3 pages and will be graded on the following: introduction, thesis, development and cohesion of ideas.

Sample:

White Fang, Jack London’s 1906 masterpiece, is set in the Yukon Territory in Canada during the 1890’s (Wikipedia.com). In its opening passage, the book sets the scene by describing the impossibly desolate conditions of winter on the frontier stating, “it was the Wild, the savage, frozen-hearted Northland Wild” (London). But the Wild is not necessarily a place to be avoided. Its frozen beauty brings many advantages to the men willing to brave its dangers.

Jack London. White Fang. 1906

“White Fang.” Wikipedia. http://wikipedia.com/wiki/White_Fang

Option Two – Fiction

The text mentions three men – two walk next to the sled and one is dead in the coffin on the sled. Write a short story from the point of view of ONE of these three men. Keeping in mind London’s depiction of the Wild, try to explain in your story how these three characters ended up where they are. What were they doing? How did one die? Where are they going? How will they survive in the wilderness? Your story should be at least 2-3 pages and should take into account the details put into place by London in the passage that you were given and the setting of the story – the northwestern frontier in the 1890’s. Specifically, it is placed in the Yukon Territory, Canada. Otherwise, feel free to be as creative as you wish in your response. Your paper will be graded on the following: creativity, attention to detail in the original passage, development and cohesion of the story.

If you have any questions at all, please email me: mohsla01@luther.edu