Jack London’s White Fang follows a wolf-dog born in the Yukon wilderness during the Klondike era. After experiencing hunger and competition in the wild, White Fang enters human society and gradually learns its rules. Under the control of different owners, he encounters both discipline and cruelty, becoming increasingly defensive and violent as he adapts to harsh treatment.

His life changes when Weedon Scott rescues him from an abusive owner and treats him with patience and kindness. White Fang slowly develops trust, loyalty and affection, eventually accompanying Scott to California. There he must adjust to a safer domestic environment while retaining the instincts formed by his earlier life. The novel explores the effects of environment and treatment on behaviour, contrasting brutality with care and showing how White Fang’s character changes through experience. It also reflects London’s wider interest in survival, adaptation and the relationship between animals and people.