Summary

Scott is preparing to go back to his home in California, and White Fang senses that something is wrong. He cries and cries. Scott is torn, knowing that White Fang cannot go to California with him, but feeling that he cannot leave him either. White Fang howls and howls, and they lock him up in the house the day that Scott is preparing to leave. Inside, White Fang cries and whines. They go to the steamboat, but just as Scott boards, White Fang runs up to him and dashes onto the boat. He had leapt out the window of the cabin to escape. Scott decides that he cannot leave that sort of love, and tells Matt that he will write him--White Fang is coming with him to California.

They land in San Francisco, and White Fang is appalled at the buildings and the rush of cars and horses and cable and electric cars. He follows his master through the city like attempting to escape from a rushing bad dream. He gets into a car with his master, and by the time he gets back out, the city is gone. Then a man and a woman approach his master, and they try to put their arms around his neck, and White Fang sees the hug and barks with fear. Scott tells him to get down, and that it is all right.

They continue on, White Fang running behind the carriage. Soon they meet a sheep-dog, which promptly attacks White Fang. Because she is female, White Fang does not attack her, but cannot seem to get around her. Finally, he bangs into her and pushes through her defense, running after the carriage. When they get close to the house, a deer-hound attacks him. White Fang attacks, and it is only the collie, running quick after White Fang that saves the deer-hound's life. Scott holds White Fang, and they call the dogs off. They go inside the house, White Fang keeping close to his master.

Analysis

Despite Scott and Matt's worries and fears, White Fang redeems himself again. This section is about movement. There is not much character development of White Fang or any of the other characters; instead, there is movement--from the north to the south. The men try to restrict White Fang's movement, locking him within the house, but he leaps from the window--the beginning of this movement to go with his master. The boat moves, the cars move; White Fang quickly follows after his master, and keeps close by. Collie blocks White Fang, trying to stop this forward movement, but White Fang cannot stop. This is the most movement that White Fang has done in one section, yet he does not change himself in this section--he just follows his master. For the first time, White Fang is not forced to develop in his environment, he can simply trust in his human master.

For example, when Scott and his mother hug, White Fang acts in the manner of a dog from the wild by barking and worried at this "aggressive" act. But Scott reassures him, and White Fang, bit by bit, begins to learn that this world is different, and he must trust Scott.

White Fang feels great fear for the power and hum of the city. In the next section, he will be haunted by a dream of a cable car attacking him--superimposed on his northern environment. White Fang realizes that this world is more powerful than he can fight against. When he is with his master, he can trust in him. However, when White Fang has nightmares about his visit to San Francisco, all of that power is imposed upon his life with Beauty and his life in the wild. Without Scott to trust in, San Francisco and all of the power of humans is a nightmare to White Fang.

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