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Nature and Culture Detectives: Investigating Jack London's White Fang
Introduction
In a letter dated December 5, 1904, to his publisher George Brett, Jack London
explains that he wrote White Fang as a companion piece to The Call
of the Wild, his famous story about the transformation of a domestic dog
into an animal who answers the natural “call” of the wild. He writes,
“I’m going to reverse the process. Instead of the devolution or
de-civilization of a dog, I’m going to give the evolution, the civilization
of a dog—development of domesticity, faithfulness, love, morality, and
all the amenities and virtues.”[1] London’s portrayal,
however, results in a complication of the fundamental terms “nature”
and “culture” in White Fang. Middle school readers of this
famous novel, therefore, have the perfect opportunity to become nature and culture
detectives. In this lesson, students will explore images from the Klondike and
read White Fang closely to learn how to define and differentiate these
terms, ultimately presenting their findings as “nature and culture detectives.”
[1]The Letters of Jack
London, Vol. 1: 1896-1905. Edited by Earle Labor, Robert C. Leitz, III,
and I. Milo Shepard. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1988
Guiding Question
"How are the concepts of nature and culture defined—and differentiated—in Jack London's White Fang?"
Learning Objectives
Upon completing this lesson, students will be able to:
- Define and understand in context the difference between nature and culture
- Understand setting in general as an important element of fiction/narrative
- Analyze closely the ways in which London portrays nature and culture throughout White Fang
- Analyze images from the Klondike in general and London's Klondike setting in particular as the borderland between the great nature/culture divide
Background Information for the Teacher
London's intentions to showcase the "development of domesticity, faithfulness, love, morality …" are based on the basic duality of "nature" (the uncivilized wild) vs. "culture" (a domesticated, nurturing environment). After reading White Fang and navigating the book's portrayal of "nature" and "culture," however, one cannot help but to ask: What actually is nature? And what is culture? In fact, one could argue that White Fang is not a reversal of The Call of the Wild—that is, the story of a wolf's civilization—because White Fang never really is transformed from a "natural" state to a domestic, "cultured" state. Instead, as London portrays him, White Fang is born into a state in which even instincts are learned or constructed as opposed to natural or innate.
It is a story's location that often delineates this great nature/culture divide. Featuring London's signature Klondike setting, White Fang, however, introduces a location that actually brings to life questions about the widely accepted duality of nature vs. culture. For throughout the novel, readers visually and imaginatively navigate the borderlands of the Klondike as a place that continually presents both literal divides (e.g., frozen rivers to cross, treacherous mountain passes, lines between fire/heat/light and frozen blackness) and symbolic ones (e.g., the threshold between wild and tame).
The following background resources will help you enter this literary conversation about nature and culture—and the Klondike's place within that divide—giving you a broad view of corresponding issues related to this lesson:
A Baseline Definition of Culture
Read "A Baseline Definition of Culture," from the EDSITEment-reviewed Washington State University website. This brief overview of culture suggests what perhaps is the most fundamental and widely accepted element of culture: that "People learn culture." Reading about the "transformation" of White Fang from a wild to domestic state with this definition in mind, students will learn to question fundamental terms such as culture and nature.
A Baseline Definition of Nature
Visit the EDSITEment-reviewed PBS site "Nature" to establish a baseline definition of nature and to have resources to show students, if need be, to enhance discussions of nature throughout this lesson. General questions to consider are: What are the elements of nature? What are characteristics and aspects of nature in relation to animals? To humans?
Who Was Jack London?
Read the brief biography of Jack London from the The Jack London Collection, a link from the EDSITEment-reviewed website Center for the Liberal Arts. When he was not quite 20 years old, London spent a year prospecting for gold in the Klondike. In fact, he was known for undertaking adventures that he could write about as he explicitly sought to become a great, widely read American writer. London's famous Klondike tale The Call of the Wild (1903), which preceded White Fang, launched and secured his fame. For more Klondike-related biographical information, see Jack London and His Work, a link from The World of Jack London, included in The Jack London Collection.
What is London's Literary Context of White Fang?
The following EDSITEment-lessons might be useful both for review and for extending the lesson:
- "Jack London's The Call of the Wild: Nature Faker?": This lesson focuses on the main "character" of The Call of the Wild: Buck, a pet dog that gets caught up in the Klondike frenzy. This lesson is useful for raising the question of whether Buck simply is a canine manifestation of a human voice (London's).
- "Knowledge or Instinct? Jack London's "To Build a Fire." This lesson is useful for background information, because it raises similar questions about knowledge (a cultural construct related to learning) and instincts (i.e., natural or innate drives).
Preparing to Teach This Lesson
- Review the lesson plan. Locate and bookmark suggested materials and other useful websites. Download and print out documents you will use and duplicate copies as necessary for student viewing.
- The full text of White Fang is available online through from the The Jack London Collection, a link from the EDSITEment-reviewed website Center for the Liberal Arts.
- Students can access the primary source materials and some of the activity materials via the EDSITEment LaunchPad. Be sure to review the following photographs, which are central to Activity 3
- Have tape available and print out or make a copy of the Chilkoot Pass photo and an image of a gold nugget for the "dividing line" activity in Activity 4.
- Using the search term "Klondike," browse the online databases Frank La Roche Photographs, William E. Meed Photographs, and Photos of Eric A Hegg, available on the EDSITEment-reviewed University of Washington Digital Collections, used in Activity 2, below. Note that some of these images are also available via the EDSITEment LaunchPad.
- Browse the EDSITEment-reviewed Washington State History Museum's Golden Dreams: The Quest for the Klondike Website, which students will explore in Activity 3, below.
Suggested Activities
1. What is nature? What is culture?
Before students can become nature and culture detectives, they need to develop a basic understanding of the terms "nature" and "culture." First ask students to define these terms, and create on the board a chart of key words that emerge during this discussion.
Use the following guiding questions:
- What do you think of when you heard the word "nature"?
- What images related to nature come to mind?
- What do you know about the world "culture"?
- What are some elements of culture that we encounter every day?
- How is going to school a part of American culture?
During the discussion, make sure that students understand the basic tenet that people learn culture and that culture is a broad term that may include activities, social elements, beliefs, and products of a given group of people.
Some example keywords might be:
Nature/Culture comparison table
| Nature |
Culture |
| Animals |
Groups of humans |
| Waterfalls |
School |
| Forest |
Television |
| Birds |
I-Pods |
| Lightning |
Cell phones |
Now lead a discussion about these terms, using the following guiding questions:
- In general, what do you think are some of the differences between nature and culture?
- Can we come up with some additional terms and phrases for our chart based on these differences? (Additional terms may include manmade, the way you are born, etc.)
Note: At this point, students should begin or be in the process of reading the novel. To help them focus on close reading skills, give them the Close Reading Worksheet and consider discussing the first series of questions as a class activity. As students read the novel throughout, they should complete the worksheet, possibly supplemented by additional entries into a reading journal. A teacher's version of the Close Reading Worksheet (with suggested responses) is also available here.
2. Preparing for the investigation:
What are nature and culture in the world of Jack London's Klondike?
Introduce White Fang, explaining that Jack London intended to tell the story of a wild wolf that goes through the process of domestication or civilization. Call on students to define the words "domestication" and "civilization" by starting with the root words "domestic" and "civil" or "civilized." Have students add these terms to the nature/culture chart, if they haven't already.
Next explain that London's writing plan means that White Fang would have to
change from his wild, natural state to a tame state in which he learns to live
among men. Ask students to think of terms related to White Fang that
they can add to their chart (Note: at this point students should have read the
first two parts of the novel), and add these terms to the board. Revisit this
chart throughout each class dedicated to the novel, and add the following terms
if they have not yet come up during this initial discussion: hunger, fear, the
"Wild," the "Law," learning, tame, mining. Also introduce the following additional
vocabulary words for this lesson:
Innate
Instinct
Savage
Pristine
Unadulterated
Prospecting
Ask students how to define these words, providing definitions as needed or sending students to a dictionary to look up definitions. Then call on students (either individually or by asking for volunteers) to place these vocabulary words in the appropriate column on the board:
Nature/Culture comparison table
| Nature |
Culture |
| Innate |
Civilized |
| Instinct |
Domestic |
| Savage |
Domesticated |
| Pristine |
Prospecting |
| Unadulterated |
|
As your class goes through this process, remind students that while dichotomies are useful for seeing patterns, oftentimes the categories share deep borders and overlap with one another. With this in mind, turn the discussion towards White Fang, using the following questions:
- Where does the story take place?
- Why did humans venture to this place at this time?
- Why were dogs needed?
- Who is Beauty Smith and what does he do?
- Who is Weedon Scott?
Mention to students that they can learn more about the terms "nature" and "culture"— their differences and their shared borders—by reading and analyzing White Fang in its historical context. Ask students, for example, to think about the word "gold": How would you define and describe gold? Where does gold come from? These questions should lead to a discussion about the difference between gold that hasn't been mined and gold that has been mined, traded, and sold in some form (e.g., bullion, jewelry). Note: this section corresponds to "Gold in Nature and Culture" on the LaunchPad.
Show the following images to enhance this discussion of gold, asking students to describe the images and share what they think is happening in the pictures.
From William E. Meed Photographs, available on the University of Washington Digital Collections:
- Frost in the entrance to a tunnel in a placer gold mine, Yukon Territory, ca. 1899
- Gold miners with a rocker at work on Skookum Hill, Bonanza Creek, Yukon Territory, ca. 1899
- Miners at work with pickaxes and shovels in underground gold mine, No. 16 Eldorado Creek, Yukon Territory, ca. 1898
- Prospector with shovel and gold pan at the edge of a creek, Yukon Territory, ca. 1898
- Frost covered walls in a drift on a gold mining claim, Yukon Territory, ca. 1899
- Miners working in underground gold mine by candlelight, Yukon Territory, ca. 1898
From Frank La Roche Photographs, available on the University of Washington Digital Collections:
Now ask, "Where on our chart would we place the word "gold"? Students should recognize that gold can be placed in both categories. Ask students the following questions:
- What is natural about gold as depicted in these photos?
- What is cultural, or related to humans, about gold as depicted in these photos?
- Why can gold be placed in both categories?
- How is it possible to place gold in both categories?
- What role do humans play in relationship to gold?
- What cultural value does gold have?
Before moving to the next activity, take stock of the basic terms "nature" and "culture." Ask students to elaborate the class discussion that began in the first activity.
3. Exploring the terms through Klondike images
Prompt students to recall that "gold" can be both a natural element and an element that has cultural value and cultural characteristics. Now ask students to think about and discuss the word "dog":
- What comes to mind when you think of the word "dog"? [Note: This discussion should lead to some talk about types of dogs: wild wolves, dogs like Buck from The Call of the Wild, White Fang, pets, and so on.]
- Who in today's society has a dog? [Note: Students probably will mention pop stars and socialites who own dogs as a status symbol.]
- Why do some of today's pop stars walk around with their dogs? How are their dogs symbolic?
- Where would we place the word "dog"—in the nature category or culture category? [Note: Some students should begin to recognize that like gold, "dog" can be placed in both categories.]
Now point out that pop stars weren't the first celebrities to adopt dogs as social symbols. Show students the following images from The Jack London Collection:
Ask students the following questions:
- How would you describe the background of the young Jack London and Rollo photo? [Note: Students might notice that the background is not real; it's just an image of nature.]
- What is natural about this photo? What is cultural about this photo?
- What do you notice about Jack London and his sled dogs in the Klondike photo? [Note: Students might notice that Jack London almost looks like a dog himself.]
- What is natural about this photo? What is cultural about this photo?
Before sending the student groups on their "quest," as described below, discuss the following image following from The World of Jack London, a link from the Jack London Collection: Jack London's cabin. Use the following guiding questions in order to model the group activity below.
- How would you describe the setting or environment in this photo?
- Name and describe two elements from the natural world.
- How would you describe elements that indicate the mark of humans in this photo? Name and describe two such elements.
Mention to students that they can look for clues related to nature and clues related to culture in many Klondike images, much like the one of Jack London himself in the Klondike. Divide the class into six groups. Send each group on a quest to discover images from the Klondike that show the relationship between nature and culture. Assign two websites to each group, who can access the sites via the LaunchPad. If need be, small groups can divide and conquer when browsing the websites. If that is the case, assign one website to each group or, alternatively, make half the groups "nature detectives" and the other half "culture detectives." Students can use the Klondike Image Analysis Worksheet to guide their progress.
Encourage them to search using keywords such as Klondike, gold, dogs, etc., and provide students with the following guiding questions:
- What are some natural elements of the Klondike? Be specific.
- What are some cultural elements of the Klondike? Be specific.
- What is the relationship between nature and culture in the Klondike?
Give the groups 20 minutes for investigation and analysis. If possible, have students print several of their images for Activity 4, below. If students cannot print the images have them write down the captions and/or titles of the images on individual strips of paper. Direct students to choose two images from their investigation to present to the full class. Have a different person from each group present the image, discussing the full group's findings about nature or culture (depending of the group assignment). Give each group a short period of time to present their two photographs.
4. The great nature/culture divide
By now students should start to experience the difficulty in labeling some of the Klondike images as either an example of only "nature" or "culture." Write on the board "nature" and "culture," and include a thick dividing line between the two terms. If the students were able to print several images from their investigation, challenge each group to place its photos under a label, and ask them to explain their choice. Mention to groups that they can place the photo on the dividing line if they are uncertain where to place the photo, but they should explain how the photo includes elements of both. If students were not able to print the images, have them place the paper strips with the captions or titles of the images. You can start this process by placing a picture of gold nuggets on this dividing line, as well as the Chilkoot Pass photo.
Once all groups have placed their images or captions, lead a discussion about how and why those images stand at the "great divide" between nature and culture, using the following guiding questions:
- What prompted you to place this photo at the great divide?
- Does the photo depict a literal division between nature and culture? Explain
- Does the photo depict a symbolic division between nature and culture? Explain.
Using the Chilkoot Pass example, you can point out the this photo shows the prototypical dividing line between the Klondike setting starkly cut by the line of prospectors during their quest for gold. This is a classic image of nature vs. humans.
After students have placed all of the photos, wrap up this image analysis discussion by focusing on how the Klondike setting in particular becomes the borderland between nature and culture. To transition to the text itself, you can end by placing the image of Jack London in the Klondike on the great dividing line. Ask students to explain your action.
5. Investigating the text
Students should have been reading the novel and using the Close Reading Worksheet and/or reading journals to make notes of their thoughts and progress. Reiterate that the Klondike setting is the perfect context for exploring nature and culture. Review the term "setting" as an element of narrative using the definition from "A Glossary of Literary Terms" via the EDSITEment-reviewed Internet Public Library.
With the previous activities in mind, ask students to describe the setting(s) of White Fang, using the following questions:
- Where does the novel open?
- How would you describe this setting?
- Where does the novel end?
- How would you describe this setting?
- How are these two settings different?
Then, if students have read The Call of the Wild in class, ask them to describe Buck and recount the general plot. Now ask students to think about White Fang as a character, using the following guiding questions:
- What kind of animal is White Fang?
- How does the get his name?
- How would you describe him?
- What is the relationship between White Fang and Weedon Scott?
- What is the relationship between White Fang and Judge Scott's family at the end of the book?
Prompt students to consider how White Fang is transformed from a wild wolf into a pet dog:
- How do you know that White Fang is a wild wolf?
- What experiences does White Fang have that enable him to become a pet?
- How is the Klondike setting related to White Fang's transformation?
- How is the Santa Clara Valley setting related to White Fang's transformation?
- How does White Fang learn how to be a domestic dog? Explain.
Turn to the Close Analysis Worksheet, and choose a passage or two to review with the class as a whole. Then have students participate in a Close Analysis Worksheet jigsaw activity by numbering themselves in their investigation groups from Activity 4 (thus, student A is 1, student B is 2, etc.), and then dividing the class into new close analysis groups based on their numbers. Have each group examine at least one passage on the Close Analysis Worksheet and, if time allows, have them search for other relevant passages in the book. Keep in mind that the close analysis groups will include a student from each investigation group. As such, each investigation group representative can share his or her findings in the new close analysis group, thereby working with analysis group members to find commonalities. One student from each group should volunteer to be the note taker. Monitor students as they are discussing the book, and assist them as needed while you circle the room.
Assessment
There are a number of possible assessment activities:
- Have each student compose a brief writing assignment in which they closely analyze one passage from White Fang and discuss its use of setting, either to evoke nature or culture/civilization. This can be part of a reading journal, a reaction paper, or an essay, depending on the needs of the instructor. Emphasis should be placed on the student's skill in closely reading the text.
- Have students write a "Letter from the Klondike," in which students imagine that they, like Jack London, caught the prospecting bug and started out for the Klondike. Prompt each student to write a one-page, handwritten letter from home in which he or she describes the setting. Have students mention what they are enjoying about the Klondike and, on the other hand, what they miss most about their hometown. Encourage students to use historical photos (such as the ones explored in this lesson's activities) and include them, with descriptions, in their letter.
- Incorporate a creating writing activity by asking students to imaging that they are White Fang. Have them write a "day in a dog's life" journal entry, focusing on White Fang's transformation from a wild wolf to a domesticated dog. Students should showcase their understanding of White Fang's transformation and the influence of setting, nature, and culture.
Extending the Lesson
The following EDSITEment-lessons might be useful for extending the lesson:
- "Jack London's The Call of the Wild: Nature Faker?": This lesson focuses on the main "character" of The Call of the Wild: Buck, a pet dog that gets caught up in the Klondike frenzy. This lesson is useful for raising the question of whether Buck simply is a canine manifestation of a human voice (London's).
- "Knowledge or Instinct? Jack London's "To Build a Fire." This lesson is useful for background information, because it raises similar questions about knowledge (a cultural construct related to learning) and instincts (i.e., natural or innate drives).
Selected EDSITEment Websites
- Center for the Liberal Arts
[http://www.virginia.edu/cla/]
- University of Washington Digital
Collections
[http://content.lib.washington.edu/]
- "A
Baseline Definition of Culture,"
[http://www.wsu.edu:8001/vcwsu/commons/
topics/culture/culture-definition.html]
- Frank
La Roche Photographs
[http://content.lib.washington.edu/larocheweb/index.html]
- William
E. Meed Photographs
[http://content.lib.washington.edu/meedweb/index.html]
- Chilkoot
Pass
[http://content.lib.washington.edu/meed/image/24.jpg]
- Frost
in the entrance to a tunnel in a placer gold mine, Yukon Territory,
ca. 1899
[http://content.lib.washington.edu/meed/image/185.jpg]
- Gold
miners with a rocker at work on Skookum Hill, Bonanza Creek, Yukon
Territory, ca. 1899
[http://content.lib.washington.edu/meed/image/67.jpg]
- Miners
at work with pickaxes and shovels in underground gold mine, No. 16
Eldorado Creek, Yukon Territory, ca. 1898
[http://content.lib.washington.edu/meed/image/68.jpg]
- Prospector
with shovel and gold pan at the edge of a creek, Yukon Territory,
ca. 1898
[http://content.lib.washington.edu/meed/image/174.jpg]
- Frost
covered walls in a drift on a gold mining claim, Yukon Territory,
ca. 1899
[http://content.lib.washington.edu/meed/image/87.jpg]
- Miners
working in underground gold mine by candlelight, Yukon Territory,
ca. 1898
[http://content.lib.washington.edu/meed/image/72.jpg]
- Photos
by Eric A Hegg
[http://content.lib.washington.edu/heggweb/index.html]
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