White Fang 4 5 by Jack London 6
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Penguin Readers Factsheets l e v e l E T e a c h e r’s n o t e s 1 2 3 White Fang 4 5 by Jack London 6 ELEMENTARY S U M M A R Y hite Fang is a heart-warming story of how a wild was married twice. Problems with alcohol led to a number W animal, part wolf and part dog, comes to love and of illnesses, and he died from an overdose of morphine at live happily with a human family. The story is set in the age of 40 in 1916. Some people think he killed himself. Canada in the 1890s – around the time of the Gold Rush in the Klondike. First, after being found, White Fang lives with Indians on the Mackenzie River. There, he learns to BACKGROUND AND THEMES look after himself and to fight hard. Then he is seen and White Fang is the story of how a wild animal is tamed and bought by a cruel man, Beauty Smith, who wants to use civilised. The story begins in the sub-arctic country of the him for dog fights. Northwest Territories of Canada. Through this remote land At one of these fights, White Fang, the great fighter, of long, cold winters flows the Mackenzie river which rises suddenly finds that he is the loser. He is saved from death in the Great Slave Lake and flows north-west into by a man with a different way of treating animals. Weedon Mackenzie Bay. The Mackenzie is one of the longest rivers Scott uses kindness and reward, rather than the stick, and in North America but it is frozen for most of the year: it is the ‘wolf’ becomes devoted to him. When Scott has to only navigable from June to October. Few people live leave the Klondike for California in the south, White Fang there because there are few natural resources, and no is determined to go with him. In the ‘Southland’, White farming is possible because the summers are short and Fang learns a new way of life and even saves his new the soil is poor. family from some nasty situations. He finds happiness, In this beautiful but harsh country with its pine forests too, when his own cubs are born. and its high rocky mountains, there are many animals, such as wolves, bears and wild cats. But the area is ABOUT THE AUTHOR hostile even for animals. White Fang’s father dies and so his brothers and sisters also die without enough food, Jack London’s real name was John Griffith Chaney. He leaving just him and his mother behind to fend for was born in 1876 in San Francisco, the illegitimate son of themselves. In White Fang’s early life, Jack London shows an astrologer and a spiritualist. He had socialist opinions us all the harshness of the natural world, where animal and belonged to a group of writers called ‘The feeds on animal and where only the strongest and fiercest Muckrakers’, who wanted to write about the corruption survive. and poverty of the society around them. Many of his When White Fang is three years old, he is found by the books are about the struggles of men and animals against indigenous people of the Mackenzie River area and is hardships, and the realities of life and nature. His style taken to live with them. These native Americans – or was vivid and exciting. He became an extremely popular ‘Indians’ – lived by hunting and fishing, and moved from writer in the early years of the twentieth century and place to place using canoes and sleds, living in camps in remains a great favourite today, especially with The Call of tents. There was often not much food, and as we see in the Wild and White Fang, both much loved by children. He the story, many Indians died from famine. Their dogs were wrote more than 50 books between 1900 and 1915. an important part of the Indians’ life. The dogs pulled the London led a colourful life and it is said that he often sleds and helped with the hunting. The way in which the used his own experiences in his novels, though much of Indians treated their animals may seem cruel, but the life the biographical information about him is uncertain. In they led was hard. Although White Fang does not love his 1893 he worked on a ship that hunted seals, and from owner, Grey Beaver, he respects him. 1894-5 he travelled across the USA as a hobo riding In 1896, gold was found where the Klondike River joins freight trains. From 1897-8 he was a gold prospector in the Yukon River and large numbers of people came up the Klondike, and in 1904 and 1915 he worked as a war from the south, from San Francisco and California, hoping correspondent for a newspaper. He decided to become a to make their fortunes. It is there, in Fort Yukon in writer after he spent thirty unpleasant days in prison. He Alaska, that a ‘white’ man, Beauty Smith, shows real © Pearson Education 2001 l e v e l Penguin Readers Factsheets 2 T e a c h e r’s n o t e s cruelty to White Fang. Grey Beaver, like many other Indians, Then talk with the whole class about how people teach travels across the mountains to Fort Yukon, to sell his animals. What is the best way? leather shoes and other goods to the in-comers. But the Chapters 7–9 white men despised the Indians and Beauty Smith knows he can make Grey Beaver sell White Fang to him for just a In these chapters, White Fang goes to a new place and has few bottles of whisky. Beauty Smith enjoys beating White to learn new ways. Ask students to look up ‘rule’ in their dictionaries. Then ask them to work in pairs and write 5 Fang. In return, White Fang hates him. important rules for a new person who comes to their school A third, more civilised way of treating animals is shown to or to their home. They can make sentences beginning ‘You us by Weedon Scott, who rescues White Fang from a dog can/can’t/have to...’ They can make rules for: someone from another world or another country or another town. fight. Scott’s approach is through reward and kindness, not hitting and beating. This kinder way means White Fang ACTIVITIES AFTER READING THE BOOK loves his new owner, and Scott’s reward for his kindness is Write the names of the chapters on the board in jumbled that White Fang rescues him from danger and burglary. order. Ask students to copy the names and put the right In this moving and perceptive tale of one animal’s chapter number next to each chapter name. Tell them not relationship with humans, Jack London shows us how to look in the book! The first person with the right answer is the winner! brutality, hate and anger, even in a wild animal, can be overcome by the civilising effect of the better side of human nature: compassion, gentleness and affection. G l o s s a r y It will be useful for your students to know the following words. They are Communicative activities practised in the ‘Before You Read’sections at the back of the book. (Definitions are based on those in the Longman Active Study Dictionary.) The following teacher-led activities cover the same sections of text as the exercises at the back of the Reader, and Chapters 1–3 supplement those exercises. For supplementary exercises bite (v) to cut or crush something with your teeth covering shorter sections of the book see the photocopiable camp (n) a place where people stay in temporary shelters such as tents Student’s Activities pages of this Factsheet. These are cave (n) a large natural hole in a hill or in the ground primarily for use with class readers but, with the exception of discussion and pair/groupwork questions, can also be cub (n) a young, lion, bear, wolf, etc used by students working alone in a self-access centre. fangs (n) the long sharp teeth of an animal such as a wolf god (n) the being who Christians, Jews and Moslems pray to ACTIVITIES BEFORE READING THE BOOK leather (n) animal skin that has been treated, used to make shoes, 1 Put students in pairs. Ask them to find out what animal bags, etc their partner likes best. Write all the animals on the lie down (v) to put yourself in a position in which your body is flat blackboard. Which animal does the class like best? neck (n) the part of your body that joins your head to your shoulders 2 Show students four or five pictures of wild animals, sled (n) a vehicle for moving over snow on two long narrow pieces of including a wolf. Write the names on the board. Ask metal or wood students to write down the names of the animals and smell (v) to recognize something using your nose number them 1 to 5. Number 1 is the animal which they snarl (v) if an animal snarls, it makes a low angry sound and shows its like the best. Put students in pairs to talk about their teeth answers. Talk about the animals with the whole class. stick (n) a long thin piece of wood Which animal do the students like best? Who likes the wolf the best? stroke (v) to move your hand gently over something tie (v) to fasten something with a string or rope ACTIVITIES AFTER READING A SECTION village (n) a very small town in the countryside Chapters 1–3 wolf (n) a wild animal that looks like a large dog Ask students to write down • the bad things in White Fang’s life.