Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
My, What Large Fangs You Have.
Meet The Call of the Wild's lone wolf. We'd like to call him Wolfy...but we're pretty sure he'd tear our throats out if we tried.
This lone wolf is like the wild counterpart to our boy Buck. When the two form a close friendship, it’s symbolic of Buck’s deeper longing to join the wild.
The lone wolf enters the text at a point where we can see Buck’s raging inner turmoil—he wants to hang out with the wolf, but he's also loyal to Thornton. He wants to be feral and kill things, but he still loves the man and can’t leave him behind. It seems like all of the desires that Buck is feeling get thrown together in this lone wolf—he's who Buck wants to be when he grows up.
Later, however, we meet the lone wolf again—and, because of Thornton's death, he and Buck are on equal footing. They greet each other with respect and affection:
One wolf, long and lean and gray, advanced cautiously, in a friendly manner, and Buck recognized the wild brother with whom he had run for a night and a day. He was whining softly, and, as Buck whined, they touched noses. (7.45)
Buck's finally home: he's meet his people...and they happen to be wolves.