Of Wolves and Men

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Outside of Iceland and North Africa, and such places as the Gobi Desert, wolves -- if you imagine the differences in geography it seems astounding -- had adapted to virtually every habitat available to them. If you only see the wolf as an obstacle to the American Dream, to Manifest Destiny, then it’s going to be perfectly natural to destroy it—and since it is a foe to be beaten, not even a worthy enemy, it deserves no honor in death. The possibility has yet to be realized of a synthesis between the benevolent wolf of many native American stories and the malcontented wolf of most European fairy tales. In human terms, some are more aggressive or shyer or moodier, and pack society allows these individual temperaments to mature.

I don’t know what it’s like to try to carve out a European existence in a land that is not designed for it.Mr Lopez brings in observations made by Eskimos who live in the Arctic among wolves, and by Native Americans who lived alongside wolves. This is an excellent metaphor for the wolf—and understanding the roles that the wolf and human have to play in relationship to each other.

Its ancestors included small, rodentlike insectivores and, later, much larger creodonts, animals that walked on five toes, had partially retractile claws, partially opposable thumbs on the forefeet, and long, thick tails. Humankind's relationship with the wolf is the sum of a spectrum of responses ranging from fear to admiration and affection. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. First and foremost, Willa Cather and Mary Austin both employ beautiful imagery in their writings to recreate the landscape of the story they are telling, which heightens the understanding and appreciation for their writings. Lopez cautions his readers to avoid thinking of wolves in human terms—and as he concludes Chapter 3, he also cautions his readers to avoid thinking of wolves in terms of domestic dogs.Each creature, from deer mouse to meadowlark, was respected for the qualities it best seemed to epitomize; when those particular qualities were desired by someone, that animal was approached as one who knew much about that thing. The fourth and final section, ‘ And a Wolf Shall Devour the Sun’, concentrates on the wolf of myth, legend and fairy tales.