Never Cry Wolf By Farley Mowat

All the influences above shaped Never Cry Wolf into the work it became to be. Mowat conveys many themes in the book, but one central theme is conveyed throughout the entire book. The theme conveyed is how humans are not inherently superior to other animals even though it is a common perception made by humans (Never Cry Wolf). Many literary aspects are used to convey this central theme. Mowat uses a humorous tone, the description of the setting, and characters, to convey the theme of how humans are not inherently superior to other animals.

Farley Mowat uses a humorous tone to convey that humans are not always superior to animals, in this case, wolves (Simms). Throughout the book Mowat humorously admits how he is a fool for thinking that he

is smarter than the wolves. Early on in the book Mowat tells the readers about how he could not even find the wolves. Mowat assumes this task would be easy because of his intelligence, but this is not the case.

Much time passes before he even sights a single wolf. “After this dismaying tour of the boneyard it was three days before I found time for another trip…I went a quarter-mile on this second expedition- but saw no wolves” (51). Mowat with even all of his training is unable to locate the wolves and he is expected to observe them. The wolves, at this point, are smarter than Mowat without even trying to be. Later on, when Mowat sights his first wolf he foolishly admits that he was unprepared for how large and fierce the wolves appear. “… [T]he lean and sinewy motion and the overall impression of a beast the size of a small pony; an impression implicit with a feeling of lethal strength. Mowat had been slightly cautious about being around the wolves, but was not prepared for how the actual wolves were. Mowat had the common human perception that he was superior to the wolves and from his book research never felt as threatened by the wolves as he did now. The humorous tone in how Mowat describes these actions makes it seem as if he mocks the rest of the human population for doing the same thing on a daily basis. He isn’t ashamed by his astonishment and attempts to prove a

point that many humans expect they are superior to animals without being truly educated on the animal. When Mowat finds the den that the wolves are living in his decides to visit and observe the wolves the next day. He spends his whole day waiting to see them, but the wolves never make an appearance. He turns around to relieve himself and right behind him sat the missing wolves. “To say I was chagrined to discover I was not alone would be an understatement; for sitting directly behind me, and not twenty yards away, were the missing wolves” (70). Instead of being in complete shock Mowat decided to yell at the wolves to go away. “‘Shoo!’ I screamed at them. ‘What the hell do you think you’re looking at, you…you…peeping Toms! Go away for heaven’s sake!’” (71). Mowat has grown up with this perception of superiority that it does not even occur to him how dangerous yelling at the wolves could be. Mowat admits all of his misconceptions humorously and shows how foolish humans can be when they have the perception that they are superior over animals.
Mowat not only uses this unique tone to portray the theme, but also uses the setting to show how humans are not inherently superior.

The setting takes place in the Barren Land of northeast Canada (Simms). When Mowat arrives he is faced with the many challenges of this brutal climate. The wolves are already adapted to these circumstances and have evolved to endure the climate. Human’s on the other hand have not making them inferior to animals. This would be assumed as common knowledge but Mowat still makes the point to show this throughout his work. In the spring time when the weather changed the cabin was ruined by the flooding that washed in the ruins the fourteen huskies had built up all winter long. “… [T]he cabin had lost its charm, for the debris on the floor was a foot thick and somewhat repellent” (52). Mowat is then hindered by this for a while after it occurred. The wolves on the other hand never had this problem and lived much simpler. In the fight to survive easily in nature the wolves come out to be much more superior to humans. Humans assume with their complex brains and evolved technology they are better than animals. What Mowat was trying to make explicit was that wolves live an even easier life in nature without the help of

technology.
The setting may help support Mowat’s theme of the perception of human superiority, but there is another literary aspect that really aides him in creating this certain theme. This literary aspect is his character descriptions. One character in particularly is influential and his name is Ootek. Ootek is an Eskimo and returns with Mike to the cabin. Ootek seems to have a special relationship with the wolves and seems to enjoy observing them just as Mowat does. “In fact, he conveyed to me the information that he too was keenly interested in wolves, partly because his personal totem, or helping spirit, was Amarok, the Wolf Being” (119). Ootek after this point helps educate Mowat on many aspects about the wolf population. One reason humans assume they are inherently more superior is because they have the ability to be educated formally. By having an education humans assume they are the experts on everything even though they are more ignorant than educated. Mowat realizes that just because he is educated does not mean he is superior to others. Ootek is not formally educated, but is self-educated (Thorton). And Ootek helps Mowat constantly. Without Ootek, Mowat would not have gotten the same information out of the Lupine Project. “Ootek had a great deal to add to my knowledge of wolves’ food habits” (121). Mowat consistently writes about the knowledge Ootek gave him about wolves. Therefore, Mowat shows that superiority does not only occur from being formally educated. Ootek is also more superior in wolf information because he is able to understand the wolf language and talk. Mike one day explained to Mowat that Ootek could converse with the wolves. “…[S]ome Eskimos, and Ootek in particular, could hear and understand so well that they could quite literally converse with wolves” (133). Without any formal education Ootek is able to understand the wolf population more in depth than Mowat. Farley Mowat proves that a formal education is not required to be superior. Animals do not have a formal education but a self-education, which in Ootek’s situation seems to be admirable than a formal education. Therefore, humans cannot be inherently superior over animals just because they have a formal education.
The perception that humans are inherently superior is proved wrong in Mowat’s writing. The tone, setting and characters show that humans cannot expect to be more intelligent just because of their formal education. In the end, humans with this perception tend to become more ignorant because they feel no need to self-educate themselves because they are supposedly inherently superior.