In the book, the wolf pack is a symbol for community, friendship, and interdependence. Jackson’s story about the grizzly bear’s confrontation with the wolf pack reveals the power of community. While, as individuals, the wolves are weaker than the grizzly bear, their ability to collaborate and stand together in solidarity against their enemy leads to their victory against the most intimidating apex predator in Alaska. Jackson tells his classmates how he witnessed wolves working together to survive a grizzly attack. He tells them, “‘Wolves don’t fight alone. They fight as a pack. They stick together’” (41).

The symbol of the wolf pack supports the theme of Individualism Versus Community, as Jackson recognizes that strong relationships can help animals survive. When Jackson is injured in the earthquake, he is rescued by his own “pack”: his new friends, Chris, Leonor, Mary, and Nora. Jackson is humbled as his survivalist skills aren’t enough for him to help himself, and he depends on his friends to carry him to safety. This experience causes him to aspire to be more relationship-oriented, like a wolf, and less like an individualistic grizzly bear. The author writes, “But the earthquake had taught Jackson another lesson, too. He didn’t want to be like a grizzly, a fierce creature living alone. He wanted to be like a wolf, part of a pack” (72). Jackson’s symbolic new role model reinforces his character’s shifting personality and priorities.