Determinism In Under The Lion's Paw

Determinism, a doctrine that all events, including human action, are ultimately determined by causes external to the will, especially when up against nature. An influential component found in naturalistic writing, London, Garland, and Crane each lend their writing to this movement, realism, modeled after the writings of Darwin, Marx, and Freud. Determinism, generally pessimistic, presents itself in the form of Koskoosh, an elderly, blind man left to die by his tribe. This indigenous, cold-climate tribe embraces the “survival of the fittest” mentality. Simply surviving was a burden for this tribe and they certainly did not have the resources to sustain a dependent person. The story mentions the good times when the dogs and people were fat, as

well as the most difficult of times when everyone was no more that skin and bones. Most people of our generation never accept the fate of death, and try with all their might to stave off death. Koskoosh, on the other hand, accepts that all men must die. His anecdote on the wolves and the moose essentially compare humans to animals.

The lives of the tribal members resemble that of animals, simply seeking shelter and food, sexual drive to reproduce, struggling to make it. Similar to the moose, Koskoosh tries to fend the wolves off with fire, but eventually gives in because that is the “law of life”. Biological, our narrator was unable to keep up, he was not one of the fittest, so why fight off something that was inevitable. In the opening few paragraphs of “Under the Lion’s Paw”, we again come across a hardworking man who is compared to hard working animals. Once again communicating the idea that man’s existence is not much different from that of animals. Also similar to “The Law of Life”, biological determinism plays a role in the story for the Haskins and the Council’s, to a certain degree. The Haskin’s, in particular, are having a rough go at life. The story describes the patriarch of the family as never being strong, as well as of Canadian descent and small boned by default. Losing everything to the “hoppers”, the Haskins, hardworking people, are defeated by the forces of nature. While the mother and father want nothing more than to provide for their young children, nature does not want to

cooperate. While the Councils are also struggling, they are not sinking quite as fast as the Haskins, yet they offer room and board and even help the family find a farm. This goodwill displays a contradiction inherent to naturalism. In addition to the biological determinism, we also get a glimpse at socio-economic determinism. Renting a run down farm, Haskins and his family have to work day and night just to get in good shape, putting much of their money into renovating and updating the farm. Eventually, the landlord, demands double the original offer due to the improvements made on the land perpetuating Haskins struggle to get ahead rather than simply surviving. The title alludes to a lion playing with a mouse, completely in control of the situation, never allowing the mouse to escape. Haskins realizes he will forever be caught in this trap, ending the story on a pessimistic note. The best example found in our last story, “The Open Boat” does not come until the end. From the reading, we gather that the oiler is the fittest of all the men, leading the race to shore. However, in an unexpected turn of events it is actually the correspondent who makes it to shore alive. Determinism play a role here considering the wave that happened to come at an opportune moment for the correspondent. Had it not, he may not have ever made it to shore. Upon washing up on the banks, he discovers his comrade dead from drowning. In all three of our stories we find that nature, whether that be human nature, mother nature, etc, has no concern for human life. Man could be on his very best behavior, and yet nature will still take whatever course of action it has in store without any regard for the casualties associated.