We as humans are a very versatile species; we are constantly changing our society to become more strategic and adaptable. Or at least it seems that way. Our modern technological advancements are seen mostly as an incredible contribution to our society, helping us lead easy, healthy, and productive lives. However, there is a darker aspect to these discoveries. Humans have developed a dependence on, and possibly an obsession with, the technology and reasoning we have today. Instead of having animal instincts, we rely primarily on our relationships and rationality to function in today’s world. Jack London’s To Build a Fire highlights these growing problems, telling the story of a man, heavily focused on his ego and modern knowledge, who leads …show more content…
Naturalism is a type of literature that studies human nature in an objective and scientific manner. Often naturalist authors would focus closely on humans’ relationship to their surroundings, hence London’s works that are based heavily on humanity’s relationship to animals and nature. Naturalist authors also incorporate the value of instinct into their stories. The genre’s most common central themes concentrate on the “brute within,”, creating extensive conflicts between man and nature, typically showing that nature is an indiscriminate force against human beings (Campbell, Donna M). The themes within Jack London’s naturalist stories can be related to his life experiences. At age 21, he sought out money in the Klondike Gold Rush. During this time, he was malnourished, mistreated, and contracted scurvy, leaving him with permanent health damage. Before dedicating his career to writing, he became an activist within the socialism and workers’ rights movements. Vehemently anti-capitalist, he only saw his writing career as a means to escape poverty and nothing more (Reesman, The Short Fiction xii). After deciding to become a writer, London proceeded to produce many works set in the Yukon and the Klondike, basing them on his experiences in the Gold Rush. His first large success was with The Call of the Wild in 1803 and he continued to create stories until his death in in 1916 (“Jack London” ). London had very particular views on his environment, ADD A CONCLUSION THAT LEADS INTO THE NEXT PARAGRAPH, ABOUT LONDON AND DARWINISM AND SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST AND
They say to “always be prepared for unexpected situations,” this represents the man in the short story “To Build a Fire” by Jack London. The man is unprepared because he does not
What is an ideal parent ? In A Thousand Splendid Suns Khaled Hosseini strenuously suggests a good parent is someone who shows affection to their child, shows attentiveness in their child’s life, encourages them to do marvelous things, and have a positive influential affect on their life. Throughout this book it’s exemplifies good parenting, and Laila’s father Babi is an example of an authoritarian parent. In the book , he spends all of his free time with Laila and always tells her how much he loves her even when her mother Fariba is secluding herself from Laila’s life this is clear when he says, “Sometimes , when your mother’s having one of her really dark days, I feel like you're all I have, Laila.” Good parenting also comes with the ability of being able to provide abundant amounts of attention towards the child and show interest in their life.
Naturalism can be seen in Jack London’s To Build a Fire because it puts a regular person in extraordinary circumstances, putting the main character at the mercy of natural forces, the bitter cold. Throughout the story, it is obvious that nature holds no regard for man and is a powerful force not to be messed with. Naturalism is shown in this story by showing how people need to be careful at every corner, as death could reach them anywhere, waiting for them to commit a mistake that could take their lives. The story is about a man and his dog trying to survive the harsh below zero weather by building a fire. London uses social Darwinism, by showing survival of the fittest. The unnamed main character is unable to survive on his own in the cold
Nature is usually seen more as the setting, rather than the antagonist in a story. In Jack London’s “To Build a Fire,” there is a never ending battle between nature and the four different living entities, whether they be current or past experiences. This portrays nature as more of an opposing character, rather than it being a part of the setting. By using the four characters, the man, the dog, the old-timer from Sulphur Creek and the boys, London is able to portray how nature impacts them all and how they react based on their experience and knowledge.
Authors’ Steven Crane and Jack London are known for their stories using naturalism, the struggle between man and nature. Naturalism is like realism, but it explores the forces of nature, heredity, and the environment on human beings, who are faced with the forces of nature. Both “The Open Boat” and “To Build a Fire” demonstrate how inferior and small humans’ really are to nature. Humans cannot control nature or determine its outcome. In both stories nature is the antagonist constantly challenging the humans’ ability to survive. I chose the topic over naturalistic elements because I enjoyed reading these stories. Both stories have a strong since of naturalism in it and both authors’ are known for naturalistic features existing in their writings. In this paper I will give you more of an insight to what naturalism is and what naturalistic elements are present in the two stories listed above.
Jack London was an American man of many talents, which included being an author, journalist and a social activist, despite being minimally educated. Nonetheless, he was undoubtedly most recognized for his short stories and novels that fixated on the harsh, cold climates that Mother Nature crafted. London focused on a deeper level of the wild and the literary devices in his work are littered throughout every one of his novels and short stories, including The Call of the Wild, White Fang, as well as “To Build a Fire.”
An Analysis of Jack London's To Build a Fire. In her cultural criticism of Jack London's "To Build a Fire", Jill Widdicombe explores the question of whether the story's protagonist might have perished from the extreme cold of the Klondike winter even if with a traveling companion. She describes the brutality of the winter weather and, alluding to the man's confidence in his ability to survive the weather, describes it as "behavior most of us can understand" - especially if we are accustomed to warmer surroundings. She states: "the extreme cold of frosty landscapes--or "The White Silence", as London describes it--is so quiet and abstract that it does not immediately appear to be lethal".
During the turn of the 19th century, a grandiose shift occurred in literature from realism to naturalism form of writing. One of the many authors involved in this movement included Jack London. London developed his short stories collection, Son of the Wolf, around this theme. In a Far Country is a short story in Son of the Wolf collection in which London talks about two lethargy men, Cater Weatherbee and Percy Cuthfert, who come from different realms of life. They are on a journey to the North near the Yukon River in Alaska searching for gold. On their way, they decide to abandon their team and live in a cabin during the Arctic winter. In the beginning, the two men cooperate by staying hygienic and conserving food. But over time they start experiencing a sense of insecurity with each other. They discontinue staying clean, saving food, and keeping order. Overtime they face physical and more importantly emotional breakdown. The disintegration between the two men eventually leads each of them into killing the other over sugar (par. 1-76). By elaborating on the physical and psychological struggle alongside nature’s indifference in the wilderness, London illustrates the superficial cooperation and contention between human beings in a civilization.
To Build a Fire - Jack London The short story “To Build a Fire” by Jack London is a comprehensive story that tackles the struggles of a newcomer trying to survive a day in the Yukon with very harsh and cold weather. The man travels with a big native husky and tries many times to build a fire but fails due to his inadequate personality. The man repeatedly lets his ignorance and arrogance dictate his decisions, which soon leads to his demise. The theme of the short story “To Build a Fire” by Jack London is that being ignorant, arrogant and foolish can lead to bad decisions.
Jack London’s “To Build a Fire,” is a story about a man who travels only alongside a husky through the frigid conditions of the Yukon, and becomes a victim to Mother Nature. The man was warned before hand by an old man that he should not travel alone through the frigid Yukon. He ignored the old man’s advice and tried to prove to him that he would be able to cross the Yukon on his own. As the man traveled he was able to recognize the dangerous conditions around him and notice what it was doing to his extremities. Still he made no effort to slow down which resulted in his death. The imagery, irony, and relationship between the man and dog in the story help foreshadow death.
In “To Build a Fire” by Jack London, the setting plays a significant role throughout the entire story. The chosen setting by London creates a specific and idealistic mood for his depressing story. It forces, as well as prepares, it’s audience to what the story holds. The amount of constant detail the story holds allows the reader to anticipate the ending that is inevitable to happen.
Naturalist writing portrays individuality within a character, allowing one to obtain humanistic themes from these literary works. Naturalists utilize mundane monotonous lives and reveal the heroine within, when all (environment, opportunities, intuition) seems out of control. This type of literature was found relatable during the rapid urbanization and naturalization after the Civil War, where many in bustling developing cities suffered from poverty and its poorly prevented consequences. The American naturalist movement was important due to the introduction of themes involving popular apprehension during this time period including; man vs. nature, man vs. society, sex trade, wasted potential due to uncontrollable forces, and man’s animalistic features such as basic instincts. Naturalism is a literary movement that developed into a literary style consisting of determinism, objectivity, and pessimism, all in efforts to portray the humanistic perspective in themes and characters.
The essential elements of the story's setting in Jack London "to build a fire" includes a Time, place, weather, Natural environment and Isolation. These elements provide a backdrop that emphasizes the story's themes. The important events of the story Jacks London "to build a fire" was the Introduction, the warning, Journey begins, cold conditions, first Fire attempt, second fire attempt, desperation, Acceptance of fate, final collapse, Death, and Survival of the dog, These events highlight the theme. One essential piece of character information in Jack London's "To Build a Fire" is the protagonist's overconfidence and lack of appreciation for the harshness of the Yukon wilderness. Despite warnings and advice from an experienced old-timer, the protagonist decided to travel alone in the extremely cold
In Jack London's "To Build a Fire" we see a classic story of man against nature. In this story, however, nature wins. One reason that this is such a compelling and engrossing story is the vivid descriptions of the environment the nameless main character endures. Plot and characterization are brief, and the theme is simple. Yet this story is still a very popular story, and it has a mysterious quality that makes it great.
Karen Rhodes analyzed to build a fire in a cultural context. He believed "London's works were written so that he could survive in a world he increasingly came to see as "red in tooth and claw""(1). It is obviously the story of a man fighting the stresses of Nature. According to Rhodes, to build a fire was drawn from the year London spent in Canada's Yukon Territory. London depicted arctic and very cold conditions throughout the story. Rhodes believed to build a fire represented London's Naturalistic Flavor. "It pits one man alone against the overwhelming forces of nature"(Karen Rhodes, 1). He also believed to build a fire can either be interpreted as the Pioneer American experience or can be read as an allegory for the journey of human existence (Karen Rhodes, 1). According to Rhodes, there are two versions of to build a fire; the first one was written in 1902 while the second one was written in 1908. We are studying the 1908 version." It has come to be known as everyman trekking through the Naturalistic Universe"(Karen Rhodes, 1). To build a fire is indeed the story of a man trekking through the universe alone except for his dog. The man's death at the end was the culmination of the story. " His death came through no lapse of observation, no lack of diligence, no real folly but the nature of himself and his environment" (Karen Rhodes, 2). I think his is a fine criticism of London's to build a fire. London had made use of his life experiences in writing the story.