Christopher McCandless had always admired the works of Jack London. He even went as far as naming Jack London “king”. McCandless relished the naturalisitc elements of London’s writings, elements that he chose to ignore in his own life. Jack London often depicted men as being controlled by their environment and being unable to withstand any heavy circumstances. He depicted themes about the frailty of man and man’s inability to overcome nature. But McCandless clearly did not take away any of the valuable lessons from these stories. He hailed London as “king” but never truly learned from London’s stories, dying in a tragically ironic way when he came to meet the same fate as the protagonist in Jack London’s “To Build a Fire”. Christopher McCandless …show more content…
Before going on his trek alone into the Yukon wilderness, an “old-timer” had given the protagonist in “To Build a Fire” advice. He told the protagonist not to travel alone in the frigid Yukon territory because it can get dangerously cold.. The protagonist chooses not to follow this advice and comes to regret it as he freezes to death. Towards the beginning, the protagonist even looks down upon the old-timer, believing the old-timer to not be as manly as him. The protagonist initially thinks, “Those old-timers were rather womanist, he thought […] Any man who was a man could travel alone” (21). Not only does the protagonist ignore the advice of the old-timer, but he even thinks of the old-timer as being inferior and weak. The protagonist completely overlooks the fact that the old-timer is a veteran to the unforgiving land and he is merely a newcomer with little knowledge of the land. The protagonist soon realizes that the old-timer was right. The narrator acknowledges the wisdom in the advice of the old-timer once the cold has set in on the protagonist: “That man [the old-timer] from Sulphur Creek had spoken the truth […] and he [the protagonist] had laughed at him at the time!” (15) The protagonist had once laughed at the old-timer, thinking the old-timer was just weak, but he now sees the wisdom in the old-timer’s advice. The protagonist comes to realize that the old-timer was right but by this point it is far too late. Christopher McCandless also ignored the advice of others throughout his adventure, the most distinguished advice given to him from an “old-timer” of Alaska directly preceding McCandless’s final journey into the Alaskan wilderness. Jim Gallien picked up McCandless outside of Fairbanks, Alaska and immediately noticed McCandless’s unpreparedness. After McCandless told Gallien of his plans to survive in
Stephen Crane and Jack London are two contrasting authors who use their own unique writing styles to create two unique genres that capture the reader’s interest. In two of Crane’s more prolific short stories “The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky” and “The Open Boat,” the vocabulary and use of dialogue add a sense of sophistication to his short stories while also making the stories smooth to read and eye-catching; whereas in Jack London’s short story “To Build a Fire,” the protagonist in the story is used as a catalyst for character development, and as an example to the audience of the naïveté of youth. London and Crane varied immensely in their literary techniques of vocabulary, dialogue, and character development demonstrated by the use of the protagonist
“When you consider McCandless from my perspective, you quickly see that what he did wasn’t even particularly daring, just stupid, tragic and inconsiderate. First off, he spent very little time learning how to actually live in the wild. He arrived at the Stampede Trail without even a map of the area. If he had a good map, he would have walked out of his predicament using one of several routes that could have been successful” (2). “Trusting Samel and Thompson, veteran Alaskan hunters who’ve killed many moose and caribou between them, I duly reported McCandless’s mistake in the article I wrote for Outside, thereby confirming the opinion of countless readers that McCandless was ridiculously ill prepared, that he had no business heading into any wilderness, let alone into the big-league wilds of the Last Frontier.
His goals are well summarized by Henry David Thoreau, “... to live the life which he has imagined,” and to “meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” These dreams hindered reality for McCandless, as he found himself vulnerable to the conditions of the Alaskan Bush. McCandless had only brought with him: a ten-pound bag of rice, exceedingly minimal gear, cheap leather hiking boots, and a .22 caliber rifle, a strikingly inefficient amount of gear according to almost every accomplished hunter and resident Alaskan. While some could argue that McCandless’ previous two-year long road trip on minimal resources prepared him for the circumstances of the Alaskan Bush, they oversee the fact that the conditions were considerably different than those of the places McCandless previously inhabited. So one could say that McCandless’ under preparedness for the Alaskan Bush could be attributed to his overzealous dreams obstructing reality.
McCandless put little to no thought into his actions and his venture to Alaska. After McCandless graduated he decided he was going to drive around on an adventure to find himself. In the middle of this journey “his car broke down and he abandoned it in the Arizona desert. McCandless was exhilarated, so much that he decided to bury most of his worldly possessions the parched earth of Detrital Wash and then--in a gesture that would have done Tolstoy proud--burned his last remaining cash, about $160 in small bills” (Krakauer 4). McCandless thrived off of the feeling of being lost and hopeless.
Survival. That is the main theme in the two stories “To Build a Fire” and “The Interlopers”. “To Build a Fire” by Jack London is a short story about a man who is traveling through the freezing temperatures of the Yukon. He is unable to build and keep a fire going, so he eventually freezes to death. “The Interlopers” by Saki is a short story about two men who have been feuding over a piece of forest land all of their lives. One night they are trying to hunt each other down in the forest, and a tree falls on both of them. They think that their men are coming to save them, but the wolves come first and kill them. Both stories have a setting that sets the conflict and a similar mood, but have different symbols.
Living in the wilderness is difficult, but understanding the meaning of such lifestyle is even more difficult. One of the Christopher’s admirable qualities was that he was well aware of what he was doing. He knew about the difficulties and dangers that he would face into the wilderness, and was mentally prepared for that. Author Jon Krakauer says that “McCandless was green, and he overestimated his resilience, but he was sufficiently skilled to last for sixteen weeks on little more than his wits and ten pounds of rice. And he was fully aware when he entered the bush that he had given himself a perilously slim margin for error. He knew precisely what was at stake” (182). McCandless was an educated youth, who loved nature and dreamed of living in the Alaskan wilderness. Although he ignored to take many necessary things with him on this
To start with, McCandless was not someone who gave up. Despite others trying to scare him out of continuing with his journey into the Alaskan wilderness, nothing deterred McCandless. He anxiously awaited to experience life off the land. The people McCandless encountered on his way to Alaska often commented on his determination. Jim Gallien, a man who drove McCandless into the Alaska interior, described McCandless as “real gung-ho”. McCandless's attempt to undertake such a risky endeavour is something to admire in itself. To travel two years, mostly on foot, is certainly not an easy task. However, McCandless still persevered through the hardships he faced throughout his journey. McCandles...
Jack London has written a classic short story in the 1908 version of "To Build a Fire." This is the classic story of man fighting nature. In most genres (e.g. movies, novels, short stories) the main character comes out on top, however unlikely that is. Jack London takes literary naturalism and shows the reader how unmerciful nature is. Much like Stephen Crane in "The Open Boat," in which the one of the characters dies, London doesn't buy into that "has to have a good ending" contrivance. Through analysis of two London's letters (to R.W. Gilder and Cloudesly Johns) these two versions of "To Build a Fire" come alive with new meaning. Although there are many differences on the surface, both stories use his philosophy as expressed to Johns and both teach a moral lesson, one which will not soon be forgotten: "Never travel alone."
Jack London whose birth name is John Griffin was known for his fiction adventurous novels. Although he was a sailor, gold prospector, rancher and served his country in the Army he still have yet served the time in the wilderness of Alaska. Jack London wrote ‘’The Call of the Wild’’ as if he lived it before. His words jump at you so viciously you had no choice to swallow, savor, and meditate on your life just like Chris McCandless. In the book ways of reading page 429 the dark knight of the soul by Richard E. Miller said that Jon Krakauer wrote about how Jack London actually persuade Chris McCandless that he could possibly escape the bonds of the corporatized world and reach a space of greater calm.
When Jack London wrote "To Build a Fire" he embraced the idea of naturalism because it mirrored the events of daily life. Naturalism showed how humans had to be wary at every corner because at anytime death could be there, waiting for them to make a mistake and forfeit their lives. He used naturalism, the most realistic literary movement, to show how violent and uncaring nature really is and how no matter what you do nature will always be there. London also presented the basic idea of Darwinism and the survival of the fittest, basically if you are dumb you will die. Collectively, London used naturalism to show how in life, humans can depend on nothing but themselves to survive. "To Build a Fire" is a short story that embodies the idea of naturalism and how, if one is not careful, nature will gain the upper hand and they will perish.
Chris McCandless took a long journey into the Alaskan interior unprepared, and cautionless. He only carried a few items in his backpack as he ventured out into the unknown. For example, Krakauer writes, “He [Chris] had no axe, no bug dope,no snowshoes, no compass. The only navigational aid in his possession was a tattered state road map he’d scrounged at a gas station” (5). This proves that Chris was very unprepared for his trip and he carried very few possessions with him. The fact that Chris died in the wilderness shows that it was very irresponsible to go into the wilderness unprepared and vulnerable. At the end of Chris’s journey, when he decided to venture out of the Alaskan interior, he found himself in quite the
Both Chris and Jack London were looking for a simplified easier life, to try to make themselves happy. Chris McCandless favorite author was
London, Jack. "To Build a Fire, by Jack London." The World of Jack London 2012®. Web. 02
Jack London brings man versus nature discussion into his story. The environment, however doesn't play against him for say, but does warn him from the very beginning. The audience can conclude that just like “the man” everyone is alone in the world - fighting for ourselves and the things we wish to acquire. The character created by London is isolated from the universe and fooli...
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.