Known as the land of the free and home of the brave, The United States of America was founded by revolutionary colonists almost 240 years ago. Thousands of years before the European colonists, native americans had developed and flourished on the land that now is the United States. Even before the birth of America, literature and other works have been created on national soil. In the past 240 years and beyond, numerous literary movements, writers, and publishers have shaped American culture with their literature works. For more than two centuries constant change, nature and the environment have been a vital part and theme of American literature. Writers such as Native Americans, Tim O’Brien, and Jack London are all excellent examples of authors …show more content…
Jack London’s, To Build A Fire is a intense survival short story about a man alone in the arctic. The plot consists of the a nameless man and his raw, frigid workplace, 50 below zero. Foreshadowed during the entire story, the man dies of hypothermia and his canine companion is confronted by his fallen provider's death. London explains, “Later the dog whined loudly. And still later it crept close to the man and caught the scent of death. This made the animal bristle and back away. A little longer it delayed, howling under the stars that leaped and danced and shone brightly in the cold sky. Then it turned and trotted up the trail in the direction of the camp it knew, where were the other food providers and fire providers (507). The relationship between the man and his dog is determined by their surroundings. In many realism works, like John Steinbeck’s, Of Mice of Men, nature and animals are a main premise of the literacy work. A classic “Man vs. Nature” story, Jack London’s To Build A Fire, depicts a harsh yet beautiful ecosphere the Earth …show more content…
Even more was authored by the indigenous american people before the nationalization of the United States. Since then, numerous literary movements, writers, and publishers have shaped American culture with their literature. Through hundreds of years, nature and the environment have been a vital part and theme of American literature. Authors such as Native Americans, Tim O’Brien, and Jack London are all exemplary examples of authors who capture the essence of the nationwide american scenery. The environment, however, is on the back burner. Climate and change and habitat destruction has left animals extinct and many more endangered. Continuing this pattern of carnage could leave no more plants, animals, or environment left to talk and write about. Hopefully for years to come, our national and unique environment will continue to be a large component of American
Heritage of American Literature. Ed. James E. Miller. 2 ed. Austin: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1991.1274.print.
Heritage American Literature. Ed. James E. Miller. Vol. 2 :
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
...n American Literature. By Henry Louis. Gates and Nellie Y. McKay. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2004. 387-452. Print.
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
Denotations and connotations inherent in the word "America" in different works of American literature have a number of similarities and differences. Often, the definition of the word is not known at the beginning of a work and one of the thematic elements is the search for the true "America," whatever it may be for the author in question. Many American authors raise the question, "What is America?" and go about answering it in their own way. This is, perhaps, the only common element across the great variety of works in the collective body of American literature, that "America" means different things to different authors, and that one of the beautiful aspects of America is this diversity of views.
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’s To Build a Fire follows an unnamed protagonist, who’s only referred to as “the man”, as he travels the Yukon Trail during a severe snow storm. Along with his husky wolf-dog, he determined to meet friends at an old junction by six o’clock. The man, who was warned not travel in the Klondike alone, presses forward through the terrain’s harsh weather. He later falls through the snow in what looked to be a secure spot. With his feet and fingers soaked, he starts a fire and begins drying himself. The man constructs the fire under a spruce tree in order to take its twigs and drop them directly onto the fire. Each time he pulled a twig a branch overturned its load of snow, eventually blotting out the fire. He grabs all his matches and lights them simultaneously to set fire to a piece of bark; it soon goes out. The man decides to kill the dog and use its warm body to restore his circulation, but is unable to kill the animal and lets the dog go. The man attempts to run from the thought of freezing to death but he quickly falls down. He decides he should meet death in a more dignified manner; the man falls off into a calm sleep.
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.
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...
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".
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.”
feelings in the man and the dog, of a constant battle with this world of
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.