How do the harsh effects of nature’s indifference and antagonism toward man change a person? Stephen Crane and Jack London attempt to answer this question in their short stories, “The Open Boat” and “To Build a Fire,” respectively. Following the character shifts (or lack thereof in the case of the man in “To Build a Fire”) of the protagonists of these stories, one finds that Crane’s and London’s answers to this question differ vastly. Although both of the protagonists are naturalistic characters, Crane uses the correspondent to express that hardship changes people into interpreters of the world and awakens them to the true nature of the universe whereas London uses the man to prove the rigidity of the human character. Though both the correspondent …show more content…
The correspondent silently realizes that “When it occurs to a man that nature does not regard him as important, and that she feels she would not maim the universe by disposing of him, he at first wishes to throw bricks at the temple, and he hates deeply the fact that there are no bricks and no temples” (11). This quotation reveals that the correspondent has finally learned that the universe is indifferent to the whims of man and that there is no god listening to him or anyone else. Contrastingly, when the man in “To Build a Fire” is quickly approaching death, “He sat and thought about meeting death with dignity” (558). His attempt to die with dignity shows that he still lacks the understanding that he and his death are insignificant to the world, which the desolate terrain makes so obvious throughout the story. His failure to learn this lesson also reveals his lack of success in having any sort of spiritual awakening or change in worldview. Altogether, these two protagonists’ differing experiences and personalities result in the correspondents’ learning a lesson about the nature of the universe and in the man’s lack of learning any lesson at
The first two acts of this film are truly inspiring because they capture the "fire" of the environmental movement. It chronologically begins by discussing the origins of conservative environmentalists, to documenting the details of successful environmental movements, and concluding by explaining the merging of civil rights with environmentalists. Ultimately, “A Fierce Green Fire “serves as a dynamic call for the continuing action of protecting and conserving our biosphere.
Stephen Crane’s “The Open Boat” has long been acclaimed as a fascinating exemplar of Naturalism, generating many studies that range from the indifference of Nature to the “psychological growth of the men through the experience” (466). The psychological growth happens to every man on the boat, yet is mostly depicted through the voice of the Correspondent and in the form of his questioning and contemplating their desperate situation. Being a correspondent, who is innately able as well as inclined to interpret and communicate ideas, the Correspondent is singled out to articulate the mind of his three fellowmen and of Stephen Crane himself, should the story be seen partly as a journalistic account of his own adventure. Therefore throughout the story, the Correspondent takes the mediating role between the men and the outside world, combines a spokesperson with an interlocutor, and reflects the men’s growing awareness to the indifference of Nature.
Catching Fire: How Coooking Made us Human by Richard Wrangham is a fresh perspective on the evolution of humankind. Wrangham has made a concentrated effort to prove that humans have evolved particular adaptations, like bipedalism, due to the introduction of cooked foods into their diet. In his book, he is legitimately arguing that humans are the way they are because early on in human evolution, early man discovered fire, discovered the joys of cooked foods, and developed all sorts of fascinating traits still being utilized today.
A book that fully illustrates the hardships of dealing with the reconstruction of a nation after an era of slavery as well as concisely providing insight to a strong civil rights voice is “The Fire Next Time” by James Baldwin. His writing is a both an examination of race relations in a segregated America, and an impassioned plea for both whites and blacks to abandon the hate and embrace love as an outlet for their differences. The title of the book comes from an negro spiritual quotation that Baldwin directly relates to the inevitable consequences of continuing racial injustice: "God gave Noah the rainbow sign, No more water, the fire next time!"
Due to Faulkner’s relevance in modern literature, the literary merit of “Barn Burning,” and the story’s applicability to the core questions and topic of the junior English curriculum, “Barn Burning” should be taught in 11th grade English. No writer exemplifies the American experience quite like Faulkner, especially in his collection of writings surrounding Yoknapatawpha County, and certainly no writer who is so significant in world literature as a pioneer of a new style of writing.
William Faulkner’s ‘Barn Burning’, is the tale a young man, by the name of Colonel “Sarty” Sartoris Snopes and his father, Abner “Ab” Snopes, and the difference between right and wrong. The story commences in a courtroom, where Ab is on trial for burning a barn. Young Sarty is called to the stand to testify as to what took place, until the plaintiff told the judge he didn’t want him to question the young child. However, Sarty was unsure of the decision he would make if he was questioned. Sarty was unsure if he would choose his loyalty to his father, or if he would do the noble thing and tell the truth. Sarty and Ab’s relationship was strained with abuse, anxiety and fear, Sarty’s devotion to Ab never reciprocated, until Sarty makes the most
In 'To Build a Fire,' the man's antagonist is nature: London displays the man's journey as restricted by external forces. First, the temperature of the tundra is seventy-five-below zero (978), which naturally exposes the man?s ?frailty as a creature of temperature? (977). Obviously the man is subject to the forces of winter, and can not change his homeostasis as a warm-blooded animal. Similarly, London employs the ?traps? (979) of snow-covered pools of water to show that while humans may presume we are invincible, nature will stealthily remind us of our vulnerability (through invisible germs, for example). Just as the man does not see the ?trap? (981) that soaks his legs, he fails to notice the dog?s apprehension regarding their journey (981). Here London shows man's self-proclaimed superiority is falsely assumed, as he lacks the ?instinct? (978) that the dog possess; later, the man can not kill the dog (985), which signifies the dog is not subordinate regarding survival. After the man steps in the water, London notes, ?He was angry, and cursed his luck aloud? (981). By attributing his misfortune to ?luck,? the man relieves himself of responsibility, recognizing himself as a victi...
The immense power of a text is gained through the distinctive ideas portrayed within. Through his poetry John Foulcher, Australian poet and teacher, outlines his observations of the environment surrounding him and the conflict within it. These poems include ideas such as the brutality of nature trumping its beauty, as represented in the poems For the Fire and Loch Ard Gorge. As well as how observing nature's savagery can give insight into human mortality, as prominently expressed in Loch Ard Gorge, and lastly the complexity of society compared to the divinity of the natural world, demonstrated in Summer Rain. The distinctive ideas portrayed in these texts create powerful meaning and affect those reading them, allowing others to learn more about
The world of Stephen Crane's fiction is a cruel, lonely place. Man's environment shows no sympathy or concern for man; in the midst of a battle in The Red Badge of Courage "Nature had gone tranquilly on with her golden process in the midst of so much devilment" (89). Crane frequently anthropomorphizes the natural world and turns it into an agent actively working against the survival of man. From the beginning of "The Open Boat" the waves are seen as "wrongfully and barbarously abrupt and tall" (225) as if the waves themselves had murderous intent. During battle in The Red Badge of Courage the trees of the forest stretched out before Henry and "forbade him to pass. After its previous hostility this new resistance of the forest filled him with a fine bitterness" (104). More omnipresent than the mortal sense of opposition to nature, however, is the mortal sense of opposition to other men. Crane portrays the Darwinian struggle of men as forcing one man against another, not only for the preservation of one's life, but also the preservation of one's sense of self-worth. Henry finds hope for escape from this condition in the traditional notion that "man becomes another thing in a battle"‹more selfless and connected to his comrades (73). But the few moments in Crane's stories where individuals rise above self-preservation are not the typically heroicized moments of battle. Crane revises the sense of the heroic by allowing selfishness to persist through battle. Only when his characters are faced with the absolute helplessness of another human do they rise above themselves. In these grim situations the characters are reminded of their more fundamental opp...
A person’s character is developed by the surroundings around them as well as their experiences. The Roman poet Horace quotes “…Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents in which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant…” I agree with the Roman poet, Horace, in that adversity has a way of waking talent from slumber. Adversity can encourage people in ways success and wealth cannot, as there is a benefit in the hardship. In Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot, as well as Macbeth, by Shakespeare, adversity has developed the characters. From my observation, I strongly agree that experiences, such as hardship and danger, shape a person.
Early in life I dealt with both my mother and father taking turns going in and out of jail due to their heavy drinking, Eventually my mother left for good eight years after I was born. Leaving me with my father dealing with his habit, but also realizing he had to raise three boys by himself. Through his method of parenting, work hours, and his drinking he didn't have much time to help direct me down a good path. So I never really had any motivation to do much in school, and also was terrified to try. Just to find out that I wasn't smart, or that I just couldn't do it. So now I am overcoming that fear and solidifying my volition to do well in school.
Stephen Crane’s short story, “The Open Boat” speaks directly to Jack London’s own story, “To Build A Fire” in their applications of naturalism and views on humanity. Both writers are pessimistic in their views of humanity and are acutely aware of the natural world. The representations of their characters show humans who believe that they are strong and can ably survive, but these characters many times overestimate themselves which can lead to an understanding of their own mortality as they face down death.
The external conflict of man against nature and the internal conflict of man against himself play a huge role in the whole story, leading to the fateful outcome of the man. The man fell victim to the struggles the conflicts presented, majorly impacting the story. "To Build a Fire" encompasses the idea of man becoming his own enemy and people remaining insignificant to forces of natures. The conflicts presented in the story embody the aspect of nature as an unstoppable, unpredictable, and powerful force that easily overtakes man. That thought shows how one man has little effect on nature, and in the end, does the most harm by subjecting oneself to nature's fury. The story, "To Build a Fire" by Jack London truly shows how weak an unprepared person compares to the unruly forces of nature.
Stephen Crane’s story “The Open Boat” concerns four people who are trying to reach land after surviving a shipwreck off of the Florida coast. During the course of the story, they face dangers that are real physical threats, but they also have to deal with trying to make sense of their situation. The characters in this story cope with their struggles in two ways: individually, they each imagine that Nature, or Fate, or God, is behind their experiences, which allows them to blame some outside force for their struggle, and together, they form a bond of friendship that helps them keep their spirits up. .
This conflict, although very real, is more about man’s ability to persevere and realize that nature simply exists with no evil intent, that in the scheme of the universe, man’s significance should not be based upon supposed supremacy. The intensity of the conflict with nature is shown with each stroke of the oars, each crash of the waves, and each bucket of water that is thrown overboard as the life boat takes on water. It is in the brutal reality of this setting that Crane acknowledges the setting as the antagonist within this tale. Nature bombards the lifeboat with a constant assault; the men are driven by the need to persevere in order to stay alive. As a result, there are moments in which a sense of fatalism can be seen as the Captain remarks, “If we don’t all get ashore – if we don’t all get ashore, I suppose you fellows know where to send news of my finish?” (344). These are crucial moments depicting that no matter the dedication and will to survive this ordeal, the lives of the men are still dependent upon the aspect of Nature being accommodating. It becomes an inner conflict against fatalism and the external conflict against nature.