"To Build a Fire"

“To Build a Fire” by Jack London encompasses the complete idea of naturalism in all aspects. It is an example of both man vs. nature and man vs. himself. Throughout the story the man struggles with nature overpowering his attempt to survive. He is also shown struggling with his thoughts on when, or if he should just give up and let death overtake him. This is a story of a man fighting for survival in an indifferent universe. We see this at the end of the story when the dog takes note of the man’s impending death and run’s to "where were the other food-providers and fire-providers." He cares not about the man’s problems but without hesitation seeks out help for his own.

The dog is not completely indifferent to the man’s suffering but not because he cares about the man’s survival. Rather, he is concerned about his own and the man’s actions directly affect that. Therefore the moment he realizes the man is going to die soon and will not be there to care for him, he takes off in search for someone who will.

The main example of this would be the man’s death. Throughout we see the power of nature and the environment the man is in overtaking his efforts to survive. At the point of his death we finally see that he really had no control of his life at all. He tried many things to stay alive but in reality he had no chance, he was only delaying his impending the inevitable.

The man in the story believes he has free will and a good amount of control in his situation but this is exactly what the author is trying to prove wrong. The fact that the man is not given a name is a perfect example of how his identity and individuality are insufficient. The man also fails to think about the way certain things will directly affect his future and his chance for survival. For example, when he starts out he does not really stop to think that this sub-zero weather could indeed be a threat to his life. London writes that the second accident was his "own fault or, rather, his mistake." He corrects it to say mistake in order to prove the point that the man does not have free will as a mistake is something out of one’s control.

Through learning about London’s life, it is easier to see what the story meant to him and why he wrote it. The parallel to his many hardships are made clear in the story as he writes a tragic story of a man trapped in an indifferent universe and left to die. The majority of authors use their writing to express their own feelings and events going on in their life at the time. I think it would be very difficult for an author's views in real life to keep from crossing over into their writing, even if it is fiction. Jack London had many struggles throughout the course of his life from being abandoned by his mother at birth to attempting suicide multiple times. I believe these events carried over into his stories, particularly "To Build a Fire".

Hari, Johann. “Jack London’s Dark Side.” Slate. 15 Aug 2010. Web. 30 Apr 2012. http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2010/08/jack_londons_dark_side.html

127 Hours

     By now most have heard the story of Aron Ralston, or even seen it in the famous movie “127 Hours”. This film, based on a true story, follows Ralston through the desolate Blue John Canyon as he sets out for a day of hiking alone. Things take a turn for the worst as he falls into a crevice between rocks and his arm becomes trapped by a 1,000 pound boulder. He then must wait it out hoping for someone to find him. For days he waits until he comes to the realization that no one will ever come to his rescue and if he doesn’t take action now, he will surely die. “Tying a tourniquet above his elbow, Ralston took out a pocketknife, plunged it into his arm and began to cut. Slicing the tendons and ligaments at the elbow, Ralston pulled himself free, leaving half his arm behind the boulder.”(Tolme)

     This true and current event can be compared to Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” where we find a man fighting for survival in the worst of conditions. Both of the characters don’t fully realize the fact that they could die and most likely will until they are on the brink of death. The man in London’s story however, is not quite so efficient in using what he has available to make a plan for survival and the ending of the story reflects this as he dies. Ralston on the other hand, takes matters into his own hands and fights hard for his survival and it pays off in the end.

     If Jack London had been around to hear the story of Aron Ralston I believe it would kept his view on naturalism the same. He would have seen a man, in a very similar situation to his own writing that, as it seems, is living in a very indifferent universe. They both are in unfortunate circumstances in the wild with no help coming from nature or the world around them. The only difference between the survival of Ralston and the death of the man in “To Build a Fire” is their own personal fight for survival and their willingness to do whatever it takes to come out alive.

Tolme, Paul. “Arms and the man: A hiker's story.” News Week. 141. 19 (2003): 39. Web. 27 Apr. 2012.

Naturalism

Jack London’s main literary movement was naturalism. Naturalism is the idea of an indifferent universe in which you have very little control. Also, “naturalism has been understood as a dialectic between free will and determinism…” (Hedrick) This idea, in some ways, battled the concept of progressivism and idealism. London is known for being one of the first authors to bring naturalism into his writings. It was quite a shock at first to many, but soon became a popular movement within literature. One of the first major works of his that displayed this novel concept was “The Call of the Wild”. Using a dog as the main character, London paints a clear picture of the dilemma of those who are disadvantaged and their struggle in an indifferent world. He is the type of writer whose opinions and true feelings come out when he writes and it is plain to see. “Jack London believed strongly that he was not put on the Earth to simply live out the rest of his days, but to make something of his life, and that something has been captured in his writing.” (Powell)

Hedrick, Joan D. “Jack London (1876-1916)”. College.cengage.com. 22 April 2012. http://college.cengage.com/english/heath/syllabuild/iguide/london.html

Wilcox, Earl J. “Introductory Remarks about London’s Literary Naturalism” The World of Jack London. 22 April 2012. http://www.jacklondons.net/writings/Essays/intro_literary_naturalism.html

Powell, Timothy. “Naturalism in Jack London’s The Call of the Wild”. Tapowell. 8 Nov 1991. 22 April 2012. http://tapowell.150m.com/CHS/london.html

Jack London

     John Griffith London was born in San Fransisco in 1876 to Flora Wellman, a wealthy unmarried woman. Flora became ill soon after and as a result, London was raised by an ex-slave, Virginia Pretniss throughout most of his childhood. London's real father is not known for sure but shortly after his birth, Flora married a man named John London. As a young boy, John-nicknamed Jack- started off working many different hard labor jobs such as serving on a fish patrol to capture poachers. Sometime after high school socialism began to spark his interest and he became known as the Boy Socialist of Oakland for his street corner oratory. He even ran for mayor as a socialist multiple times, with no success. Eventually he turned to writing as a way out of the stress of factory work.      After many failed attempts of being published, he finally began to get publishers to pay him some attention and it wasn't long before he was an established and highly publicized figure. Through his publicity, he endorsed his support of socialism, women's suffrage, and prohibition. Many of his works became increasingly popular and some were even turned into films.
     In 1900, London married Bess Maddern and together they had two daughters. He divorced her several years later following his affair with Charmian Kittredge, who he married soonafter. During his thirties he encurred many health issues and even developed kidney disease which took his life on November 22, 1916. His works were translated into many different languages and are widespread throughout the world even still today.


Dr. Clarice Stasz. "Jack [John Griffith] London." Sonoma. n.p., 19 August 2001. Web. 13 April 2012. <http://london.sonoma.edu/jackbio.html>.