Realism Vs Transcendentalism

Emotion is described as an instinctive state of mind or the reaction someone has to an event. Reality is the state of things that actually exists or the events that actually happen. These two ideas contrast each other, as shown in the movements of the Realists and the Romantics and Transcendentalists. Realists wanted to portray believable events, where character is more important and language reflects what is spoken. Romantics and Transcendentalist relied on emotion, not on logic, and rebelled against what was “ordinary”. “The Open Boat” and “To Build A Fire” fit the characteristics of the Realist movement, including elements of believable plot, a connection to nature, and real language. The stories differ from the movements of the Romantics
The story tells of a man and his dog fighting against the elements in Alaska, as they try to make their way to the rest of their camp. The story portrays what actually would happen if one were alone in below freezing temperatures in Alaska. The man explains his spit freezing almost instantly and the way his body is becoming frostbitten and numb. These scenarios are all very plausible to what would happen at the time. The ending of “To Build A Fire” fits well into Realism as well. If a story is real, and reflects plausible and believable circumstances to readers, then it makes sense to have an ending that is not perfect. Life is tough sometimes. Death is imminent. The ending of the story shows Realism, and the whole story is a great example of Naturalism. From the title, readers can speculate that the story will have to do with nature and fire. The magnificent power of the cold and the Alaskan terrain is shown in the narrative. The man is small in comparison to nature. He seems to be trying to go against nature, as he has so many trials through the course of the story. “The mysterious, far-reaching hairline trail, the absence of sun from the sky, the tremendous cold, and the strangeness and weirdness of it all” is how London’s describes the conditions the man must face. Nature is powerful, and man is subservient to
Instead of trusting emotion and the heart, the man in “To Build A Fire” tries to use his brain and knowledge to survive. He goes into full survival mode, thinking of every possible solution to his many problems against nature. He uses his mind to figure out how to not step into the water (at first) and how to start a fire with his frozen hands. The Transcendentalists believed in the power of the individual. “To Build A Fire” shows how an individual is powerless compared to nature. Nature is controlling and strong in the narrative. It causes the man many problems. Nature can do what it pleases as it has no master or rules to follow, such as when the snow falls on the man’s first fire. “One bough capsized its load of snow”, London writes. “This fell on the boughs beneath, capsizing them…it descended without warning upon the man and the fire, and the fire was blotted out!” This line shows the power of nature over the power of the individual. Also, contrary to the Romantics/Transcendentalists, the language of the narrative was straightforward and did not require much extra work to understand. The plot of the story was more plausible, as the actions of freezing and fires going out is more believable than having to wear a scarlet letter for ones entire