To Build A Fire Naturalism Analysis
Man. He the reasoning animal. A creature bestowed with the gift of rationality and ingenuity. As such, he is the only creature that fancies himself in control of his destiny. From the naturalistic viewpoint, life appoints nature as the final arbiter of the fate of all organisms, from the miniscule amoeba to the gargantuan whale to the overconfident human. Jack London's short story, "To Build a Fire", highlights the naturalistic belief that the human attempt at controlling destiny is ultimately futile, as human behavior is largely reigned in by their heredity and environment. The short story details the unsuccessful journey of an unnamed man who ventures out into the hibernal wilderness of Alaska to meet up with "the boys". From the very
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He lacks necessary traits to sense the snow traps, so he brings along the dog to use as a living probe, "… the man compelled the dog to go on in front. The dog did not want to go. It hung back until the man shoved it forward" (484). In contrast to the man, the dog has the integrated senses that allow him to locate the hidden springs. The man is clueless until he is directly above a spring, and by that time, his fate has already been sealed, for wet legs spells imminent death. The man cannot be blamed for his ignorance as his ancestry had not an inkling of this cold, "… all of his generations or ancestry had been ignorant of the cold, of real cold, of cold one hundred and seven degrees below freezing point./ but the dog knew; all its ancestry knew…" (488). Even if the man learned to adapt to this environment, no amount of experience can replace generations upon generations of accumulated instinct. The man is also limited by his physiological inheritance; humans were never designed to survive under such frigid conditions. They lack the necessary insulation that come with fur. The moment he removed his gloves he was, "… astonished at the swift numbness that smote them" (484). His body was not suited for this kind of environment, a fact that is reflected in his untimely
He lacks necessary traits to sense the snow traps, so he brings along the dog to use as a living probe, "… the man compelled the dog to go on in front. The dog did not want to go. It hung back until the man shoved it forward" (484). In contrast to the man, the dog has the integrated senses that allow him to locate the hidden springs. The man is clueless until he is directly above a spring, and by that time, his fate has already been sealed, for wet legs spells imminent death. The man cannot be blamed for his ignorance as his ancestry had not an inkling of this cold, "… all of his generations or ancestry had been ignorant of the cold, of real cold, of cold one hundred and seven degrees below freezing point./ but the dog knew; all its ancestry knew…" (488). Even if the man learned to adapt to this environment, no amount of experience can replace generations upon generations of accumulated instinct. The man is also limited by his physiological inheritance; humans were never designed to survive under such frigid conditions. They lack the necessary insulation that come with fur. The moment he removed his gloves he was, "… astonished at the swift numbness that smote them" (484). His body was not suited for this kind of environment, a fact that is reflected in his untimely