Conflicts of Man Versus Nature in Jack Londons To Build a...

Jack London is an American author, journalist, and social activist. When it is fifty degrees below zero, you are soaking wet, and you have just lost your last match†¦What will you do? To Build a Fire, one of London’s short stories, illustrates a man who leaves the Yukon trail alone to meet his companions on a day so cold that no man should travel. His only accompany is a big native husky who considered him a fire-provider. The man accidentally soaks himself and fails to set up a life-saving fire. He strives hard to survive against the Mother Nature, but he loses all his strength, and finally, the power of nature deters and kills him. The whole story focuses on the conflict of man against nature, and how prevailing and undefeatable the power of nature can be. The author, Jack London, exceptionally employs the setting, point of view, and foreshadowing to develop the conflict and central theme of the short story. The short story takes place in Yukon, one of the coldest territories in Canada, where it is covered by snow all year-round. The man travels at the time of the year when the day light lasts the shortest, and that day has not been a good day to be outside, especially for a man alone. London exploits very effective language in the very beginning and immediately hooks the readers to the harsh and desperate atmosphere, for example, â€Å"Day had broken cold and grey, exceedingly cold and grey†¦..It was nine o’clock. There was no sun or hint of sun†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Show MoreRelatedThe Naturalistic Ideals of Jack London Essay825 Words   |  4 PagesThe Naturalistic Ideals of Jack London As an adolescent, Jack London led an impoverished life and struggled to earn more money to support himself and his mother. In an attempt to find a small fortune, London joined the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897. Unfortunately, he returned home penniless. However, his adventures in the Yukon provided him the most epic experiences that guided him into writing some of his most famous, widely acclaimed literary works. His novels focus primarily on naturalism, a typeRead MoreJack Londons To Build A Fire Essay1025 Words   |  5 Pagesthough was one who portrayed himself through dozens of short stories. His name is Jack London. Jack London is a writer who shows the conflict between Nature versus Man in his writings and supports this theme through his work, â€Å"To Build a Fire.† Jack was born on January 12, 1876 and died on November 22, 1916. He is best known for his nature novels depicting how nature can sometimes be so powerful that it overcomes man. Jack was deserted by his father when he was eleven and was mainly raised by his motherRead More Jack Londons To Build a Fire Essay example1103 Words   |  5 PagesJack Londons To Build a Fire In his short story entitled To Build a Fire, Jack London portrays a bitter conflict between man and nature. The nature in this story is the harsh environment of the Yukon Trail. London chose to use nature as the antagonist, almost as a force working against the main character in his struggle for survival. London accomplished this personification of nature by giving the environment many human characteristics, by creating numerous thingsRead More Stephen Cranes The Open Boat and Jack Londons To Build A Fire 2309 Words   |  10 PagesStephen Cranes The Open Boat and Jack Londons To Build A Fire Stephen Crane’s short story, â€Å"The Open Boat† speaks directly to Jack London’s own story, â€Å"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 whichRead MoreEssay on To Build a Fire a Short Story by Jack London877 Words   |  4 Pages To build a fire is a short story written by Jack London. It is a story about an individual’s choice. The main character’s self-centeredness overcomes him, as he tries to survive the wintery weather in his travel in the Yukon Trail. He made a choice of ignoring the weather warnings, which evidenced danger in his journey. There were warnings like the absence of fellow travelers due to the cold season, but his egoism made him still embark on the journey alone, despite the warnings. The protagonist’sRead MoreThe Story Of Jack London1327 Words   |  6 PagesJack London is considered one of Americans best writers in time. London is considered a naturalist, which is one of the movements during the time of 1865-1915. A naturalist is where a writer portrays the characters as victims of the environment. One famous short-story that Jack London wrote is â€Å"To Build a Fire†. This short-story shows the main conflict of nature versus man. It is set in the Yukon Tra il during the winter time. London took part in the Klondike Gold Rush which gave him the inspirationRead MoreCause and Impact Analysis on the Main Character’s Suffering in Elizabeth Gilbert’s Novel Eat, Pray, Love7348 Words   |  30 Pagescontents of novel forget message has been conveys by author. As novel might have many characters, some characters might never ever come into relation with an author. People knew that all the people in the world at this moment and related, if only by the nature of the fact that they were all living at the same time. Direct contact was not necessary to establish relationship, though a novelist would probably show closer relationship among his character that there was merely being alive at the same time. Read MoreExploring Corporate Strategy - Case164366 Words   |  658 PagesOF SOUND with no links to the local drugs gangs. He even hired a psychoanalyst to cope with the gangland threats that followed his drugs crack-down: If they say ‘we’re going to kill you’, you know what you’re up against. But the threats [from London’s East End drugs gangs] are much more sinister. The word is fed back that if the business is cut off, they will follow you home, go for your family, stab you or murder you.2 But Palumbo persisted in making his club a safer, cleaner environment.Read MoreMonsanto: Better Living Through Genetic Engineering96204 Words   |  385 Pagesdespite the complexity and partial knowledge characterising the situation being studied. 3 Students must confront the intractability of reality – complete with absence of needed information, an imbalance between needs and available resources, and conï ¬â€šicts among competing objectives. 4 Students develop a general managerial point of view – where responsibility is sensitive to action in a diverse environmental context. Source: C. C. Lundberg E. Enz, 1993, ‘A framework for student case preparation’