Realism Project- "To Build a Fire"

Jack London was an individual from a poor family who did not let any of his family's weaknesses get the best of him ("Meet" 601). An incredibly bright child, London graduated from high school in just one year and set off to college. Although he did not attend four full years of schooling, his knowledge and ability to write stories was incredible. After his first year of college when London traveled to the Yukon to join the Klondike Gold Rush, he experienced many adventures that allowed for even more creativity and ideas to be introduced in his future stories ("Meet" 601).

Jack London's "To Build a Fire" is based on his own experience through the Yukon. This story exhibits both Realism and Naturalism. From just the title alone, one can make the assumption that Naturalism is going to be involved. Naturalism is usually focused around a lower class individual who undergoes many trials in which his own natural strengths are tested as well as his intelligence in order to see if, without luxuries and money, one is really capable of surviving the task set out in front of them (Giles). Based off of solely the title of the story, "To Build a Fire," one can infer that the main character is going to have to face some sort of challenge with nature in order to survive.

As the story begins, the reader finds that, indeed, there is a struggle with nature. As the main character sets out on his journey to find gold, he is faced with many challenges, such as the intense cold weather that is common to the Yukon (Twain 604). The man knew that it was going to be cold and had prepared for it; however, he found that sometimes thinking one can make it through a difficult task is a little bit more challenging than actually acting on it. The man had to plan his trip out carefully, taking note of the sun's positioning and when and where he would have to set up camp each night (Twain 604). Thankfully, he had his husky dog alongside him, which allowed them to share body heat in the night and probably kept them alive through those first few blustering nights (Twain 605). Throughout the story, the man and his dog had to fight through the intense cold, proving that they were indeed using all of their natural skills to "fight" the depths of nature. This portrays Naturalism within the story (Giles).

Realism is also prominent throughout the story. Instead of acting like "superheroes" or relying on God for strength, the man simply did what he believed were the smart things to do at the time, and he would factually note the freezing of his spit and the frost in his mustache (Twain 607). These realistic portrayals throughout the story proved that it was indeed Realism (Diamond). One could say that the man was a hero, another characteristic of Realism, since he was so strong and never gave up in order to accomplish his dream (Diamond). A strong aspect of Realism is also shown at the end of the story, as the man dies and the dog is left alone (Twain 515). This sad and tragic ending after so much hard work and dedication had been put into survival is typical for Realism; things in life do not always work out as they had been planned (Diamond). This also showed the hardships people went through during the Gold Rush; during this time period, many people died while trying to become rich. Although this is extremely sad, it is very realistic; sometimes, nature does defeat the strength of even the most determined human. Jack London's "To Build a Fire" portrayed both Realism and Naturalism as the main character struggled through the Yukon to reach his dream.

WORKS CITED

Diamond, Marie Josephine, ed. "realism." Encyclopedia of World Writers, 19th and 20th Centuries. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2003. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= GEWW480&SingleRecord=True (accessed January 28, 2011).

Giles, James R. "naturalism." In Anderson, George P., Judith S. Baughman, Matthew J. Bruccoli, and Carl Rollyson, eds. Encyclopedia of American Literature, Revised Edition: Into the Modern: 1896–1945, Volume 3. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= EAmL1255&SingleRecord=True (accessed February 9, 2011).

London, Jack. “To Build a Fire.” American Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 603-615. Print.

"Meet Jack London." American Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 601. Print.