Stephen Cranes The Open Boat and Jack Londons To Build...

Stephen 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 which can lead to an understanding of their own mortality as they face down death. In â€Å"To Build A Fire†, the main conflict throughout is man versus nature although it would be inaccurate to say that nature goes out of its way to assault the man. The†¦show more content†¦The man laughs him off because he views himself as superior towards other men and believes that he can easily survive in the wilderness. The Man’s ego allowed him to think that he had everything under control, even though his fingers were numb from the cold. Eventually, survival becomes the primary focus of the Man, who is trying, in vain, to protect himself against the unforgiving force of nature. He fruitlessly tries to warm himself back up, which is a direct contrast to the complete indifference displayed by Yukon. The environment merely remains the same and does not care one way or another as to whether the man survives or not. Jack London also uses numbers to reinforce the harsh realities of the Yukon, such as how fifty degrees below zero is the marker for the danger zone. The use of numbers shows the desperation of the Man’s situation and readers can slowly see his situation deteriorating further and further. Also, the idea of naturalism claims that the world is knowable only through objective science and that hard facts, such as temperature degrees, makes this particular world knowable and present some semblance of familiarity. Jay Gurian comments in his article, â€Å"The Romantic Necessity in Literary Naturalism: Jack London†, about how London, and other naturalist writers deal with the forces of nature: â€Å"But as every nineteenth-centuryShow MoreRelatedTo Build A Fire And The Open Boat Analysis963 Words   |  4 Pages Individualistic Naturalism in â€Å"To Build a Fire† and â€Å"The Open Boat† It is no surprise that the country descended from immigrants values the potential of the individual to build their place in the world. American individualism is at the root of the American dream, American capitalism, and American literature. This is perhaps less obvious in works based on the principles of science and not character or society. Naturalism’s relationship with individualism is embedded in its existence as the storyRead MoreA Comparison of Jack London and Stephen Crane.1481 Words   |  6 PagesA Comparison of Jack London and Stephen Crane. Jack London and Stephen Crane were both well-known literary naturalists who died at relatively early ages. Despite having lived such a short life, Jack London lived a full life. He has achieved wide popularity abroad, with his work being translated into more than fifty languages, as well as having written fifty literary works in eighteen years. His stories in the naturalistic mode still continue to influence writers today. Stephen Crane was also anRead MoreThe Naturalism Movement, Much Like Its Companion Movement1201 Words   |  5 Pages(11). The Naturalist writers that we have read all conformed to these aforementioned guidelines, but they also all seem to have this underlying theme- the need for friendship for survival. Edith Wharton’s â€Å"Roman Fever,† Stephen Crane’s â€Å"The Open Boat,† and Jack London’s â€Å"To Build a Fire† are very different stories that even have differing classes within it, but they all are friendship-conscio us; these naturalist writers seem to be saying that in order to survive in this indifferent universe or societyRead MoreEssay on Naturalism and Realism1298 Words   |  6 Pagesvery realist thing to do in literature. Stephen Crane’s ideas varied from those of Twain and Ambrose as shown in his short story, â€Å"The Open Boat.† In the story, the crewmates of a diminutive boat are caught in a storm. This is clearly more depressing than the stories of the other two authors cited but it also sanctions nature to play a substantial role. In naturalism, nature often acts as a force that humanity cannot control. The storm represents Crane’s belief in naturalism as he shows how strongRead More Choices and Responsibility in Londons To Build a Fire and Cranes The Open Boat1638 Words   |  7 PagesChoices and Responsibility in Londons To Build a Fire and Cranes The Open Boat Naturalism portrays humans control over their actions and fate as limited and determined by the natural world, including their very humanity. The freedom described by Jean-Paul Sartre results in all individuals having the ability to make present choices independently. Despite the fatalism illustrated in naturalism, the characters in Londons To Build a Fire and Cranes The Open Boat are ultimately responsibleRead MoreSimilarities Between Jack London and Stephen Crane627 Words   |  3 PagesJack London and Stephen Crane obsessively fixated on the theme of death in their writing. The two writers were both similar and dissimilar. Both died young: it is unsure whether or not Crane committed suicide. Both wrote about contemporary and realistic topics and both dwelt heavily on existentialist themes. Both too were very realist. In Buck, London has the character live in the real world not escape it, whilst Crane has his character thoroughly absorbed in the vicissitudes and realities of warRe ad MoreA Comparative Analysis of the Writings of Jack London and Stephen Crane2444 Words   |  10 Pagesparticular phantom was Jack London. Among the many writers who would eventually commit suicide, London always held death at bay just by the slimmest of margins. His stories seemed to be about adventure and winning the struggle against the wilderness, but in the background the reaper was always present. Stephen Crane was another that battled death in his writing because he seemed to want to know how he would handle it. This paper compares the writings of Jack London and Stephen Crane as they exploreRead MoreRealism And Realism Of The Late Nineteenth Century3010 Words   |  13 Pagescontributed to the quality of literature we have today. The two, realism and naturalism were both movements that occurred in American, European and English literature that encompass the feelings of early well-known writers such as Edith Warton, Stephen Crane, Jack London, and of course, perhaps the f igurehead of naturalistic literature, Emile Zola. A great number of other early writers utilized this technique, just emphasizing the importance and popularity of it. A large number of these works have beenRead MoreRealism and Naturalism in American Literature Stories Essay1493 Words   |  6 PagesThere are two dominate aspects of Realism (Social Rules Morality), and two dominate laws of Naturalism (Environment Determinism), that comes into play in the American Literature stories of Daisy Miller ,Frank James, and Jack London. According to one authoritative source (Britannica), realism in its basic form in Literature is a literary style in which the author describes the reality of persons (people) in detail to resemble their actions, emotions, and environment. The strengths and weaknessesRead MoreLiterary Analysis of A White Heron2159 Words   |  9 Pagesrepresent her own story, Wharton tries to undo the social evils towards women through her characters. Part V Stephen Crane and Jack London both have written for naturalism although they differ in styles. Cranes The Open Boat, conveys of a conflict within men on a boat experiencing bad weather and their behavior for survival against threat posed by nature. In Londons To Build a Fire, points more towards bad luck that he experienced and that the nature itself is working against him. The similarity