Jack London's "To Build A Fire" was a very strong story about nature. Nature plays a huge role in this short story. In the style of Naturalism, authors wanted to show that Nature was really strong. They are proving that in order for you to get along in life and have a good time, you need to respect nature and you will you be treated back nicely by nature. In Naturalism the authors really wanted to show the strength and power that Nature holds. I think that Jack London was really trying to illustrate the fact that Nature was going to kill this man just because he thought he was stronger than nature. Because he decided to walk out into -75 degree temperature in the Arctic, Nature was going to show him whose boss. In Naturalism, authors focused on an accurate, almost clinical, record of a character struggling to survive some form of displacement from his or her surroundings (Sommers). This was represented in the story because the man was definitely at a displacement of his surroundings. He was never used to resorting to building a fire to save his life. Because he was going to have to take his shoes off to warm up his feet, he needed to build a fire. This was a life or death situation because without his feet he would not be able to make it back to civilization. At the end, the author makes nature the “winning team” because he showed that nature was stronger than man and that men should never mess with nature. I think that this story showed some of the beliefs of Emerson. Emerson believed in the quality of self reliance. This means that you kind of value yourself over anyone or anything else. I think that the man in this story was definitely self reliant because he was going out into the wilderness thinking that he was going to more big and bad than nature. Emerson believed that you learned through experience. I think that the guy in the story probably would have learned his lesson if he lived. Emerson thought that you would have to mess up somewhere along the lines in order to better yourself and learn lessons.
Sommers, Joseph Michael. "naturalism." In Maunder, Andrew.Facts On File Companion to the British Short Story. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CBSS450&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 8, 2012).
London, Jack. "To Build a Fire." American Literature. Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 601-614. Print.
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