Schriever 3 monotonous nature of navigation, raises doubt in the crew’s minds. The common theme is that o f self- contemplation, and fate. They “ all doubtless possessed this sense of the situation in their minds”, and “the ethics of their condition was decidedly against any open suggestion of hopelessness” (
Crane 98). However, there are outbursts from the crew that question their situation, and potential fate. One crewmember cries aloud
, “why, in the name of the seven mad gods who rule the sea, was I allowed to come thus far and contemplate sand and trees? Was I brought here merely to have my nose dragged away as I was about to nibble the sacred cheese of life?” (
Crane 101). Here, we are brought into the realm of determinism, basing itself off the man against nature platform. Using …show more content…
However, it is noteworthy to contrast the concept here with Crane’s “
The
Open Boat.” In Crane’s story, the men are helpless, at the mercy of the chaotic, unfriendly ocean; our pro spector in “To Build a Fire” has a choice to travel in the cold. The writer states this through the thoughts of the husky, “ depressed by the tremendous cold[,] [knowing] that it was no time for travelling
” (
117). It is his own nature that eventually leads to his death, although directly caused by a force of nature itself. He does not fully realize this until the end, when he reflects on the old man’s warning about the extreme cold. He does have his moments of clarity, but ultimately they are inconsequential. London exemplifies this during character development, writing “he was quick and alert in the things of life, but only in the things, and not in the significances” and thus “did not lead him to the conjectural field of immortality and man’s place in the universe” (116). The man himself does not contemplate his place in the universe, but London’s description of him invites the reader to contemplate these ideas, in the context of our character’s plight
Crane 98). However, there are outbursts from the crew that question their situation, and potential fate. One crewmember cries aloud
, “why, in the name of the seven mad gods who rule the sea, was I allowed to come thus far and contemplate sand and trees? Was I brought here merely to have my nose dragged away as I was about to nibble the sacred cheese of life?” (
Crane 101). Here, we are brought into the realm of determinism, basing itself off the man against nature platform. Using …show more content…
However, it is noteworthy to contrast the concept here with Crane’s “
The
Open Boat.” In Crane’s story, the men are helpless, at the mercy of the chaotic, unfriendly ocean; our pro spector in “To Build a Fire” has a choice to travel in the cold. The writer states this through the thoughts of the husky, “ depressed by the tremendous cold[,] [knowing] that it was no time for travelling
” (
117). It is his own nature that eventually leads to his death, although directly caused by a force of nature itself. He does not fully realize this until the end, when he reflects on the old man’s warning about the extreme cold. He does have his moments of clarity, but ultimately they are inconsequential. London exemplifies this during character development, writing “he was quick and alert in the things of life, but only in the things, and not in the significances” and thus “did not lead him to the conjectural field of immortality and man’s place in the universe” (116). The man himself does not contemplate his place in the universe, but London’s description of him invites the reader to contemplate these ideas, in the context of our character’s plight