THE BATTLE BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH IN
JACK LONDON’S NORTHLAND TALES
by
Wan Xiaolei
A Thesis
Submitted to the Graduate School and College of English
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
the Degree of Master of Arts
Under the Supervision of Professor Yu Jianhua
Shanghai International Studies University
October 2008
Acknowledgements
First, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor—Professor Yu
Jianhua. I want to thank him for his patient instruction, illuminating discussion, insightful
criticism, and especially his painstaking revision on the first draft of this thesis. Without
Professor Yu’s help, the completion of this thesis would have been impossible.
I also owe indebtedness to many other conscientious teachers. They are Professor Li
Weiping, Professor Shi Zhikang, Professor Zhang Dingquan, Professor Zhang Helong,
Professor Wu Qiyao and Professor Wang Enming. Thanks are also extended to my friends
and classmates who always give me assistance whenever needed.
Last but not least, I want to state my deep gratitude to my parents. They have always
been supporting my education in spite of various kinds of difficulties. I am deeply grateful
to their profound love and never-failing support.
Naturally, I alone am responsible for any errors, omissions, and other flaws of the
research.
ii
内容摘要
短篇小说是伦敦作品至关重要的一部分，长期以来，他的一些著名短篇受到人们
的广泛关注，但国内关于伦敦短篇小说的研究还处于比较初级的阶段，远不如对其著
名长篇《野性的呼唤》、《马丁·伊登》等的研究成熟和深入。
本文结合伦敦所在的时代及其个人经历，探讨他最为出名的三个短篇《生命的法
则》、
《热爱生命》和《生火》中主人公在冰冷北疆的生死搏斗。这三部作品篇幅不长，
但含义极为深刻，体现了伦敦早期创作的一些重要思想。三个故事都以北疆为背景，
描绘了在冰雪覆盖的寒冷北疆，主人公与冷酷无情、险象环生的环境作斗争。作者以
冷峻的笔调刻画了北疆的浩瀚无情，北疆随时准备吞噬一切来自文明世界闯入者的性
命，所以北疆代表着恶意和破坏。同时，故事也展现了文明人在荒野中的脆弱、渺小，
他们可能不经意的失足便命归黄泉，甚至理智判断在变幻莫测的北疆有时也只会适得
其反。与北疆的斗争常常以渺小闯入者的损伤甚至毁灭为结局。
全文分三章，第一章介绍故事的历史背景及作者自身的经历。第二章阐述北疆的
寒冷无情、北疆对闯入者的敌意和毁坏，以及北疆的敌意和毁坏的间接积极作用。第
三章论述北疆闯入者的渺小脆弱和伟大可敬并存，并分析其北疆战斗的价值。
通过论述，本文得出如下结论：发生在冰冷无情的北疆的战斗虽然常常以闯入者
的死伤告终，但这无损探险者的伟大，也不能否定他们生命的价值，他们的伟大和价
值由其对待生死的态度决定。北疆的敌意和破坏也不能证明它完全是负面因素，北疆
正是通过这种敌意和破坏来检测并修复闯入的文明人在工业化进程中损丧的诸如友
爱、合作、勇敢、正直以及强健、阳刚等优良品性。
冰冷的北疆的战斗随着故事主人公的死亡和离走暂告一段落，但北疆人的精神却
能超越冰封的北疆，通过杰克·伦敦激动人心的北疆故事，抵达文明世界，激励着那
里的世世代代。
关键词：杰克·伦敦
短篇小说
北疆
生命与死亡
iii
Abstract
Short story is an important part of London’s works. Some of his excellent short stories
have been very popular among readers. But in China, study of his short stories is in a
preliminary stage and is rather scattered and fragmentary compared with the study of his
famous novels like The Call of the Wild，John Barleycorn and Martin Eden.
Based on the study of the historical background and London’s personal experiences,
this thesis will focus on three of London’s best short stories “The Law of Life”, “Love of
Life” and “To Build a Fire” and discuss about the protagonists’ battle between life and
death in the cold Northland. In the stories the author depicted the infinity and hostility of
the Northland, whose aim was to crush the intruders from the civilized world. The
Northland appeared to be an indifferent killer but in fact it is also a redemptive force. The
Northland then becomes a symbol with messages to be deciphered.
This thesis consists of three chapters. Chapter One centers on the historical
background and personal experiences of the author. Chapter Two analyses the coldness, the
hostility, the destructiveness and the redemptive function of the Northland. Chapter Three
focuses on both the insignificance and the greatness of the intruder and explores the value
of the battle in the Northland. Through the analysis, this thesis draws such a conclusion:
The value of the men in the Northland depends on their attitudes to life and death rather
than their endings. The hostility and destructiveness of the Northland did not indicate that
it was a completely negative factor. It was precisely the hostility and destructiveness that
could test and restore the intruders’ many merits and virtues lost in the advancement of
their civilization.
The heroes in the Northland either died or were seriously damaged. Yet their spirit
never dies. In fact, their spirit had come to the civilized world via London’s exciting
Northland tales and inspired generations of people there.
Key words: Jack London;
short story;
Northland;
iv
life and death
Contents
Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................i
Abstract(Chinese) ...................................................................................................... iii
Abstract(English) ........................................................................................................iv
Introduction..................................................................................................................1
Chapter One
Background of the Stories.................................................................3
1.1 Historical Background ...................................................................................3
1.1.1 From Romanticism to Realism ............................................................3
1.1.2 Industrialization and Anxiety over Civilization .................................5
1.2 London’s Experiences.....................................................................................6
1.2.1 London’s Personal Experiences...........................................................6
1.2.2 London’s Education..............................................................................8
1.2.3 London’s Philosophy ............................................................................9
Chapter Two
The Harsh Environment ................................................................. 11
2.1 The Extremity of Low Temperature............................................................12
2.2 The Destructive Power of the Environment ...............................................14
2.3 The Redemptive Function of the Environment..........................................21
Chapter Three
The Battling Man in the Northland ............................................25
3.1 The Insignificance of Man............................................................................26
3.2 The Greatness of Man ..................................................................................33
3.3 Value of the Battle .........................................................................................38
Conclusion ..................................................................................................................41
Bibliography ...............................................................................................................44
v
The Battle Between Life and Death in Jack London’s Northland Tales
Introduction
As a writer at the turning-point of the 19th and the 20th century, Jack
London(1876-1916) enjoyed enormous popularity in his own country and the rest of
the world as well. The popularity has not waned with the passage of time and it is till
exerting its influence today. In his time and the time after him, Jack London’s
legendary life did partially contribute to his popularity, but the main reason of his vast
and lasting popularity was his long list of literary achievements, which totals 50 books,
though varying in forms, themes, and quality.
It is safe to say that among the 50 books, the best part is the short stories. “Of all
his many achievements as a writer, however, London is probably most admired and
most universally recognized as a master craftsman of the short story”（Lachtman,
1984：10）. Jack London has written about 200 short stories and several novels, some
critics thus thought he was a writer who wrote too much and too fast. But it is
undoubted that a fair number of his short stories are excellent. Some always stand out
as masterpieces on the list of the best short stories of the world.
Three of the most representative and most well-known of London’s short stories
are “The Law of Life”, “Love of Life” and “To Build a Fire”. Many anthologies of
London’s works include the above three stories, and some publications studying
London’s works also mention one or two of the three stories, but seldom is there an
essay or book doing a comprehensive study of all the three, closely related in the
setting, the theme and the ideas behind the literary representations.
“The Law of Life” was published in 1902, included in Children of the Frost,
which was a collection of Klondike tales. “Love of Life” was included in Love of Life
& Other Stories published in 1907, but “Love of Life” first appeared in McClure's
Magazine, Vol. 26, Dec., 1905. “To Build a Fire” first appeared in 1908, and later it
was included in Lost Face published in 1910. The three stories were published in
different years and the three protagonists were from different “walks” of life: one is
1
The Battle Between Life and Death in Jack London’s Northland Tales
an old man of the Indian tribe, another is a gold prospector and the third is a man on
the trail.
In the end, they seemed to have different destinies: the old Indian resigned to the
fang of death with little struggle; the gold prospector fought desperately against death
and survived, and the man on the trail combated courageously with his fate but still
died. These differences are merely superficial and under them the three stories share
profound similarities in many respects. For example, the backgrounds of the three
tales are all barren and biting winter. All three protagonists were caught in the ruthless
elements in the snowy season and they were eventually left to struggle against death
single-handedly.
Except the prevalent snow, the fire also made constant appearances from the start
to the end in all three stories. At last, all three heroes were either destroyed or
seriously damaged by the impersonal and unfriendly environments, either embracing
death, or experiencing a spiritual rebirth, or both. Just take several examples. These
superficial differences and profound similarities combine to imply some of the
authors’ unconscious thoughts while producing these works, and by analyzing the
three short stories, the author of this thesis intends to crystallize the shared moral of
the three stories and to discuss the significance of the moral.
This thesis comprises three chapters. Chapter One analyses the background of
the three stories. The era London lived in was a transitional and influential period in
American history. Such a period was bound to leave an imprint on all writers of the
time, including London. London’s own legendary life and exciting experiences also
exerted an impact that was not negligible. Chapter Two explores the background of
the three stories. The background was the Northland which was cold and hostile. The
Northland was actually a ruthless killer. Yet the killer was not completely destructive.
Its destruction was constructive in a way: it was also a redemptive force. Chapter
Three concentrates on the battle and the battling men. Compared with the vast
Northland, the man in it was insignificant and fragile. Yet the little man still exhibited
his greatness in the battle and the significance of the battle and the value of the
battling man’s existence just lie in the process of the struggle.
2
The Battle Between Life and Death in Jack London’s Northland Tales
Chapter One
Background of the Stories
All writers’ works are influenced by the time they live in, and all writers’ works
bear the influence of their experiences and readings. In this point, Jack London is not
an exception but a typical example. The time London lived in is a time of great
changes, two of which are the change of literary trend and the event of Klondike Gold
Rush. Such historical events left prominent impact on London’s works. The impact
was direct because London not only witnessed these events but also participated in
some of them, especially the Gold Rush. Jack London was also a greedy reader. With
limited schooling, his education was mainly achieved through reading. By reading, he
made acquaintance with the greatest masters of his time. He integrated his personal
experiences and those masters’ thoughts and created a list of exciting and lasting
works, among which are the three short stories discussed in this thesis.
1.1 Historical Background
1.1.1 From Romanticism to Realism
Generally, London’s works are believed to belong to Naturalism, which is often
regarded as another form of Realism. Thanks to the industrialization, Darwin’s theory
of evolution was spread to America at the end of the 19th century. The
thought-provoking new theory and many other scientific discoveries at that time gave
people new ways of viewing and understanding themselves and the environment
around them. The theory of evolution formed the theoretical basis of naturalism.
Emily Zola(1841-1902) was a French writer and theorist, and he was the
originator of the literary naturalism and exerted appreciable influence on the early
American naturalists. Zola emphasized trueness in his early literary theory Le Roman
Experimental (The Experimental Novel) (1880). He reiterated that trueness was the
precondition of literary creation. What’s more, Zola advocated the original creation of
3
The Battle Between Life and Death in Jack London’s Northland Tales
writers and this is another important trait of early naturalistic theory. As a school of
Realism, the most prominent features of Naturalism are as follows. First, the
naturalistic belief in the destiny of human beings, like the biological fate of other
creatures, is determined by factors beyond the control of individual’s will or choice.
Man is simply an animal of a higher level, and his destiny is controlled by the regular
forces of heredity and environment. Second, naturalism advocates elaborate
documentation and unwonted frankness. It is less selective and more inclusive than
realism. Third, naturalistic writers seldom make any ethical or moral judgments. They
stay away from the stage. They do not utter their opinion in their works directly but
just let their characters voice their pessimistic ideas about man’s helplessness in the
mighty environment.
The 19th century witnessed the transformation of the American society from an
agricultural economy to an industrial one. And American naturalism had been mainly
shaped by the Civil War, by the social upheavals during the course of industrialization,
which shook the foundation of people’s faith of an earlier age. During the half century
between the Civil War and start of the Fist World War, the American society went
through enormous changes in politics, economy and culture. American literature also
underwent dynamic changes during this period. The era of sea change posed great
influence on the literary development of the new nation and also offered the writers an
abundance of materials as well as strong impetus to unfold a new era in literature.
The founder and master of naturalism Zola, startled the French with frankness.
He also shocked writers and readers on other lands. In terms of theory and writing
skill, Zola’s influence on the American literary naturalism was not negligible. Under
his influence, many American naturalistic writers developed the preference for action
over thought and for rough realism. Those American writers include such outstanding
figures as Theodore Dreiser, Frank Norris, Stephen Crane and Jack London. They
applied Zola’s approaches to American themes successfully.
The naturalistic tendency in Jack London is clearly noticeable. Jack London’s
naturalistic tendency can be attributed to the following reasons: 1) the influences of
the time he lived in. 2) the new literary trend of naturalism that came into being in
4
The Battle Between Life and Death in Jack London’s Northland Tales
literary circle between the end of the nineteenth century and early twentieth century.
Jack London’s style is inseparable from the sweeping impact brought about by this
literary trend. 3) the influence of Jack London’s personal experiences. The broad
range of experiences and readings that fed London’s literary imagination enabled him
to observe life and society objectively and this kind of viewpoint is applied in his
creation.
1.1.2 Industrialization and Anxiety over Civilization
At the end of the 19th century, the Industrialization is spreading over the Western
Europe and America. Industrialization was viewed as an enormous leap in human
civilization and it indeed brought many positive effects. For example, it greatly
promoted productivity, reduced costs, lowered the prices of products, and advanced
the development of science and technology. Therefore, it produced a fair number of
millionaires overnight and enhanced people’s overall living standard. The promotion
of productivity gave people more time to read and think and the advancement of
culture was thus boosted.
Yet every coin has two sides. Industrialization brought many negative effects as
well. It accelerated the process of urbanization, increased the pace of people’s life and
worsened pollution of the environment, thus alienated human from its mother nature,
namely the wilderness. It intensified competition between individuals and nourished
many cold-blooded mercenary profit-seekers, thus alienated human beings from each
other. What’s more, when it was creating a few millionaires it was reducing a great
many workers at the assembly line to sheer work beasts. The disparity between the
rich and the poor was enlarged and the happy and luxurious life of the rich was based
on the ruthless exploitation of the poor. Moreover, more and more people began to
feel lost and depressed in such a society where the material wealth was increasing
while the sense of happiness was decreasing. People were greedy and hungry in
pursuing material wealth in the actual world but felt empty and weary in their inner
5
The Battle Between Life and Death in Jack London’s Northland Tales
world. As Mark Twain termed it, this was a “gilded age.”
The “dark side” of industrialization tended to result in “overcivilization”, which
may “weaken the toughness of human (especially man) granted by nature, and
consequently deprive them of opportunity to face up hardships and tests, and to prove
their manhood.”(“过度文明”会削弱自然性赋予人，尤其是男人的强悍，使人失去
面对磨难和考验的机会，最终无法证明自己，认识自己。) 【虞建华，2008：129】
So when the industrialization was making head, the progress of the society was
increasingly undermined by “overcivilization”. And this gave birth to the anxiety over
civilization.
With the anxiety over civilization, many writers of the late 19th century
developed a wilderness complex and created wilderness image in their works. By
doing so, these writers were actually recoiling from the unsatisfying present and
reaching out to nature. Jack London was one of these writers. Such withdraw from the
civilization seemed to give a touch of romanticism to some of London’s works, and
that is why his works have sometimes been called “romantic realism.” He once said
that he wished to return to the wilderness so as to forget human sufferings and social
problems to seek for spiritual freedom and an ideal home(Walker, 1999：93). However,
most of his works bear close similarities with the social picture he lived in. Thus, the
naturalistic colour was still the dominant colour in most of his works.
1.2 London’s Experiences
1.2.1 London’s Personal Experiences
Jack London was born an adventurer. When he was still a little boy, he saved
some money and bought a small boat to sail in the bay near his hometown. And he
also went through numerous changes in his life. He had been a farm boy, a city
newsboy, a factory “work beast”, “Prince of the Oyster Pirates”, an eligible seaman, a
hobo and an innocent convict. Such a character was partially attributed to his family.
6
The Battle Between Life and Death in Jack London’s Northland Tales
He was born out of wedlock in San Francisco, California in 1876. His mother Flora
Wellman claimed John Griffith Chaney was the boy’s father. Yet John had been
denying the paternity even when London was an adult. John was an itinerant
astrologer and public lecturer. As an energetic man, he was enthusiastic about
experiments and adventures.
Although a woman, London’s mother Flora Wellman was quite independent and
ambitious. After marrying John London, she became the boss of the house and
initiated several ambitious plans to increase their wealth. Being too busy with her
ambition, Flora did not invest enough love in London, which might be called “a
blessing in disguise” for the boy. Without close watch from his mother, London had
more freedom and independence. London’s independent and adventure-loving nature
was the result of the combined force of inherited and acquired factors. One of the
most seminal experiences in London’s life was the role as a Klondike Argonaut at
twenty-one.
It was 1896. The year saw a significant and thrilling event in the American
history—the Second Gold Rush in the Arctic Region. When the news of gold in
Klondike reached Jack London, the great adventure-lover made up his mind to join
the army of prospectors in spite of the opposition from his lover and her family. The
exotic journey rather than the gold was the biggest temptation to London. On 25 July,
1897, with his brother-in-law, London boarded the Umatilla for the Klondike. He
“was on the adventure-path again in quest of fortune”( Barleycorn, 2001：231).
He underwent great hardships and even risked his life in the journey, yet he
enjoyed it. To Jack London, the road to Klondike was not a journey of suffering, but a
journey of harvesting. The harvest was not in the form of gold, for he returned home
empty-handed. The harvest was what he had experienced, heard and read during the
journey. He experienced difficulties, risks and scurvy. He heard legendary stories
about other prospectors and he read Spencer and Milton.
He
returned
home
with
an
abundant
treasure
of
experiences
and
ideas—experiences and ideas of his own and those of the Argonauts and Sourdoughs.
That was the hardest as well as the richest winter London had spent in his life. He
7
The Battle Between Life and Death in Jack London’s Northland Tales
injected those experiences and ideas into his later stories and produced enduring
masterpieces. “It was in the Klondike that I found myself”, he confessed, “there
nobody talks. Everybody thinks. You get your true perspective. I get mine”(Paul,
1980:7). The time spent in Klondike was the most critical phase in his life, for he
found a mine of literary ore more precious than gold. With a rich mine of memories
and notes about his own experiences and that of the veteran sourdoughs, he was
plunged into unexpected fame four years later. And this mine was also a potent source
of inspiration for the rest of his life.
The three stories discussed in this thesis have definite relation with London’s
experiences concerning the Gold Rush. “The Law of Life” was produced immediately
after he returned from the Klondike, and it may be a story he heard from his fellow
prospectors during the hard but constructive journey. “Love of Life” is just a story
about the prospectors and many details in it may be the very copies of London’s and
his fellow prospectors’ experiences during the journey to the North Arctic. The first
version of “To Build a Fire” appeared in 1902, and it couldn’t have avoided the
influence of the author’s recent journey of prospecting in the icy land.
1.2.2 London’s Education
Jack London was a self-made man with little formal education. “Some are born
to fortune, and some have fortune thrust upon them. But in my case I was clubbed into
fortune and bitter necessity wielded the club” (ibid., 56). London’s childhood was
accompanied by poverty, uncertainty and hard work. At age of seven, he became a
farm boy; at ten a city news boy; at fourteen a breadwinner and a “work beast” in the
factory. It was not until 1891 when he finished grammar school at the age of 15. After
graduation, he was involved in several other businesses, legal or illegal. In 1895, he
resumed public-school education at Oakland High School. Next year he quitted high
school and crammed for University of California entrance examination and was
enrolled at Berkeley, but he withdrew from Berkeley in 1897. Some say he withdrew
8
The Battle Between Life and Death in Jack London’s Northland Tales
because of financial problems, others believe London was then already too well-read
to stay in the ivory tower.
Whatever London’s reason of withdrawing from the prestigious university was,
one thing is certain—London had mastered the skill of efficient self-education.
Staying in the classroom was only a waste of time for him. He was already 21years
old when he was enrolled into Berkeley. He had seen much of the world and his
experiences were too rich and complicated for him to stay on the uneventful campus.
Then he made up his mind to make a “brain merchant” of himself and make a living
out of writing.
Though mainly self-taught, London was a well-read and well-educated man. The
society he lived in was his best university and the exciting experiences he underwent
were the enlightening courses. But he also had another great university—books. The
great thinkers he came across in reading were his major mentors. And his philosophy
was mainly shaped by the thoughts of those master mentors.
1.2.3 London’s Philosophy
At the latter half of the 19th century, the world witnessed an explosion of
different schools of thoughts, which were great challenges to traditional creeds. Jack
London’s outlook of the world was formed during this period and his philosophy had
its origins in the hundreds of book he read, especially during his great period of self
education. He educated himself in history, biology, evolution, economics, and many
other important branches of learning. By reading, his horizon was broadened, his sight
was sharpened and his life enriched. In reading, he selected, rejected, questioned, and
submitted everything he read to an elaborate analysis. He was not blind in reading nor
was he awed by big names and authority. Great minds didn’t impress him unless they
could present him great ideas. He had learned the knack of scientific thinking through
extensive reading.
London was an intelligent and diligent omnivorous reader. He had studied
9
The Battle Between Life and Death in Jack London’s Northland Tales
Kipling, laboriously imitating the popular British writer’s short stories to get a better
feel for the cadences. He was once a devotee to the works of Mark Twain and Bret
Harte. He was the first major American fiction writer to treat Herman Melville
seriously. He also read Milton, Adam Smith, Immanuel Kant, Sigmund Freud, Carl
Jung, Benjamin Kidd, Ernst Haeckel, Darwin, Spencer, Nietzsche and Marx. London
was influenced by all of these writers and thinkers and by hundreds of others. He
always kept trying new thoughts and books and was never completely dominated by
any of them. “London was forever exploring new ideas, hungry to extend his
knowledge in an astonishing variety of fields” (Kershaw,1997: xxiv). However, his
life and all his works bear the influence of four of his greatest intellectual mentors:
Darwin, Spencer, Nietzsche and Marx.
Darwin’s Origin of the Species introduced the foundation of the evolution theory
to Jack London and paved the way for him to receive Herbert Spencer’s Synthetic
Philosophy and First Principles, from which London learned the terms “social
Darwinism” and “survival of the fittest”. Nietzsche brought London the term
“superman” and “will to power”. And Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto familiarized
London with socialism. Jack London’s life and philosophy were enriched by the four
masters and many of his works were inspirations sparked by the four masters’
thoughts. For example, when London was writing “The Law of Life”, “Love of Life”
and “To Build a Fire”, “survival of the fittest” must have been spinning in his mind.
“The Northland … was a Darwinian nightmare”(Lundpquist, 1987:78). In the
“Darwinian nightmare”, only the fittest could survive. But throughout the three stories,
London was also indicating the frailty of the individual and the awesome controlling
power of the environment in the endless icy land. This is a character of naturalistic
work and it again proves that London combined different philosophies and literary
thoughts in his works. That’s why some critics claim that London had contradictory
thoughts
and
philosophies.
But
“contradiction”
“comprehensiveness” is.
10
is
not
the
right
word;
The Battle Between Life and Death in Jack London’s Northland Tales
Chapter Two The Harsh Environment
One of the most important common backgrounds of the three stories is the harsh
environment of the Northland. All three stories happened in the Northland, where the
whole world was either eternally covered by a lifeless blanket of snow and ice or
frequently assaulted by wintry weather. The conspicuous feature of such a background
is coldness. The coldness of the environment is a great threat to the survival of
individuals who dared to intrude into the wilderness. Actually, the coldness is a means
for the environment to defend itself from being invaded and it demands the price of
death or damage. The cold and deserted environment is hostile to all life and all living
creatures, so all living beings that want to survive it must pass the test it poses. As to
the human intruders, it is not only a test of their physical fitness but also their
intellectual prowess. In such a hostile environment, only the fittest can survive. Yet
survival in the environment is no easy thing, for it is an unequal battle between the
fragile man and the mighty power of the nature. The cost of the slightest error or
ignorance may be death. The intruder intended to conquer the cold environment, yet
they are always conquered by the latter.
“The burden of cosmic truth is death, and it saturates the Arctic landscape”
(McClintock, 1976:48). By conquering the intruding human beings, the cold
environment affiliates them. By battling dauntlessly with the cold and lethal
environment, the human intruders’ “disease of civilization” is cured and their rebirth
is achieved. The cold environment is a killer and a curer, curing by destroying. The
battle is bound to end with the intruders’ death or injury, yet only in this way, the
intruders benefit from the lessons taught by the cold environment and the two parties
reconcile with each other. Sometimes, the intruders win the battle not by their
rationality but their irrationality, for rationality in the cold environment is impotent
and even fatal. The loss of the human intruders’ rationality and sometimes life is the
sign of the compromise between the cold environment and its intruders. “Only in
death is there finality and only in non-rational action can one identify himself with his
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