Languages
Stephan Katzbichler
Naturalism and Naturalist Elements in Jack
London‟s Short Story “To Build a Fire”
(1908)
Seminar paper
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Universität Passau
Proseminar amerikanische Literaturwissenschaft: American Short Stories
20.08.2010
SS 2010
Naturalism and Naturalist Elements
in Jack London‟s Short Story
“To Build a Fire” (1908)
verfasst von
Stephan Katzbichler
2
Table of Contents
1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................3
2 Naturalism (1880s - 1940s) ............................................................................................3
2.1 History .........................................................................................................................4
2.2 Characters and Setting .................................................................................................5
2.3 Themes and Conflicts ..................................................................................................5
2.4 Narrative Techniques and Naturalist Style ..................................................................6
3 Jack London: “To Build a Fire” (1908) ..........................................................................7
3.1 Plot ...............................................................................................................................8
3.2 Naturalist Elements......................................................................................................9
3.2.1 „Man vs. Nature‟-Theme and Determinism ..............................................................9
3.2.2 Wilderness and Nature............................................................................................11
3.2.3 Irony and Narrative Techniques .............................................................................12
4 „To Build a Fire“ as a Naturalist Short Story ...............................................................13
5 Works Cited ..................................................................................................................14
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1 Introduction
The short story “To Build a Fire” written by Jack London was first published in 1908
and is seen as a “masterpiece of short fiction” (Reesman 39) and “his best short story”
(Peterson 3). Jack London demonstrates in “To Build a Fire” a “strong narration, fresh
fictional subject, and ability to create atmosphere” (Nuernberg XXXII). The story is
furthermore claimed as his “most often cited example for naturalism” (Reesman 39),
which came up in the 1880s and lasted until the 1940s. This literary movement is seen
as an outgrowth of Realism with the addition of pessimistic determinism and was
influenced by Social Darwinism (cf. Campbell). Thus the most characteristic for
naturalist stories is the fact that people are helpless victims of unchangeable natural
laws, a harsh environment and their inner “animal drives”. These attributes and the
naturalist typical „man vs. nature‟-theme can also be found in “To Build a Fire” and
other stories by Jack London, which is one of the most famous representative of
naturalism. In the following pages the typical characteristics of stories written during
the literary movement naturalism will be explained. Afterwards these elements will be
pointed out in Jack London‟s story “To Build a Fire”. Last but not least, the question,
whether “To Build a Fire” can be indicated as an example for naturalism will be
discussed and finally answered.
2 Naturalism (1880s - 1940s)
The literary movement naturalism describes a type of literature that attempts to apply
scientific principles of objectivity and detachment to its study of human beings. Charles
Walcutt calls this literary movement, whose effects last until today, “a wonder, a
scandal, and a major force” (3). Authors argue that it is an outgrowth of realism,
because according to George J. Becker it is realism with an explicit philosophical
position being one of a “pessimistic, materialistic determinism” (Pizer 1984, 10). In
addition, naturalism can also be indicated as a reaction to different scientific
developments which influenced the view of the world in the late 19th century.
Naturalistic writers try to replicate a believable everyday reality ”with a greater sense of
the role of such causal forces as heredity and environment in determining behavior and
belief” (Pizer 1984, 10). Since naturalist authors attempt to determine scientifically the
underlying forces influencing the actions of subjects, characters of naturalist stories can
be studied by the relationship to their surroundings. Trough this objective study of
human beings, naturalistic writers believe that the laws behind the forces that govern
human lives have to be studied and understood and as a consequence they use scientific