Naturalism in Jack Londons To Build a Fire Essay -- Jack London To Bu

Naturalism in Jack London's "To Build a Fire" This essay has problems with format When Jack London wrote "To Build a Fire" he embraced the idea of naturalism because it mirrored the events of daily life. Naturalism showed how humans had to be wary at every corner because at anytime death could be there, waiting for them to make a mistake and forfeit their lives. He used naturalism, the most realistic literary movement, to show how violent and uncaring nature really is and how no matter what you do nature will always be there. London also presented the basic idea of Darwinism and the survival of the fittest, basically if you are dumb you will die. Collectively, London used naturalism to show how in life, humans can depend on nothing but themselves to survive. "To Build a Fire" is a short story that embodies the idea of naturalism and how, if one is not careful, nature will gain the upper hand and they will perish. When the narrator introduced the main character of the story, the man, he made it clear that the man was in a perilous situation involving the elements. The man was faced with weather that was 75 degrees below zero and he was not physically or mentally prepared for survival. London wrote that the cold "did not lead him to meditate upon his frailty as a creature of temperature, and upon man's frailty in general, able only to live within certain narrow limits of heat and cold."(p.1745) At first when the man started his journey to the camp, he felt certain that he could make it back to camp before dinner. As the trip progressed, the man made mistake after mistake that sealed his fate. The man's first mistake was to step into a pool of water and soak his legs to the knees. This blunder forced the man to build a fire to dry his wet socks and shoes so his feet would not freeze and become frostbitten. When the man began to build a fire he failed to notice that he was doing so under a large, snow laden spruce tree where he was getting his firewood. When the man had a small fire that was beginning to smolder the disturbance to the tree caused the snow to tumble to the ground and extinguish the fire. "It was his own fault or, rather, his mistake. He should not have built the fire under the spruce tree. He should have built it in the open."(1750). That minor detail of the critical placement of the fire ultimately cost the man his life. The third... ...t when he began to panic as the second fire extinguished. He seemed as though he had lost all knowledge of his survival skills. He thought about killing the dog and wallowing in its steaming insides for refuge from the cold. "The sight of the dog put a wild idea into his head. He remembered the tale of a man, caught in a blizzard, who killed a steer and crawled inside the carcass, and so was saved."(1752). When the man realized that the dog would not let him come near he was forced to concoct another plan. His idea was that if he ran all the way to the camp, he would be able to survive. Unfortunately, that plan failed as well and the man perished in the cold, numbing snow of the Yukon. Overall, naturalism is the most realistic literary movement. It parallels life more than any other movement because it reveals the fact that nature has not heart and no emotions. Nature feels no compassion for human struggles and will continue on it's path of destruction and harm regardless of the circumstances. Works Cited: London, Jack. "To Build A Fire." Sipiora, Phillip. Reading and Writing About Literature. Ed. Phillip Sipiora. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc., 2002. 149-158.

Is India Still Developing Country Essay

Even after 66 years of independence, India is still labeled as a developing country. I think as a nation, we have miles to go. The question of whether or not India is a developed or developing country is not so simple. To understand the real India, we need to look at many other indicators, such as health and education too. I think the level of development in a country is directly proportionate to the way we choose to treat our children, elderly and the disabled. As far as India is concerned, we might score very highly in terms of growth of physical infrastructure, but most of the public places are inaccessible to people with disabilities. As per the 2011 census, India has about 2.7 million people with disabilities, and only a handful of those enjoy education and/or employment. We are spending less than 4% of our GDP on important areas of education and health. Almost 12% of our children (between 5 and 15 years) are identified as child labor, and we have about 2.4 million people living with HIV/Aids. Almost 25% of my Indians are poor – in the same India where millions use smartphones. Within India, there are many different countries. There is no doubt that in some areas we are a developed country and, as far as people with disability are concerned, we have created facilities and a support system. But in many areas we still have long way to go. Now I leave it to you to decide whether you perceive India as developing or not! We have to focus on the â€Å"safety of women† and â€Å"corruption†. Corruption has mired growth to a great extent, and past and present governments have so far been unsuccessful in finding a permanent solution. The young Indian faces challenges stretching from a poorly administered education system to the lowest average wage rates in the world. The youth of India today lives in a society defined by multiple languages, religions, ethnicities and political thought, among other things. Yet they define their own generation, which is starkly d ifferent from their fathers and grandfathers. This puts them in a unique position to take their country towards positive growth and development.

The Novel Of Mice And Men By John Steinbeck - 1211 Words

In the novel Of Mice and Men, Arthur John Steinbeck successfully creates a timeless literary novel. The novella was first published in 1937 and transcends time with compelling characters and a unique plot, readers easily become invested in the book. Steinbeck takes you on an emotional roller coaster throughout the story with characters that earn the reader s sympathy from the start of the novella. Students usually read Of Mice and Men their freshman year of high school. Some people believe that students should not read Of Mice and Men because of its strong language and mature themes. There are multiple reasons students should read Of Mice and Men. The literary novella introduces students to new literary devices and does not take away from†¦show more content†¦As they talk, she asks him to stroke her hair. She panics when she feels Lennie’s strong hands. When she raises her voice to him, Lennie covers her mouth. In the process, he accidentally breaks her neck and she d ies. Knowing he has done something terrible, he leaves the ranch. When the ranch hands learn that Curley’s wife has been killed, they rightly guess the guilty party. Led by an angry Curley, they all go out to search for Lennie. They plan to murder him in retribution. George guesses where Lennie is and races to the pool. To save him from the brutal assaults of the ranch hands, George mercifully kills his friend himself. Hearing the gunshot, the searchers converge by the pool. They praise George for his act. Only Slim understands the actual purpose of George’s deed. The end of the book leaves readers shocked, but it also opens up discussions. Readers can really relate to how George and Lennie struggle to survive on the ranch. Throughout the novel, Lennie and George struggle with making their dream of owning their own ranch come true. A teacher from an online blog called Chalkbeat spoke about how this relates to the children in his class.† Like George and Lennie, our students have dreams. Yes, they want to be doctors, engineers, firefighters, and teachers, but their dreams don’t consist of the day-to-day work in any of those professions. They dream of curing diseases and building cities; they dream of saving lives, of being heroes, like theShow MoreRelatedThe Novel Of Mice And Men By John Steinbeck1041 Words   |  5 Pagesdesire companionship, or find a way to cope with loneliness. The purpose of this essay is to explain how the novel Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, introduces this topic and tells how different characters deal with sacrifice, and soon isolation. In the face of sacrifice and isolation, some confide in others for strength, some oppress those weaker to feel powerful. The theme of this novel is solitude, and how it’s dealt with. The first example is Candy. Candy, an old handyworker, sacrifices hisRead MoreEssay on Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck: Film vs. Novel2023 Words   |  9 PagesOf Mice and Men by John Steinbeck: Film vs. Novel The film is severely different from the novel, as the director, Gary Sinise, made deliberate changes to influence the audiences feelings and reactions. He has altered and added scenes as he saw this as necessary to create the right kind of atmosphere and to keep the plot flowing. The whole story is about two men, George and Lennie. These are very two very different characters; the novel describes them as opposites. Lennie is a veryRead MoreHow Does John Steinbeck Portray Loneliness and Isolation in the Novel â€Å"of Mice and Men†?1698 Words   |  7 PagesHow does John Steinbeck portray loneliness and isolation in the novel â€Å"Of Mice and Men†? The novel of â€Å"Of Mice and Men† was written in the time of the great depression in the 1930’s in America, this was the time in which Professional workers became Migrant workers due to the Wall Street crash in 1929. The great depression caused many professional workers to turn to working in farmland harvesting wheat. John Steinbeck published the novel of â€Å"Of Mice and Men† in 1937 it is set in Salinas, CaliforniaRead MoreOf Mice and Men. The question is how does John Steinbeck tackle social issues in the novel through the use of Crooks. Includes direct quotations from the book.782 Words   |  2 PagesOf Mice and Men In the novel, Of Mice and Men, the author, John Steinbeck, takes a strong stance against many social issues. Steinbeck voices his opinions on controversial rights such as women s rights and the treatment of migrant workers. One of the main points that Steinbeck addresses is his dislike for the treatment of African-Americans. He expresses his views through the hardship and turmoil of Crooks, the only African-American character in the novel. Crooks is looked down upon by his peersRead More John Steinbeck Essay1174 Words   |  5 PagesJohn Steinbeck A novelist is someone who writes novels, or writes a fancy work of fiction which often has a complicated plot, many major and minor characters, a significant theme, and several varied settings. A novelist will use literary devices such as characterization, tone, symbolism, imagery, and figurative language. John Steinbeck, an American novelist, uses many literary devices such as metaphors, similes, imagery, and figurative language along with excellent descriptive words to developRead MoreJohn Steinbecks Greatest Accomplishments973 Words   |  4 PagesJohn Steinbeck, born in 1902 in Salinas California to John Ernst and Olive Hamilton Steinbeck, became one of the greatest American writers of his century. Growing up Steinbeck read vigorously and was fascinated by Sir Thomas Malory’s Morte D’Arthur. It was Malory’s Morte D’Arthur that influenced Steinbeck for the rest of his life. Steinbeck graduated from Salinas High School in 1919 and attended Stanford U niversity. He took courses in science and particularly became interested in marine biology.Read MoreOf Mice and Men by John Steinbeck973 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction: I. Background A. John Steinbeck was born on February 27th, 1902 in Salinas, California. 1. Salinas River was one of the few centers for shipping, farming, and agriculture a. John Steinbeck worked as an employed laborer, digging canals and working beside men similar to characters in his novels. 2. In a discussion John Steinbeck said, I worked in the same country that the story is laid in. The characters are composites to a certain extent. Lennie was a real person. Hes in an insaneRead MorePoor Decision Making In John Steinbecks Of Mice And Men1261 Words   |  6 PagesArts Honors 23 October 2017 Poor decision making can lead to your demise Justice! What does it mean to be justified? Tricking your best friend? Betraying and ending his dream? Gunning him down from behind? Well, in the book â€Å"Of Mice and Men† by John Steinbeck, two men, George and Lennie, shared and worked for the same dream until several problems occurred, when eventually their dream lead to Lennies demise. It was justified when George shot Lennie because Lennie made multiple poor mistakes, itRead MoreAmerica Is Home To Many Great Writers Whom Come Different1709 Words   |  7 PagesAmerica is home to many great writers whom come different backgrounds. American authors like John Steinbeck who add biographical elements into their pieces of writing. John Steinbeck, one of the most honorable authors of time, is known for receiving Nobel Prize, California commonwealth club medal, Pulitzer Prize, and other great accomplishments towards publishing sixteen novels. Steinbeck’s realist style of writing and life experiences impacting his life sh ow the reader he’s been through a lot inRead MoreOf Mice and Men Argumentative Essay1115 Words   |  5 PagesEssay Prompt: John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, has a controversial history. It has been repeatedly banned by school boards. Why might this book have been banned? Is such an action justified? In a five-paragraph essay, take a position for or against banning this novel. Use your three body paragraphs to develop each of three reasons for or against banning the novel. The Lost Portion of Human Society Right from the beginning of human civilization, books had become the vital flame that ignited