American Literature #4/ To Build a Fire / A Face Drawn in Sand

A Face Drawn in Sand

             What makes men so significant? Or are they so special in the first place? For people who think men are, what differentiates men and beast would be consciousness and reason. Unlike animals, men have the power to determine what they would do, instead of being swayed by environments. By deciding which action they will take, they shape themselves, determining who they are through divine free will.

             In order to prove this claim, there should be a clear distinction between environment and a subjective individual. Environment may or may not influence an individual’s action, but it should be done to an ignorable or limited extent. If there is a substantial amount of intervention from the environment, it is hard to say that there is a clear distinction between what is inside or outside an individual. The contention bulges out when one realizes that he is nor free man or self-determining. If the environment determines human behavior, how can there be free will or a subjective individual? Philosopher Michele Foucault thereby declares that the concept of Men shall be erased “like a face drawn in sand at the edge of the sea”.

             Jack London seems to depict the same theme in the short story “To Build a Fire”. From the beginning, the protagonist is described as a confident and arrogant man. He does not “meditate upon his frailty as a creature of temperature.” Instead of fearing the nature, he puts his position above his actual status in nature. For himself, he may be a keen traveler who overcame natural hardships; nonetheless he is nothing more than a vulnerable animal. The protagonist executes his macho traits by criticizing the wise old-timer as “rather womanish”. This statement goes in accordance with the man’s forceful approach towards nature. Instead of embracing or subduing, the man goes against it and faces utter destruction. The end of his life shows the weakness of human in the face of nature.

             However, the vulnerability only functions as groundwork for an underlying theme. In course of dying, the man makes miserable attempts for survival. He is busy trying to adapt to the mightiness of nature. There is no intelligent man who brings light and heat to the uncivilized nature in this story. Desperate for warmth, the man tries to ignite fire by pulling twigs from a tree. This gives the tree “imperceptible agitation”, and makes it to pour snow over the feeble fire that man had put all his hope on. The effort he had made to ignite the fire was intense; the act of poking mosses and gathering twigs were rather miserable. Nowhere in his frantic attempts is human dignity. He strives for survival, not by reason and sanctity.

             The traditional story for man versus nature is how man overcomes nature using reason. However, “To Build a Fire” pictures a man whose actions are confined to only resist against the environmental threats raised by nature. Not a single action in the story was done without a relationship to nature’s power.  This story seems to raise a point that men are only animals named humans, nothing more nothing less. What more can be done to a face drawn in sand?


Comment


Ko Haeuk: I see that this time you had considerably less time to work on the paper, which left us some space to write comments. I think you were trying to mention that Londo was putting arrogant views before the 18th century into the man. I agree. But I don't see where you are going with the human being swayed by the environment I think men won't be swayed if he is so full of himself., I liked the part with subjectivity. 


Hyunseok Lee: It was great to see some quotes and literal evidences to support your claim. Also I liked you brought the topic  which wasn't discussed deeply in class. Even though I strongly agree to the point that described mankind as an arrogant creature, I'm not sure on the claim that nature and men are in hostile relationship. In my opinion, existence between nature and men cannot be described as hostile. They exist just as itself, there is a cold weather and there is men. But they are not meant to be in a different relationship. I understand your time limits, but I want you to think more that it is possible to say that human and nature can be not hostile.