Compare and contrast - Research Paper Example

24 October The Perceptions of the Ignorant Tenderfoot in London’s “To Build a Fire” Ignorance can be fatal, but combined with arrogance, it results to death. Jack London became part of the workers of the Klondike Gold Rush in July 1897 and his experiences reflected in his short story “To Build a Fire.” The setting is Yukon during its harsh winter moments. The main protagonist refers to a young man, whom Yukon natives see as a tenderfoot because of his inexperience in the winter wilderness and his boldness of traversing it, during a particularly cold and without any human companion.

The story reveals the needs and dreams of the working poor during the Gold Rush and the conflicts arising between several factors. The conflicts consist of conflicts between Man versus Man and Man versus Nature because the protagonist acts as an egotistical and ignorant tenderfoot, who is eager to prove his place in a new community with an unknown climate and topography. The setting explores the conflict between Man versus Nature, particularly for an assuming tenderfoot, due to the power of the wild in constraining the actions and fate of its residents and travelers.

Yukon is detached from the needs of its residents and travelers because it can grow as cold as it wants too, and London foreshadows this apathetic demeanor of nature in society: “DAY HAD BROKEN [all caps in original story] cold and gray, exceedingly cold and gray” (London). The coldness represents the detachment for the people in it. Yukon’s gray look prepares the readers for some foreseeable problems in the life of the tenderfoot. In addition, the location indicates importance to aspiring workers who depend on the Gold Rush for their success and luck.

The society of the Yukon attracted people with a “lust for adventure, risk-taking, and desperation,” and it magnetizes all kinds of people, such as teachers, professionals, business people, thugs, and those who have nothing to lose (Kreidler 1). Jack London himself has worked in the Gold Rush. He knows the feeling of being there and sharing the ambitions of the working class and the poor for a better future. Furthermore, London utilizes folklore and observations about nature to demonstrate the interaction between people and their environment (Kreidler 1).

The image of spittle freezing in the air, before it reaches the ground, depicts the helplessness of humanity in the face of a bleak environment. The knowledge that people use to survive in Yukon relies on folklore and their everyday experiences (Kreidler 1). The protagonist relies on his ability to interpret the environment through physical manifestations around him: “He knew that the coldest snaps never froze these springs, and he knew likewise their danger” (London). London shows that to know little is not enough.

The environment can beat humanity anytime, especially a tenderfoot who thinks he knows enough. The setting calls for people who are willing to learn or have learned the lessons of nature. Humanity adapts to changing circumstances and a tenderfoot must watch and learn, or else, he/she will perish: “It was a clear day, and yet there seemed an intangible pall over the face of things, a subtle gloom that made the day dark, and that was due to the absence of sun. This fact did not worry the man” (London).

Nature already hints on its uncertainty and harshness through the clear gloom of the sunless day, but the man prefers to think that he knows better. Instead of learning from the environment, where he is new, he assumes that he knows about it and, to some extent, that he can beat it. However, Yukon, because of its extreme wilderness and winter season, intends to be a place of survival for people with knowledge and good instincts. The tenderfoot protagonist prefers to rely on his weak imagination to survive the wild: “The trouble with him was that he was without imagination.

He was quick and alert in the things of life, but only in the things, and not in the significances” (London). He assures himself that he knows the environment. In reality, he fails to understand the power of nature in producing cataclysmic experiences for humanity. Moreover, the tenderfoot is only aware of himself and not the environment that is more authoritative than he is. The man intends to sacrifice the dog for his survival, and Evans describes this as his way of “exploit[ing]” the environment (158).

The young man is willing to reject companionship, if it gives him the opportunity to live on. The story notes, nevertheless, that the dog survives: “[The dog] turned and trotted up the trail in the direction of the camp it knew, where were the other food-providers and fire-providers” (London). The dog survives the wild because of its natural protection and instincts. Humanity does not have fur and a tenderfoot has not developed natural instincts in the wild, and so nature triumphs over man.

Aside from the conflict between Man versus Nature, people fight against their fellows, which in this case refers to the new and the older ones. London exposes the protagonist as a “tenderfoot” who does not respect the incredible powers of nature (Welsh 2). An old timer cautions him to no longer travel, when it is colder than fifty degrees below zero. Instead of appreciating his counsel, the young man laughs at him. He thinks: “Those old-timers were rather womanish, some of them, he thought.

All a man had to do was to keep his head, and he was all right. Any man who was a man could travel alone” (London). The tenderfoot shows his arrogance in a place he knows nothing of. This attitude can be expected, nevertheless, if he needed to assure himself that he belongs in the environment. Furthermore, the young man is ignorant of experience and knowledge of the wild. When he has an accident, he realizes that the old man is right. He needed a companion to help him during these precarious times.

In the end, all he can do is dream of going home: “When he got back to the States, he could tell the folks what real cold was” (London). The readers know that he will no longer tell his family this story. His story dies because of his conceited way of dealing with the wild and the experienced people of Yukon. The young man’s superiority is false and people cannot beat the harshness of nature. London reminds people to understand that when it comes to nature, they have to constantly learn from it, in order to adapt to it and survive.

In addition, the young must not stop learning from the old. The experiences of the past shape the present and future too. Yukon reminds people to empower themselves through learning. Otherwise, they will just be another frozen tenderfoot in the wild who will never survive it enough to enjoy its fruits of success. Works Cited Evans, Robert C. “To Build a Fire.” Short Fiction: A Critical Companion (1997): 158-164. Print. Kreidler, Michele L. “Jack London's ‘To Build a Fire.’” Literary Contexts in Short Stories (2009): 1. Print. London, Jack.

“To Build a Fire.” The Century Magazine 76 (Aug. 1908). Web. 22 Oct. 2012. < http://www.jacklondons.net/buildafire.html>. Welsh, James M. “To Build a Fire.” Masterplots II: Short Story Series (Jan. 2004): 1-3. Print.