Conflict between Human and Nature in To Build a Fire - Research Paper Example

Conflict between Human and Nature in To Build a Fire Introduction There is a conflict devastating the world. The major war is not between countries but it is a war between humankind and nature. Conflicts arising from political disagreements between countries might have been devastating but the battle between humans and nature has the potential of initiating worse conflicts amongst humans as well as between human and other creatures. The humans stubbornly ignited the conflict but they might be limited in dealing with it. Throughout history, there has been conflict between man and nature. As humans continue with activities such as industrialization and combustion of fossil fuels, the conflict between humans and nature is becoming more intensified. The conflict paves way for other conflicts between humans as they struggle to secure the non-renewable resources that are scarcer than ever. Just as the antagonist in London’s story gets himself into a predicament he cannot resolve, modern humans are leading themselves into a situation they will not be able to reverse. Actually, the evidence of the irreversibility of climate change is becoming evident as unpredictable storms, hurricanes and earthquakes affect different regions of the world. Humans started a conflict with nature and they are now realizing they are limited and possible losers in future. Figuratively, humans could be building a fire not to warm themselves but for self-destruction. This paper is analysis of London’s story To Build a Fire. The paper will focus on how this story relates to the conflict between contemporary humans and nature. Humans have been increasingly exploiting the resources in the environment, which has resulted in adverse effects such as climate change. The climate change is likely to result in extreme climatic conditions likely to endanger the humans’ life. London’s story, To Build a Fire, revolves around a man isolated in Yukon (in Alaska), an area characterized by frigid weather, that he could not cope. The man in the story is a protagonist who lacks imagination to resolve his problems. However, the situation is irreversible and it is too late to use imagination to obtain a solution. In this story, there is an extremely unpredictable conflict between man and nature. The man in the story is struggling to get to some place. However, the weather is too cold preventing the man from continuing with his mission. The man applies different strategies in his attempt to deal with the cold such as building a fire. However, the fire keeps dying off and ends up succumbing to death. In this conflict between man and nature, the nature succeeds (London 585-587; Urry 50-53). London’s story starts with the man disregarding alerts and going out irrespective of the harsh environmental conditions characterized by very low temperatures. As he continues with his journey, he reaches a point where he realizes that he is in a predicament. At this point, “The fear quickly became poignant as he realized that it was no longer a mere matter of freezing his fingers and toes, or of losing his hands and feet, but that it was a matter of life and death, with the chances against him"(London 587). Humans are aware of the dire consequences of their activities, which often lead to pollution. However, there has been a lot of disagreement on what requires to be done to curb the issue of climate change. While developed countries are the major contributors of environmental pollution hence climate change, they continue to disregard any suggestions on how to reduce climate change. Additionally, the developing countries argue that they have not caused the problem and are not obligated to participate in resolving it. It might be too late when humans realize the irrevocable effects of their action. Just like the man in the freezing environment, humans might find themselves in a similar situation in the near future if no measures are taken to deal with excessive pollution and global warming. London demonstrates that climatic conditions play a major role in determining the survival of animals and plants. Though the modern man is unaware of this, he still acts as if he is unaware of the adverse effects of climate change (Kolbert 4-9). In London’s story, the man reaches a point where he lacks any option on how to cope with the frigid weather (London 588). This is depictive of the effect of climate change, which might face human in the future. It might not be possible for humans to deal with the situations. The lack of choice demonstrates the irreversibility of climate change. Though humans are aware of the terrible effects of activities such as use of fossil fuels, they continue to use them. Although there are renewable and more sustainable energy sources, humans underexploit such resources. This has resulted in accumulation of wastes such as greenhouse gases. These gases have contributed in causing global warming (Kolbert 75-79). Although humans believe that they have power over nature, sometimes they are faced by climatic challenges that they cannot cope with. Such challenges include hurricanes, drought, and unpredictable storms. The man in the story realizes he needs to do something to deal with the cold weather. He thus decides to try to light a fire. However, his attempts are unrewarding. The harder he tries to find a solution the colder it becomes. Throughout the story, the weather remains cold characterized by sunless days. Man who is considered the fittest of all animals cannot survive the condition. Nature, which has always been considered a friend off humans, turns into an enemy. This is what global warming is likely to cause. There might come a time when the climatic conditions across the globe will be too hostile and humans will have nowhere to go. This has already started to happen. Some regions of the world are turning into uninhabitable deserts. Humans are increasingly fighting for the scarce resource such as water bodies. Like the man in London’s story, the future of humans is very uncertain. The changes humans are imparting on nature might become static endangering human life (Sampooran 75-80). As the man travels across Yukon wilderness, he is unaware of the struggles that await him. It is only after he gets lost with dog that he starts witnessing the hardships and dangers of the wilderness. Nature provides a conflict which man has to deal with in order to survive. London describes a unique setting characterized by harsh weather conditions. However, the protagonist appears ignorant of the danger that awaits him (London 585-587). This situation is similar to the one facing modern man. It has reached a point when hurricanes such as Tornado, Irene, Katrina, and Rita are inevitable. Although humans are aware that the hurricanes are being caused by climate change, they have no ways of preventing the hurricanes. Moreover, humans continue with the activities causing climate change instead of thinking of ways to discontinue them (Sampooran 82-84). The conflict between humans and nature is not a new phenomenon. However, humans have been taking the issue lightly. Although there have been increased efforts to resolve the problem in the last few decades, it is almost too late to eliminate nature’s brutal onslaughts on humans. Just as the man in London’s story succumbs to his own stubbornness, the contemporary man might find himself in a similar situation. In case of conflicts between humans, the involved parties can agree on ways to resolve the conflict. However, the conflict between man and nature is realistic but tough to resolve. Nature is full of surprises, which humans cannot predict. Although there could be warnings, some weather related antagonisms happen when least expected. It thus becomes impossible for humans to save themselves from such challenges. Humans are still reluctant to accept their limitations. They consider themselves very superior in terms of technology. They thus assume that they can deal with any situation. However, this has proven different in circumstances involving nature. There is no guarantee that man can survive situations resulting from climate change. It is only when it is too late that humans realizes their limitations in resolving nature related conflicts (Weintrobe 50-53). As the conflict between man and nature deteriorates, a conflict between man and the dog arises. Though the dog is man’s best companion, the man in the story reaches a point where he feels that "He would kill the dog and bury his hands in the warm body until the numbness went out of them" (London 591). This is after his attempts to build the fire are fruitless. This is depictive of the conflicts facing the contemporary humans. Humans have overexploited the resources and have reached a point where the resources are limited for all countries to utilize (Duke 244-245). Due to the selfish nature of humans, each country wants to secure the remaining resources for itself. This is the cause of increased wars and conflicts. A good example is the numerous conflicts in the Middle East. The major cause of disagreements is conflicts concerning natural resources such as water and minerals. The scarcity is attributed to climate change and overexploitation. Therefore, the conflicts are not just between humans but also between humans and nature. However, the struggle for survival will endanger the weak. Just as the man in the story loses the battle to nature as well as to the dog, humans might eventually lose the battle. They might be incapable of resolving the problems related to climate change. This will make it hard for them to resolve inter-nation conflict, which emanate from the effects of climate change (Weintrobe 33-36). Conclusion The theme of conflict is major theme in London’s story To Build a Fire. The major conflict is the one between man, nature, and that between man and the dog. The man losses the battle in both conflicts and ends up dying. The situation the man in the story is in is very similar to the predicament facing contemporary humans. Humans have overexploited the natural resources and altered the climate through pollution. This has resulted in climate change, a force that is likely to overpower man. The man in the story is not equipped to deal with the situation he gets himself into. He realized that the weather is too cold and he can do nothing to save himself. This is similar to the current climatic disasters such as hurricanes and storms that face contemporary humans and they find themselves incapable of preventing them. Although humans consider themselves superior over nature, they often find themselves in natural disasters that they cannot deal with. The issue of climate change, which has resulted from human activities, provides a good example of problems that humans in the contemporary society are creating. However, it might be too late when the humans realize that they are limited to deal with such situations. The antagonist in London’s story serves as an example of how human hostility towards nature might lead him to his own grave. Works Cited Duke, Jerry. The Generation of Crisis. New York: Xulon Press, 2009. Print . Kolbert, Elizabeth. Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change. Neww york: Bloomsbury USA, 2006. Print . London, Jack. "To Build a Fire." Barnet, Sylvan, William Cain and William Burto. Literature for Composition: Essays, Stories, Poems, and Plays. Toronto: Pearson Education Canada, 2010. 583-592. Print. Sampooran, Singh. The Immanent Disastor: A Vision On Climate Change. New York: Gyan Publishing House, 2008. Print . Urry, John. Climate Change and Society. New Jersey: Polity, 2011. Print. Weintrobe, Sally. Engaging with Climate Change: Psychoanalytic and Interdisciplinary Perspectives. London: Routledge, 2012. Print. Read More