Use Of Naturalism In To Build A Fire And The Law Of Life By Jack London

Naturalism, or the belief and understanding that the strongest species will thrive is an important practice for the author, Jack London. London wrote many stories featuring naturalism, but two stories strongly use naturalism. The story, “The Law of Life” by Jack London is about a old man who is about to die, telling the reader that life is about naturalism. The story, “To Build a Fire by Jack London is a hiking adventure which shows the main character dying because he failed to start and keep a fire running. Both “To Build a Fire” and “The Law of Life” by Jack London show the idea of naturalism throughout the stories. Throughout the story “The Law of Life” by Jack London, the author constantly explains what the law of life is. When the author

In the story “To Build a Fire” by Jack London, the main character is freezing and needs a way to warm up. The main character tries to start a fire, but the fire fails. The main character thinks that he could kill his dog in order to stay warm, but the author later says, “With his helpess hands he could neither draw nor hold his sheath-knife nor throttle the animal” (London, 10). This quote shows that the main character was too cold and frostbit to be able to survive, which leads to his death. This quote shows naturalism by showing that he is weak. In “The Law of Life” by Jack London, Koskoosh is about to be eaten by wolfs. The author says on page 6, “Now one wormed his chest forward, dragging his haunches after, now a second, now a third; but never a one drew back” (London, 6). The author later says, “Why should he cling to life? He asked, and dropped the blazing stick into the snow” (London, 6). These quotes show naturalism by showing that he is weak, which kills him. In both “To Build a Fire” and “The Law of Life” by Jack London, the author shows the idea of naturalism, where the weakest species will