“To Build a Fire” by Jack London
Directions: Respond to the following questions with brief short paragraph responses. Send through the Blackboard assignment portal.
Brief summary of the story… Summarize the major action that takes place from the beginning right through the middle and conclusion. What is the major action that takes place in the story?
Describe the major characters and style of narration.
Why is this story a good example of naturalistic fiction? Make connections to the following list of characteristics
NATURALISM
• A portrait of life as rigidly determined by powerful forces beyond human control. These forces could be social, environmental, economic, technological etc. The individual is presented as weak and powerless
• A brutal form of realism
• Influenced by Darwin’s 1859 theory of evolution as well as the 19th and 20th century industrial revolution….life became faster and more brutal…machines….the age of automation…..skyscrapers…. big business and multinational corporations…survival of the fittest….the strong survive, the weak perish!
• The literature is criticized for being pessimistic and void of spirituality as it tends to present humans as just another animal species trying to survive on a daily basis in a cold, cruel world!
Present one two-three sentence direct quotation that supports this as a work of naturalism and briefly defend your selection