The dangers of this setting are readily apparent, and are conditions in which few living creatures, let alone man, can exert their wills to survive. The predominance of a natural settings and such powerful influence it has on its characters is a trait of Naturalism.
It is also significant to note that the deciding moment of both of these stories is dictated by the natural environment of the setting. More importantly, that environment surpasses the will of the individual characters, which actually have little sway in determining their fate. This aspect of American Naturalism is known as determinism (no author), and is evinced in both talks by the fact that the elements dictate the fate of the characters. After days of battling the sea in "The Open Boat," the foursome is finally plunged into its frigid, murky depths. The survivors are tossed about by the waves with no power to control the outcome of their own lives. As luck (or rather nature) would have it, one particularly powerful wave happens to thrust the correspondent into the shallow water near the shore, which saves his life. The following quotation demonstrates the power of such a wave: "A large wave caught him and flung him with ease and supreme speed completely over the boat and far beyond it" (Crane). In much the same way that the elements save the life of the correspondent and two of the other three characters in "The Open Boat," they end up killing the character in London's narrative. The same manifestation of
"He had felt the give under his feet and heard the crackle of a snow-hidden ice-skin…to get his feet wet in such a temperature meant trouble and danger" (London). Eventually, the hazard of this misfortune of nature and the freezing temperatures, kill the man, whose own will is powerless before the might of nature.
An analysis of both of these short stories reveals that the theme of both of them is man's insignificance in the face of nature. The natural settings in both tales are used to reinforce the might of nature. These natural settings easily overwhelm the characters in these respective works. The pivotal moments in both stories, in which Crane's characters are tossed about the sea, and in which London's character falls victim to ice and snow, reinforce this concept. Both of these notions, a reliance on a mighty natural setting and the insignificance of the strength and will of the characters against such a setting, are hallmarks of American Naturalism
Works Cited
Crane, Stephen. "The Open Boat." The Literature Network. 1897. Web. http://www.online-literature.com/crane/2544/
London, Jack. "To Build a Fire." The World of Jack London. 1908. Web. http://www.jacklondons.net/buildafire.html
No author. "Naturalism." The Literature Network. No date. Web. http://www.online-literature.com/periods/naturalism.php
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