Abstract
In “To Build a Fire,” the man’s lack of imagination; his inability to reflect on and admit the reality of his situation; and to recognize his shortcomings represent mankind’s fatal hubris. Man stands apart from Nature, not understanding that he has a place in it – he does not hold sway. To deny Nature then is, in itself, an unnatural act.
An Unnatural Act: Man’s Fatal Capacity for Hubris
Jack London’s literary landscape is inhabited by characters pitted against the brutal forces of Nature, in which the aim is nothing more or less than survival itself. In this unforgiving world, man’s fundamental existence is stripped of ...