To Build A Fire

In “ To Build A Fire” by Jack London, there is a strong theme of Man vs. Nature. The man in the poem has to endure the harsh cold of the Yukon to make it to a mining camp. Although the man is warned he continues anyway and underestimates the danger of the trip. He takes off his mittens and is shocked to find his fingers go numb so quickly. He then plunges through the ice and gets his feet wet. He builds a fire to warm himself, but when grabs the twigs the snow falls off the branches and puts out his fire. His hands become so frozen he can’t use them. In desperation he tries to kill his dog but without his hands there’s no way he can kill it. Without being able to build a fire, he ultimately freezes to death. In Human vs. Nature in this case, nature ended up winning.

From the beginning I had preconceptions that it would end badly. He went into the trip way to confident and had the attitude that he would be invincible. There were hints that my preconceptions were right while reading this. The fact that the dog’s intuition was different from the man’s intuition led me to believe that the dogs intuition would turn out be to right. Also the man’s carelessness and ignorance in the beginning foreshadowed his fate.

In the beginning it says, “He was surprised, however, at the cold”(p. 630). I don’t understand why he was so surprised at the cold. The region that he was in has a cold climate and he should have had the instinct to know what he was up against. The dogs instincts were better, “ It’s instinct told it a truer tale than was told to the man by the man’s judgment”(p. 630). Every encounter he has with the harsh environment of nature becomes worse and worse throughout the reading. “What were frosted cheeks? A bit painful, that was all; they were never serious (p.631). I think its very ironic how he tries to play off the serious of this. It is serious and becomes a bigger issue later in the reading and develops in much more than he intended. “He chuckled at his foolishness, and as he chuckled, he noted the numbness creeping into the exposed fingers” (p. 632). I think deep down he knew what he was doing was a little foolish but I think his pride and ignorance got in the way. He just laughed off his situation as if nothing was going to go wrong and everything would work out in the end.

I think humans are sometimes ignorant towards nature and we have too much pride. It says on page 632, “ Possibly all the generation of his ancestry had been ignorant of cold, of real cold, of cold one hundred and seven degrees below freezing-point. But the dog knew; all its ancestry knew and it had inherited the knowledge”. I think humans have become distant from nature and we don’t appreciate it as much as we should and are not as one with it as other creatures such as dogs. We try to control and manipulate nature instead. The man in this story was ignoring nature and his pride got in the way. If we would have had some common sense in the beginning, his fate would have turned out much differently. I think that line foreshadows that the man’s fate is death and that the dog would ultimately survive.

Race and the American Project part 1: Personal synthesis

The theme of race is throughout the novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. In the novel we can see how race dictated your social standing. If you were an African American in the South, you were a slave. In class we talked a lot about how little Eva treats slaves compared to her parents and Aunt. Eva doesn’t let race dictate anything. She loves everyone as opposed to her parents. Her mother especially is an example of how race dictates how people were treated. She says, “Now, there’s no way with servants, but to put them down and keep them down”( page 157). Also multiple times throughout the book she calls the slaves “creatures”. This shows how not only she but other people as well view people based on race.

      In the textual background and context, they talk about how free African Americans from the north are kidnapped and taken to the south and sold into slavery. If those people were to speak up to the people they were sold to about how they are actually a free person, the master would take one look at their skin color/race and not do anything about it. The kidnappers know that because of their own race they can act superior and treat the African Americans, even though they are free, any way they want to. I think even though its wrong, some people in modern times still judge people based on their race/ what they look like.

      Race is a theme in the critical commentary as well. The author takes a look at how African American’s view Stowe’s book.  Because of their race, slaves didn’t have a voice, so Stowe’s book helped to spark that voice, but at the same time appeal to whites. Also the author talks about how a former ex-slave has the opinion that Stowe didn’t put the worst of slavery in her novel because she doesn’t know much about it. I think that statement has a lot to do with the point of view of different races. As a different race, they had different experiences than Stowe did. As a white person, Stowe never had to endure what they went through and therefore couldn’t fully represent and be the voice of African Americans. I think if Stowe would have put the worst in her novel, she would’ve made the whites look worse and wouldn’t appeal to the white people as much as her novel did.

      Race is such a controversial topic still today, just as it was when Stowe was writing her novel. Her whole book revolves around slavery and the life of people of the African American race. I think when reading the book, it’s easy to see how race is a dominant theme in this novel. Also our class discussions, reading the textual background and context, and reading the critical commentary I can see how race was a theme in those as well. It was really hard to read this knowing that people were actually treated this way for generations and generations. I can’t imagine someone coming into my home and beating my family and selling any of us into slavery, knowing you’ll never see each other again. Personally, I think now that it’s modern times and there’s not really any need to appeal to whites like there was, it would’ve been more interesting to get the whole side of the story. She left out the worst of slavery and I think getting to read that part of it as well would fill in the “gaps” and “silence” that was talked about previously.

Race and the American Novel Project part 1: Critical Commentary

In “Who Gets to Create the Lasting Images? The Problem of Black Representation in Uncles Tom’s Cabin” by Sophia Cantave, one of the main points I found most interesting: What has been the effect of this book on black people? In the text it talks about how Tourgee did a study and found that many ex-slaves did not think that the character of Tom was “ too meek”. The ex-slaves said that Tom was “critical of his masters” and that he was very outspoken compared to the reality of slavery in the south. In reality slaves wouldn’t dare to speak up to their master like Tom did. Black responses to Uncle Tom’s cabin were “evasive silences and complete acceptance of Stowe’s words and reactions, suggesting that her depictions are better than what slaves could have produced”(page 588). Some also say that Stowe was a voice for them to speak up since they could not. One ex-slave thought that she didn’t show the worst parts of slavery in her book simply because she didn’t know enough about it to do so. The author believes that the topic about races creates gaps and silences. She also believes that the discussion about races takes place among people not from the race of the topic of discussion. Whenever the topic of African Americans comes up, it is not African Americans who are taking part in the discussion.

         I think it’s interesting that ex-slaves did not think tom was meek character. From my point of view, I think Tom is a meek character and not very outspoken. When Eliza escapes and wants him to come with, he stays and is obedient to his masters. If he was not a meek character, I would think he would be rebellious and try to escape. Also when he is having conversation with his masters he has a very meek tone. He doesn’t speak up or talk back in a harsh way to his master, he has a very gentle tone. On page 85 the text says, “ Tom sat by, with his testament open on his knew, and his head leaning upon his hand; -but neither spoke”. Also on page 88 it says, “ Tom rose up meekly, to follow his new master”.  The word’s Stowe uses gives Tom this very meek and obedient personality. Not experiencing slavery, this is what my point of view is. I think if I had been a slave and had experienced it my thoughts on Tom’s character may have been different.

         I think from this text we can add to Uncle Tom’s cabin. This gives me a different point of view on Tom’s character and sheds light on a different way to view him. If I seen it from an ex-slaves point of view, I can see how Tom’s character is not meek and outspoken. Also, from this text it says, “ Yet according to one male former slave in Touregee’s study, Stowe ‘didn’t know what slavery was so she left out the worst of it’” ( page 589). When I read Uncle Tom’s Cabin, I couldn’t believe how the slaves were being treated. I can take away from this text that the description of slavery that Stowe wrote in Uncle Tom’s Cabin was a small portion of the truth compared to what she left out, which is a much harsher reality.

         I agree with the author when she says how the topic of race creates gaps and silences. Race is a big topic in Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Hearing the topic of race and slavery from a white person’s view leaves gaps. Her point of view is only part of the story; the other point of view is that of a person that actually went through slavery, or is of the race of which the discussion is about. I think when the topic about African Americans came up, it was mostly whites who were discussing it because African Americans couldn’t speak there opinion back then and didn’t have that voice to fill in the gaps of the story.

         

Race and the American Novel Project part 1: Textual Background and Context

In Another Kidnapping 1844 by William Wells Brown, one of the main points I got out of it was how even the African Americans in the North are not safe. Men went to a northern colored family’s home at night and broke open their door. They continued to beat the man, his wife, and then kidnap his fourteen-year-old son to become a slave. When the author visits their home, the mother learns her son is gone forever and begins weeping. An African American had seen who had done it, but nothing was done about it, but African Americans could not testify against white people.

In the text he says, “they broke open the door, knocked down the man and and his wife, and beat them severely, and seized their boy, aged fourteen years, and carried him off into slavery”(442). Even safe in their home at night, they were not safe. They were free people and this text shows how just like that your freedom is gone and that even though you may live in the north, being an African American at that time, there is no place in the United States you are safe. At the end of the text he says, “What have the North to do with slavery”(442)?  The North was supposed to be the “free states”. Although they were free, they were not safe. They also could not prove who they really were once in slavery, so it would be nearly impossible to ever get out.

        I think this text helps to summarize what a lot of people don’t realize about how slavery was affecting African Americans in the north. Because they were “ free” a lot of people thought that meant that they were considered safe. I thought that myself until I see the movie “twelve years a slave”. I think it’s very barbaric of the whites in this time to be able to break open someone’s door and start beating them, kidnap someone and sell them into slavery. I can’t even imagine having my freedom taken away from me like that, knowing what your life was before and having to put that aside and take on the new identity of being a slave.

       I think this text gives insight to Uncle Tom’s Cabin. I didn’t realize this while reading Uncle Tom’s cabin, but the fact that Eliza didn’t stop in the North until she reached Canada was because of the reason: no colored person was actually safe in the North. Also I wonder if any of the characters who were slaves had the experience of being taken as a free person from the North and forced into slavery. This text adds to Uncle Tom’s Cabin by showing us what actually happened in the north and how colored people were treated there.  Also, in this text when the mother screams out, “ Oh , my boy! Oh, my boy! I want to see my child!” the author goes on to say, “ I was compelled to turn aside and weep for the first time since I came into the State”. I think the tragedy we see in this text and the sadness of it gives us an idea of what Eliza’s life would have been like if she had not fled to Canada with her child.

"The Yellow Wallpaper"

I think there is a theme of self- expression in “ The Yellow Wallpaper”. Being a woman at the time, the narrator was supposed to be the homemaker and she was to obey her husband. It was her husband’s idea to confine her to that room and so she went. She is not only physical constrained but also mentally. Her husband does not want her writing but to instead rest. She’s ultimately forced to hide her anxieties and making it seem like everything is okay. She isn’t allowed to exercise her mind in anyway. Although she already had depression, not being able to express herself and being controlled is what drove her to insanity. Being confined in a room with absolutely nothing to do would drive anyone insane. She is not named, or does not have an identity. I think by not being able to express herself or do what she wants to do is the one of the reasons she is not given an identity. I think the woman behind the wallpaper is a way to express her thoughts. She feels trapped just like the woman is behind the wallpaper.

            For someone with depression, it is more detrimental to stay inside, especially in a little confined room, and do absolutely nothing. Doing nothing all day but resting and being forced to forget about your problems only makes the mental illness worse. It is better to confront your mental illness and deal with it. Going out and keeping busy and exercising your imagination and expressing yourself is a better cure for depression than laying in bed all day, that only makes one feel worse. I was surprised when her husband not only forced her in the room then banned her from writing.

            In the text it says, “ I sometimes fancy that in my condition if I had less opposition and more society and stimulus-but John says the very worst thing I can do is think about my condition, and I confess it always makes me feel bad. So I will let it alone and talk about the house”( page 486). In this passage she even interrupts her own thoughts and self expressions about what she thinks is best for her by listening to her husbands commands by restating what he thinks is best. Her husband must command her around so much that she hears his voice in her head and what he is telling her how to think. Being locked in a room and not being able to express herself, she needs to focus on something, so she focuses so much on the wallpaper that she becomes obsessed.

            I think not being able to express herself and control her own thoughts is a representation of the woman hiding behind the wallpaper. She feels trapped and is trying to break free of her husbands control and also break free of her depression. Once she finally goes crazy and rips the wallpaper off, she feels free because by ripping the wallpaper off she is expressing herself and trying to deal with what she is going through in her own way. Also with depression, you loose a little sense of identity because it consumes you. I think by her ripping off the wallpaper, she had a break through. She was rebelling against her husband and by doing what she wanted to do. She was taking control of her life and trying to find herself again. Everyone deals with what they are going through differently. Her husbands control made her situation worse and she was forced to deal with it in a different, more psychotic way, than she maybe would have had to if she had the freedom to self express and control her own life.