Nature and Naturalism
When Reading Literature About
Nature, Consider…
• What is the author’s/narrator’s attitude about nature?
Reverential? Afraid? Respectful? Loving? Joyful? Identifying
the author’s tone can go a long way toward identifying the
theme.
• How is the relationship between the character(s) and the
natural world portrayed? Is “man vs. nature” the main conflict
of the story, or is the relationship between humanity and the
natural world a more harmonious one?
• Does nature reflect what is going on inside of a character? For
instance, if a character is having an emotional breakdown and a
storm starts raging outside, the author is using the natural
world (the “macrocosm”) to mirror changes in the “little
universe” of one human being (the “microcosm”).
Brief Quiz on “Traveling Through the
Dark” and “Sleeping in the Forest”
1. What is the hard choice the speaker has to
make in “Traveling Through the Dark”?
2. True or False: The speaker in “Sleeping in the
Forest” is afraid of being alone in the forest at
night.
Quick start questions
1. All three of these pieces we read for today ("To
Build a Fire" (handout), "Traveling through the
Dark" p. 657, "Sleeping in the Forest" p. 654) have
some similarities. What were they? What
connections can you see between them?
2. Write about a time when you have been "exposed to
the elements" or otherwise experienced the power
of nature. Did it influence the way you think about
nature? Can you relate your experience to one of
the works we read for today?
Background information on Jack
London
• Jack London spent time on the very creek that
was the man's destination “To Build a Fire” in
November of 1897, hoping to find gold during
the Klondike Gold Rush, which began with the
discovery of gold in the Klondike (an area in
Alaska) in 1896. Many men rushed north
thinking to make their fortunes and found cold,
bitter weather and inhospitable terrain they
weren't prepared for instead.
Miners climbing Chilkoot Pass
Jack London and Naturalism
London belonged to the “Naturalist” school of writers.
"Naturalism assumes that humans have little if any
control over what happens. Rather, things happen to
people, who are at the mercy of a variety of external
and internal forces…" from The Bedford Glossary of
Critical and Literary Terms
Another characteristic of Naturalist writing is its lack of
commentary on the events of the story.
How is “To Build a Fire” a “Naturalist” story? Do you
think that “Traveling Through the Dark” fits this
definition as well?
Jack London and Naturalism
Naturalism is related to the idea of “determinism.”
From the Stanford Philosophy Encyclopedia: "Causal
determinism is, roughly speaking, the idea that every
event is necessitated by antecedent events and
conditions together with the laws of nature."
In other words, every event happens because it must.
How does this apply to human thought and action in
the works we read for today?
Questions to consider:
• In “To Build a Fire,” is the man's fate inevitable?
What events let up to his certain demise? At what
point was his fate sealed?
• In “Traveling Through the Dark” what events
“necessitate” (cause to be necessary) the
speaker’s actions at the end of the poem?
• How does the relationship between the man and
the dog change over the course of the short story,
and what do you think that says about London’s
attitude towards “human” intelligence?
“Sleeping in the Forest”
• Both “To Build a Fire” and “Traveling in the
Dark” are about humans in direct contact with
nature – and so is "Sleeping in the Forest" p.
654. However, this last poem is quite different
in how it deals with the connections between
humanity and nature. How?
Nature as a source of self-knowledge?
• In all of these works, the speaker or main
character experiences an epiphany, a moment
of realization. What does each of these
characters know at the end of his/her work that
he/she did not know at the beginning? What
did he/she have to go through to get there?
Attitudes Towards Nature
• If you had to describe these three authors'
attitudes toward nature, what would you say
about each of them?