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Abcarian and Koltz define the Human Condition as, “Man strives to give order
and meaning to his life, to reduce the mystery and unpredictability that constantly
threatens him. Life is infinitely more complex and surprising than we imagine, and the
categories we establish to give it order and meaning are, for the most part ‘momentary
stays against confusion.’ At any time, the equilibrium of our lives, the comfortable
image of ourselves and the world around us, may be disrupted suddenly by something
new, forcing us into painful reevaluation. These disruptions create pain, anxiety, even
terror, but also wisdom and awareness.” A way to simplify and breakdown two different
characters and their predicaments, is to remember to find the disruption, the emotional
response, the action taken, and the wisdom gained. Each one of these words has a
distinctive meaning that helps a reader connect two different characters to the same point.
Montresor in “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe and the man from “To
Build a Fire” by Jack London, both are ideal examples of Abcarian and Koltzs’ definition
of the Human Condition.
The disruption in the story of Montresor occurs around the insult upon his name.
Throughout the entire story, the character Montresor expresses his deep feelings of
revenge to a man named Fortunato. He puts together a plan that no one will ever know
which will get revenge on this Fortunato. Montresor’s emotional response is a scheme
involving going into a dark and lonely place, and assuring that Fortunato will not return.
Montresor tricks Fortunato to come by asking him to test wine with him. Fortunato
agrees and follows Montresor to the catacombs adding to his already drunk state. When
Montresor feels the time is right, he forces Fortunato into a niche in the wall of the wine
cellar and chains him to the ground. Montresors action makes Fortunato delirious and
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when Montresor begins to fill in the niche, it doesn’t sink into Fortunato. He hopes that it
is a joke, but deep down he knows that he will die. He begs Montresor up until he only
has one more brick to put into place. Montresor puts the last stone into place and leaves
Fortunato to age with the wine. He remains there for half of a centaury without anyone
knowing. Montresor lives with the guilt for the rest of his life, and only when he is on his
death bed, confesses what he has done to a catholic priest. Montresor gained the wisdom
that he was the cause of another mans death, and living with that guilt is just as painful.
He lived his entire life knowing that a man was buried in a wine celler. He kept the
secret with him to his death bed, and has always felt the guilt. The wisdom he gained
dealt with the concept of suffering and death, something that he may be doing to the
greater extent then what Fortunato did.
The disruption in Jack London’s story of a “chechaquo,” or a newcomer, is that
the newcomer described ignores what is told to him and starts on a trail by himself in
temperatures that go into the deep 70 degrees below zero. This mans story deals with
lack of imagination and denial. He then finds himself unable to make a fire, and unable
to work his hands and feet. He has a mixed emotional response to this, and begins to
become frustrated, but at the same time, remains calm. He successfully makes a fire, but
it is soon put out by the tree that he is under. His action is to keep trying to build a fire,
but without movement of his hands he struggles. He soon realizes that he cannot make a
fire, and that he cannot really do anything to make his situation better. He thinks about
killing his dog companion and warm himself with the carcass, but soon realizes that it
would be impossible. He become frantic and runs towards his destination, but he soon
realizes that his life is about to end. He lies in the snow and sees the men whom he was
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warned by. He realizes that he made a mistake and that he should have listened. The
man realizes that he was too closed minded and that he was book smart when it came to
the snow, but not street. He realized that he would die in the snow because he didn’t
listen and didn’t believe. He gains all this wisdom before he dies.
Breaking down the stories into the disruption, emotional response, action, and
wisdom, makes it much easier to understand and apply to the Human Condition. If you
were to do this with any story, you would come to the conclusion that everything would
make sense parallel to the quote. By doing this with short stories, you start to apply it to
your own life and your own problems. Everything falls under these four steps; just like
everything falls under the Human Condition.