关于To Build a Fire的论文吧？.doc

Name: Summer Student Number: 12110314Class Number: 1617 Class Time: Tuesday 10:35a.m.Date: July 18th, 2014 “To Build a Fire”, Topic 3Respect the role of nature, the eternal themeThe short story to build a Fire written by Jack London presented a picture that a man was struggling with nature but fated to death. In the story, the man following with a wolf-dog traveled in the Yukon on an extremely cold morning. As ignoring the suggestion of an old man and the extremely cold weather, he made some mistakes which result in his body temperatures drop. Though he tried to build a fire for twice to keep warm, he failed and finally dead. From that story, a theme is clear showed: human actions should respect the role of nature in our lives. If not, men will eat the “bitter pill” which is made by them.The mans death shows the power of nature. In the story, the elements of nature are clearly shown as the cold temperature, snow, and the water from springs that the man is unable to see. Each one of these things plays a part in the mans death no matter how hard he tries to avoid them. For example, the man is aware of the dangerous springs that are around him. In the story London says, “He knew that the coldest snaps never froze these springs, and he knew likewise their danger” (London). The man definitely knows parts of the springs are not frozen, but he is unable to avoid them and falls into the water, which finally lead his cloth been wet and frozen. And he tries to make a fire and no matter his effort, the fire either does not light or it keeps going out, and during his final attempt snow falls from a tree and puts it out. The nature is powerful and no matter how talent human is, it remains much mystery. So, human actions should respect the role of nature in our lives. But, the death of the man is not only caused by nature, but also by the man himself, which shows that if man does not respect the nature, he will suffer the consequences. In the story the man ignored the suggestion that dont travel alone in such cold weather. And he didnt realize the actual temperature is not fifty degree below zero but seventy degree below zero. But the most stupid is that he never goes back! Once he had given up his travel and returned to his start place, he would not be frozen to death. All of these contributed to his death. And humans weakness in body also is a limited part “It did not lead him to meditate upon his frailty as a creature of temperature, and upon mans frailty in general, able only to live within certain narrow limits of heat and cold; and from there on it did not lead him to the conjectural field of immortality and mans place in the universe.” (London). His overconfidence and careless made him get into trouble.Conversely, the dog who is a symbol of creatures respect nature finally survived. The dog survives because he is naturally equipped (fur, wild instinct) to handle that kind of weather, while the man is not. Its not that the dog did anything better than the man did, but a nature-given fate. A naturalistic author like London shows us that nature is always a cure force that we struggle against. Though we have the intellect, we are arrogant to believe we can overcome natural laws. In the story the dog did nothing but passively follow the man and go back to the place where there are human and fire when it found the man dead. This contrast makes the mans struggle even more pathetic. The theme is still relevant no matter the difference of time and nation. The theme that human actions should respect the role of nature in our lives still relevant in todays society. Many human activities ignore natures law and lead to bad consequence. For example, global warming and climate change become more serious because of human activities. “The overwhelming majority of scientists agree that our globe is undergoing major climate change. They also agree that the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is rising significantly.” “The rate of climate change is now so fast we are struggling to adapt our philosophies, economics, and lifestyle to slow it down. We must alter the way we live or we will suffer staggering consequences.” Seen from these sentences, the theme is proved to be relevant today. Whats more, the theme of that human actions should respect the role of nature in our lives is related to Chinese Taoism idea of “inaction”, which means nature had ruled and will always rule the world, so human neednt take more action, just respect the natures law. The book Tao Te Ching by Laozi, translated by James Legge says, “When there is this abstinence from action, good order is universal.” It has the same meaning. Though the book is written by an American author, the theme is relevant in Chinese people lives.In conclusion, the Naturism story “To Build a Fire” presents the theme: human actions should respect the role of nature in our lives. The mans death and the dogs survive proved the truth. And the theme still is relevant no matter of different time and different nation.Cite:Jack London. “To Build a Fire”, n.d. /buildafire.html . 10 July 2014.Kellie Tabor-Hann (AL). Crane, London, and Literary Naturalism. Edsitement, n.d. /lesson-plan/crane-london-and-lit