Situational Crime Prevention

Posted by Nicole on December 5th, 2019

Jack London is famous for his depiction of the human’s fight with wild nature. His three short stories “To Build a Fire,” “The Heathen,” and “The Law of Life” are real examples of ruthless confrontation between a man and wilderness, in which a man is doomed to lose. However, the author does not make an irretrievable tragedy out of death. He presents it as a natural ending of the life cycle. A man as a part of nature should be prepared to meet death as a logical outcome that is subjected to the laws of life.

The first short story by Jack London is “To Build a Fire.” The heading reflects the main idea of the story, which describes the attempt of a man to build a fire and save his life from being frozen to death. The story takes place in Alaska and narrates about the newcomer who is not experienced enough to travel at such a low temperature alone. Despite the fact that he was warned about all the dangers of Yukon’s weather, he treats advices as “womanish” precautions. He underestimates the seriousness of the situation and overestimates his chance of survival. The fire in this story is the only thing that can save the man. Even the husky dog understands the importance of fire and follows a person who can build a shelter from frost. The first mistake of the man is wet legs, but he manages to solve this problem and help the dog get rid of ice as well. However, the second and vital mistake of the man that led him to death was his lack of knowledge. He built a fire under the tree, and melted snow destroyed all his work. Numb fingers were not able to lit matches, and, after numerous attempts, the whole box of matches, which was the only thing to produce a flame, was burning. The man could not save his fire, and it was a sign of his coming death. The desire to warm up hands brought up a crazy idea to his mind. Husky was the only warm thing in a snowy desert. Nevertheless, even the decision to kill the dog and warm his arms in its blood was unsuccessful. Obviously, even if he succeeded, warmness would quickly chill out, and the man’s hands would be frozen again. As a result, the man succumbs to nature that is much stronger and has no mercy to people who unwisely make an impossible quest alone. In this short story, the man accepts death after understanding that there is no other hope. Now, he has no fear of death because it is completely natural to die. He prepares himself for “the most comfortable and satisfying sleep he had ever known”. Husky as a nature representative is an observer that remains alive and returns to the place with fire.

The second short story “The Heathen” drives the reader from frosty Alaska to the sea motifs that were also aplenty in London’s writings. The plot of the story tells about the life and friendship between Charley and Otto. Their relationships began after their trip on Petite Jeanne and its crash in a hurricane. The first appearance of death is visible from the very beginning of the story when the crew and voyagers die from disease one by one. The ship turns into a vessel of sentenced who are can neither escape nor avoid their part. The author also depicts how differently people treat death, and how they manage to overcome their fears and restrain instincts. However, people on the boat experience another twist of fate the hurricane is approaching. With the example of Captain Oudouse, the reader can observe how the approach of death eliminates all the attributes of humanness. A man cannot think logically, looking into the face of death. After all, the blindness and panic of the captain dispatched him. Contrary to the captain, Charley took the human side and shared his hatch with the heathen. This decision saved both of them because they could support each other and avoid falling into sleep. The feeling of gratitude and loyalty motivated Otto to dedicate his life to the master. For several times Otto risked his life to save Charley; he gave him valuable advices and always was beside him no matter of the circumstances. Charley said about Otto, “He made me”. Their relationships had lasted for seventeen years, and Otto gave his life for the master without the slightest regret. When Charley was at the point of giving up, Otto saved him again. Otto passed away with a kind of completed duty: he had a chance to say goodbye, and he was sure that the master was in safety. Another London’s character lost his life with a clear understanding that it was the end. Nature swallowed him literally and figuratively. The barehanded Bora Bora heathen had no chance against the hungry shark in the open sea. In fact, this heathen had much more virtues than any other believer on his native island. He was frank in his feelings and ready to defend his ideas and friends at all costs.

The third story “The Law of Life” depicts the tradition of a Yukon tribe to leave old people while moving to another place. Old Koskoosh who was blind and lame would have been a burden to the young and strong family. He knew his destiny by hearing his family preparing to leave. He remembered himself leaving his father in the same way. Old Koskoosh had a small heap of dry wood that measured the longitude of his life. After the wood finished, he would have died from the cold. However, wild nature did not make him wait for so long. Wolves smelled the prey, and they were not going to stop. Koskoosh remembered watching the wolf pack hunting an old moose. They followed him until he had strength neither to fight nor to escape. At that very moment, he looked exactly like that old moose that was doomed to become prey for hungry wolves. The first instinct motivated Koskoosh to protect himself with a blazing stick, but the thought “Why should I cling to life?” crossed his mind. He would die in any case. Thus, there was no point to resist. The main idea of the story is expressed in the last two questions: “What did it matter after all? Was it not the law of life?” Every living thing will eventually die, and Jack London presents it not as a tragedy but as an essential part of the human being.

To conclude, the three stories “To Build a Fire,” “The Heathen,” and “The Law of Life” end up with the death of the protagonists. Despite the fact that they have no other choice, the characters succumb to death voluntarily. They accept it as a natural process of human existence. The unknown man in the snowy desert of Yukon stops rushing and panicking and peacefully falls asleep. Otto jumps into the sea with a shark, subconsciously knowing that it will cost him life. Koskoosh puts the blazing stick down because, no matter how he tries, old man who has already lived his life has no chance against wolves. In the writings of Jack London, nature is the only god that decides who will live, and who is weaker and deserves to die.

About the author: Nicole Schulzer works in a team of dedicated writers and tutors belonging to diverse fields to serve you in the best manners. This is the best option of the letter writing services writing staff.