To Build A Fire 'And The Lowest Animal'

Though London illustrates how nature is a difficult external force, the man is responsible for his misfortune, as his circumstances are the consequences of his choices. The narrator explains that the man was traveling ?to take a look at the possibilities of getting out logs in the spring? (978); more than likely, he did not have to perform this task, which required taking ?the roundabout way? (978). Also, despite being a ?newcomer to the land? (977), the man fails to bring a human companion to the ?unprotected tip of the planet? (982): just as the Earth is exposed to space here, as the narrator describes, the man has little defense against the cold. The man is not ignorant of the extreme cold, but rather, arrogant; though warned about the conditions (982), the man does not bring anything except a small lunch (978). Another sign of his lack of preparation is his failure to sufficiently protect himself from frostbite: he ?experienced a pang of regret that he had not devised a nose-strap...[that] passed across the cheeks, as well, and saved them? (979). Granted, the man can not see the water he falls into (981), but the fundamental responsibility for the journey is his. Furthermore, he elects to build the fire to thaw himself under the spruce tree, which proves disastrous (983). The narrator notes, ?It was his own fault, rather, his mistake? (982); the man also recognizes this, and knows he

2. “When a circus came and went, it left us all burning to become clowns; the first negro minstrel show that came to our section left us all suffering to try that kind of life; now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates. These ambitions faded out, each in its turn; but the ambition to be a steamboatman always remained.” This shows the humor in Twain’s work. Additionally, this also shows humor, “I soon discovered two things. One was that a vessel would not be likely to sail for the mouth of the Amazon under ten or twelve years; and the other was that the nine or ten dollars still left in my pocket would not suffice for so imposing an exploration as I had planned, even if I could afford to wait for a ship. Therefore, it followed that I must contrive a new career.”

Realism is an American literary style that emerged after the Civil War. Some common characteristics of realism are a focus on common people and realistic

Have you ever heard the word “Realism” in literature and thought it was an act of being real ? In fact, Realism was actually the response to Romanticism in which prior to Realism was a time of growth in American Literature. Realism was considered to be a style of writing in which authors sought after revealing life as it truly was. Many of the stories consisted of real life people and real life situations that readers could related to in their daily lives. This time period lasted from the late 1860’s until the early 1900’s. Authors such as Henrik Ibsen who write the play “Hedda Gabler” and Gustave Flaubert who wrote “A Simple Heart” emphasized the main character as being unhappy but somewhat heroic.

Realism is a historical movement in figurative arts and literature from 1840-1870-80. The objective was aimed at giving a truthful and impartial representation of the world. People were also expected to give up ideas of constitutions and their mechanisms. Realism was a wide spread movement involving painting, literature, and drama in several European countries. Some French realist painters were going to look at are Daumier, Courbet and Millet.The radical shift was by artist portraying ordinary people in everyday settings such as workshops, offices and fields. (Nochlin).

The birth of the Realism and Modernism era appeared during the late eighteenth century to early nineteenth century. Both Realism and Modernism are evident in many of Edith Wharton’s literary works. Realism came from chaotic times where it “encompasses the period of time from the Civil War”(Realism from American). The United States grew enormously after the civil war with “the rapid growth in industrialism and urbanization, an expanding population base due to immigration, and a relative rise in middle-class” (Realism from American) influencing a “fertile literary environment” (Realism from american) which has depicted social change and the middle-class through literary work. Realism in literary works

The realism period lasted from 1860 to 1890. It is broadly defined as “The faithful representation of reality” or “verisimilitude.” It was a literary technique practiced by many schools of writing and denotes a particular kind of subject matter, especially middle class life. It was reaction against the mass views of romanticism, and was a movement that encompassed the whole country (Campbell). It had a positive literary program with its own set of premises and social ambitions, and tried to represent life in recognizable ways. This generation believes that an individual can make free moral choices, and that if they aren’t biased, they can make a choice that would benefit them and the world as a whole (Scharnhorst 58-59). Realistic writers had an interest in the scientific method and influenced by rational philosophy. Though many critics believe that there is no major difference between realism and naturalism. William Harmon and Hugh Holman said, “Where romanticists transcend the immediate to find the ideal, and naturalists plumb the actual or superficial to find the scientific laws that control its actions, realists center their attention to a remarkable degree on the immediate, the here and now, the specific action and the verifiable consequence.” Realism espouses a deterministic philosophy while naturalism focusing more on lower classes. Writers in this period wrote fiction devoted to accurate representation and exploration of American lives in various contexts. In American literature, realism lasted from the Civil War to the turn of the century, and as the United States grew after the war, several factors provided a fertile literacy environment (Campbell). Realism tried to not stick to one type of person and changed the type of person often. Realist writers often regarded their works as testing their character. Henry James often had an American character face a heavy burden of their past by

Realism is a literary movement that spans from 1860 up until to around 1890. This type of literature is a reaction from society no longer agreeing with the Romantic mindset of idealism. The days had passed of wishful, idealized, and fantastical versions of the how the masses viewed the world. Realism is an effort to represent reality, document experience that is based in the here and now, with a focus on characters rather

The American writer Jack London used the writing concept of naturalism in his short story

In the 19th century of America, there are certain changes in the society and politics resulting from the expansion to the west America as well as civil wars. Famous artist in America turned to reality as a way to bring their feelings and concerns during that time. For those concerns that stem from realities includes widening gap in social class where there were class struggles among those of the white people and negro, and misjudgment between Americans and exotic immigrants. Those famous authors like Mark Twain and Henry James wrote down social and psychological transformations bring out in the nation by creating removed, impartial status of daily life. In order to bring readers to be fascinated and thoughtful by their novels and to depict their character and the reader’s setting to life, Mark Twain in the adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Henry James showed the reality of life in his story Daisy Miller. There are two main part of realism definitions help to understand about the realism novels: the objectively depict skills which contain the texts appeal what authors really want to express instead of mentioning directly from author’s words, and real details which reflect real and historical social imagines, and make readers have resonances with authors.

Realism is a major style of writing that emerged in English, European, and American Literature in the nineteenth century (9). The key principles of this literary style are the insistence upon and defence of the “commonplace”, characters being more important than plot, attacks upon romanticism and romantic writers, an emphasis on morality, which is often self-realized and upon an examination of realism, and the concept of realism as a realization of democracy. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , written by Mark Twain, is a perfect archetype of a novel written in the style of realism, as it satisfies all of the aforementioned principles that are characteristic of the style.

Realism is the art of exposing the hardcore truth in a form of literature while keeping it creative in its fashion. Realism, in itself is a type of literature I am the fondest of because although the truth hurts sometimes, it will always be better than a sweet lie. Most of the literary realism I have experienced has worked hand in hand with romantics as it exposes the truth behind marriages in the 18th and 19th centuries. The two stories I have read that stood out the most to me on the grounds of literary realism are: Editha by William Dean Howells and The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

Realism, in strictest terms, was a literary movement that found it’s footing in the mid-1800s in France, quickly spreading its meaning into Europe, Russia, and the United States. Realism, itself, is all about allowing an author to use his or her words to illustrate the real world around them. Realist authors often wrote about ordinary citizens, such as you and I, and giving these characters a meaning that many readers wouldn’t initially see. By doing this, these authors prove that every life is meaningful, and drama, whether we want it or not, is ever-present in our lives.

Realism is awriting style that focuses on ordinary people and their day to day lives. Many realists and realism were inspired by the enlightenment and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe had a lot of realism in his stories. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the author of “The Erl-King,” was a famous romanticist writer who left a legacy behind him after death. Goethe created a variety of ballads, lyrics, poems, and more that shaped legacy, making him one of the leading writers in romanticism and realism of his time. In the ballad, “The Erl-King”, the loss of the father’s son and Goethe’s loss of interest in his lovers portrays realism that many modern readers can relate to because of the loved ones they’ve lost in their past. Goethe also

Realism is not a new concept. Classical Realism has its roots firmly placed in ancient Greece at the time of Thucydides where in the ‘History of the Poloponneasean War’ he wrote “The strong do what they have the power to do, the weak accept what they have to accept” (Thucydides 1972: 402).