The American Wilderness

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how two most notable authors Jack London and Gary Paulson, both discuss in their work, nature as a force that human beings must fight with, rather than be a natural and uncontested part of. It analyzes how Jack London's "The Call of the Wild", along with his famous short story, "To Build a Fire," both revolve around the fight of human beings to survive in a harsh, natural world that seems unnatural to civilized creatures because of its cold and extremity. It shows how although Gary Paulson is a contemporary author, his work "Brian's Song" is, despite the two author's different personal experiences and the separation of so many years of literary time, is nearly identical in its concerns to London's works.

From the Paper:

"In London's work, human beings are always clearly pitted against nature in a struggle. London did not view nature in a romantic vision. Human beings were not part of nature in the sense that the natural world supports their development and survival, like the civilized world. Human beings are part of the wilderness in that they are, like the dog Buck, forced to resort to their primal instincts when in the cold, when fighting against elemental forces. They are war with other creatures for their very survival as well, as the wilderness is full of predators. In London's works, human beings are not "reflected" in nature's wilderness. Rather nature offers a proving ground for humanity, an opportunity for human beings to demonstrate animal intelligence and cunning."

More papers on The American Wilderness:

• Analytical Essay # 41893 : "The American Indian Wilderness"
• Term Paper # 129811 : "The American Dream"
• Book Review # 29901 : "Wilderness and the American Mind"

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