Review of Three Stories by Jack London
Jack London was a young man who went “north” to find fortune in the gold rush around the turn of the 20th century. Instead of prospecting his way to wealth, he found his “gold” in the remarkable contribution he made to American literature with stories and novels of captivating adventure. His fiction about hardy people in harsh lands are highlighted in three particular stories about Alaska and the Yukon–“To Build a Fire,” “White Silence,” and “To the Man on Trail.” These three expositions on the theme of survival not only display a highly readable writing style, but explain in fiction a lesson for all people: How the natural order in the world shapes destiny.
As an avid camper and back packer with a life-long passion for the sports, with fond and not so fond memories of different experiences, I always learn from my adventures. Even the unexpected and initially unpleasant are instructive to me for a better enjoyment of the outdoors. And all my trips (which never number what I would like to do) create in me a better understanding of my own thoughts and the personalities of those accompanying me.
My notebooks are full of writings, drawings, and samples of what I do and what I find when hiking over rugged terrain with 35-40 pounds of gear on my back (I have learned to pack lighter than that). Whether hiking along steep, rocky cliffs in slippery October rain, along melting cold rivers in April, or through an unidentifiable trail with snowshoes in February, a trip into the woods always requires careful planning of what I am doing, smart decisions on how I am doing it, a healthy respect for the where I am, and constant reminders of why I like doing it.
“To Build A Fire” is one of London’s most famous short stories, if not the most famous. A man with limited experience in the country ignores the wisdom of an old timer and the former sets out when the temperature drops lower than minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit. The environment becomes violently unpleasant as the mercury descends to 75 below–100 degrees below freezing. The man, ignorant of the danger and arrogant of his own abilities, falls through ice warmed by a spring. The man attempts to build the fire to dry his boots and his socks which are the key to surviving. A long way from any help from the camp toward where he was traveling, the man’s effort to warm and dry are defeated by the falling snow from a wind disturbed pine tree. The panic is immense. Desperate measures are thought and taken to save his life. The story is finished with the reader answering the question, “Does the man live or die?” Nature in the story, as in real life, is merciless on hubris.
“White Silence” is another story where an accident of nature (nature itself being unfeeling and neutral in the order of things) disrupts the otherwise comfortable view on human ability. In this wonderful work of short fiction, a man, his woman, and a native companion named Mamelute, travel across a land of hard snow and forest on sleds with dogs. About to traverse a section of wilderness frontier without expecting to gather four-hoofed food, the party eats their last feast of dried meat before the need to ration meager fare. Fate, a freak occurrence in nature, intervenes to bring tragedy. It is up to Mamelute to observe the spiritual traditions of his culture to find within himself the acceptance of events beyond human foresight or control.
The last story here reviewed, “To the Man on Trail,” sees another appearance of Mamelute, one of a group of grizzled frontier veterans in camp. While celebrating the holy birth in a warm cabin far from other settlements, a stranger on a sled, appears with his weary dogs from running hard and far that day–a feat that impressed the Christmas party. He tells his tale of pursuing a party of thieves who had passed through that day and left Mamelute’s camp hours earlier. It is only with the stranger setting out with rested team that the plot turns as a Mounted Police officer arrives with two local guides, having run his teams of dogs almost to death. The men from camp say little, feeling betrayed by the earlier stranger who earned their respect and camaraderie. It is up to Mamelute to vindicate all their trust in helping an unknown fellow of their own kind by explaining the facts of the mystery’s details he heard 10 months previous.
Even courage must be accompanied by honesty and compassion, as in “To the Man on Trail,” Mamelute’s blessing by way of toast to all who find themselves with exhausted team and bitter cold on a night of warm celebrations. Nature is cruel to arrogance and the crime of pride based upon it, illustrated by “To Build a Fire.” Finally, when nature conspires with fate and the timing of man’s destiny, the only solace are the spiritual principles learned in the void of barrenness. It is in recess of weary mind and spirit have men and women in all of pre-history and since only temporarily conquered the challenges posed by the environment.