Adventurism In Human Nature
Human history is littered with example
where a few individual risked life and
limbs to venture into the unknown,
which then came to be discovered, thanks to
their spirit of adventurism or as
some would say, fool hardy bravado. Of course,
certain names come to mind,
Christopher Columbus, Captain James Cook, Lois and
Clark etc. There is
another side to this tale of fame as well. Even the success
stories sometimes
had a ring of failure about itself. A person might be a
pioneer in the field
of discovery but the fruits of his labor are enjoyed by
those who follow him.
He might in fact have served as an expendable instrument
in the road to
discovery, in the big schemes of things. Little do we know about
the glaring
failures of those who dared to and never lived to tell the tale of
their
supposed glory. The arctic and the Northern Alaskan territory
presented
similar challenges to the human spirit of the adventurism and
discovery. The
element of nature, the unfamiliar terrain, the extreme weather
and unforeseeable
circumstances all stacked up as worthy obstacles in the way
of anyone who dared
to explore its secrets and expansiveness, and fostered
and thought of overcoming
these. In the text under discussion, "To build a
fire" by Jack London, the
struggle between nature and man exemplifies the
difficulties in the quest for
adventurism whereby it can be said that much of
what was discovered, what was
new, came about through struggle rather than
co-operation. Even though the main
character foresees the big challenges
lying ahead of him, he sets off to pursue
it, through a mixture of ignorance,
indifference and resolve. This perception
follows the readers through out the
body of the text uphill the end "(L 16,
P1745". This shows him to be less
than prudent and a tad bit indifferent.
"(L 20, P 1745)". Continuing in
the same vein, it appears that main
character is perhaps taking things
lightly. Considering the journey itself,
which is presented as a significant
obstacle, it does present a contrast. The
contrast is between the degree of
difficulty and the lack of grasp for the
gravity of the situation which
presents itself (L 7, P 1745). Perhaps, no where
is this lack of preparedness
for the journey more exhibited than where he does
find himself in a hole
(moment of danger) e.g. where he acknowledges this.
"(L26, P1748)".
Perhaps the most compelling evidence of this fool hard
cockiness that is
bordering on madness is evident through the following. All of
the above
explained, have the cumulative effect of presenting a picture of a man
might
be a tough individual but not necessarily a prudent one. The journey
is
wrought with peril and indeed presents itself as a significant hurdle not
to be
taken lightly. There is danger of thin ice on the top of a water hole
or river
covered by soft snow. In the extreme weather, getting wet is as good
as dead!
"(L19, P1747)". That he does find himself in that situation is a
grim
reminder of the harsh reality. "(L24, P1747)". The implicit implication
is
ofcourse death by exposure to cold facilitated by his being wet. The
grimness of
the situation is further re-iterated in the following. "(L39,
P1747". When
he does try to control the situation by building the fire again
after his first
attempt ends in failure, he starts to freeze up. "L27,
P1751). When his
condition deteriorates and he begins to lose sensation, it
is the moment of
truth.(L18, P1753). These examples show that the dangers
were not overstated and
were real as they did in the end manifest themselves
to be such. Finally, the
challenge proves itself to be greater than the human
resolve arrayed against it
which breaks down the human pride and makes it
possible to accept the harsh
verdict of nature on its (nature’s) terms. The
fire time the reader senses a
hint of acceptance or a dent in the confidence
of the man is when it is said
that "(l44, P 1750). When his second attempt to
build a fire also meets the
same fate as his first one, then he options begin
to border on the extreme.
(L34, P 1752). We begin to see the progression of
his state of panic.(L26,
P1753). This is the next step in this
progression as he downgrades his options
from losing limb to losing life. The
same is re-iterated by the following (L37,
P 1757). Ofcourse, when it
does dawn on him that there is no reprieve, the panic
sets in. This is where
he has the last burst for survival (L12, P 1754).
Finally, the struggle
against the impending death seems so futile, that
acceptance of death
presents itself as an attractive option – a drastic
deterioration of options.
"(L29, P 1754). Thus hero has a fall from grace.
Pride comes before a
fall is no longer a metaphor. The nature asserts itself on
the man who
struggled for all that was worth but had to bow to the verdict of
the
nature.