Man versus Nature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Man versus Nature - Essay Example On the contrary sometimes it becomes like a foe of man in the form of the grim harshness of the rough oceans, thundering and sometimes deadly lightning, earthquakes, tsunamis, violent blizzard and fatal frozen climate. The nature proves its valour through various such disasters and calamities which in a moment destroy the human existence. Famous English poet, William Blake shows two contradictory forms of nature one is innocent (Lamb) and another is fierce, violent (Tiger) in his collection of poems â€Å"Songs of Innocence,† and â€Å"Song of Experience.† Through it the nature always shows the fragility of human existence. Nature is neutral. It is the man, whose perception is different. While discussing on the topic â€Å"Man v/s Nature,† The theory of naturalism is important to be discussed to understand the relationship between nature and its inhabitants. Key words: Naturalism, nature, man, harmonious, indifferent The Theory of Naturalism: The theory of Natura lism can be defined as a theory in literature which highlights the role of environment upon human characters. The writers between the age of 1880 and 1940 were influenced by the theory of Naturalism. ... The Application of the Naturalism theory in â€Å"Open Boat,† and â€Å"To Build a Fire† The same theory of Naturalism is the base of many writers of the age of 1880 and 1940. Among them were the two major writers, Stephen Crane and Jack London. Their short stories have been taken into consideration for the discussion. The first one is â€Å"Open Boat,† written by Stephen Crane, and another is â€Å"To Build a Fire,† by Jack London. Both of these stories are based on the eternal struggle of man against nature and their partial or complete defeat to fight with against nature. These stories depict man’s fight for survival against extreme adverse conditions of nature. â€Å"The Open Boat† is a true story based on the actual incident happened in the writer’s life when he was travelling to Cuba to work as a newspaper correspondent. He was caught in the fierce ocean and was fighting for life for 30 hours along. He had been accompanied by his three companions. His four characters of this story include the Captain, the oiler, the correspondent, and the cook. These are the human character and one more character appears throughout the story which is non human and abstract, and it is nature. Nature has played the role of an antagonist of this story. It can be described as a revenge story in which the revenge is being taken by nature according to Crane’s point of view. At least the tone of the story expresses the enmity between man and the nature. All of these four men are ceaselessly trying to save their boat from the menace of swamping. The writer wants to indicate that nature has a lack of concern of what is happening with the man and thus behaves like a retaliating antagonist. Indifference of Nature towards Man The birds are sitting comfortably and they