Journal #16

Crane’s “The Blue Hotel” and London’s “To Build A Fire”

In Crane’s “The Blue Hotel”, the Swede proves that a combination of character and social conditions can lead to a predetermined ending. The Swede thinks that he is in the Wild West when he enters the hotel because he was influenced by too many dime novels. He is mentally unstable and declares that he will die in this hotel like so many other people have, although no one has died in that hotel. The inn keeper gives that man something to drink in order to calm him down. The Swede became belligerent and was unable to handle alcohol well. This character trait was the determining factor that leads to his death. Because the Swede was unstable, he gets into a fight with Johnny and is convinced that everyone is siding against him. The social environment, were the Swede thinks he is, adds to his hysteria. After beating Johnny, the Swede becomes even more quarrelsome and berates a stranger who enters. The Swede was stabbed and died just as fate had predicted. This is a perfect example of a self-fulfilling prophesy which takes his free will out of the equation.

In London’s “To Build a Fire”, the man is a victim of fate and the environment. He is determined to get back to his boys and ignores all the advice from the old timer. The old timer told him not to go out when it is 50 below or colder. The man’s character leads him to risk his life in order to get back to his camp. The dog’s instincts tell it that extreme cold is dangerous but the man’s doesn’t. The man is ignorant to this environment and that leads to his death. He ignores the dangers around him and becomes too numb to even start a fire. His free will was only an illusion. After entering into that environment woefully unprepared, his death was inevitable. The man was unable to exercise any pull over his destiny because fate had already determined his path.