Journal 16

Name: erin munchel

Journal 16 – Crane’s “The Blue Hotel” and London’s “To Build A Fire”

Read the following quote and discuss how it applies to the main characters in both stories. In the course of this discussion, address how each of the characters is both similar and different:

“Determinisim governs everything … The writer must study the inherited traits of individual character and the social condition of the time. Together, these elements determine the course of any action, the outcome of any life. Free will or self-determination is mostly an illusion, although chance is granted a role in human affairs. Still, even the effects of chance are obliterated in the inevitable course determined by the interaction of inherited character traits and the social environment.“

What happened to the main characters in each of the stories ws inevitable. In ‘The Blue Hotel’ the Suede’d actions led to his death. It was forshadowed in the beginning. The Suede is the outsider, and isn't fit to survive. He is violent, annoying, and has bad social anxiety. He has to drink in order to interact. He was very strange. He had a weakness for alcohol. His inability to handle alcohol plays a huge impact- although its beyond his control. He played a large part in his own death. The source of the Suede's fear is that he is in a place like the wild west, from things he has read or heard about. (real vs. ideal) He is timid the whole night, but after he drinks gin and becomes drunk, he gets very aggressive. Mr. Scully gave him the alcohol. He let the suede fight his son, Johnny Scully. (saying he was a cheater, which was foreshadowed). Mr. Blanc saw Johnny cheating and didn’t say anything, so he feels responsible because it may have stopped the fight. The cowboy says to Mr. Blanc that he didn’t do anything wrong. But at the fight, he was saying to John Scully to kill him. The Suede was afraid they were going to ganging up on him and was paranoid. But it was clear everyone was routing for Johnny. The cowboy thought the Suede was weird. At the end, the Suede wouldn't leave and still tried to start trouble. The person who comes in the hotel at the end stabs and kills him. In ‘To Build A Fire’ the protagonist fights against nature, which is completely out of control. He does not listen to anyone, and takes on nature himself. He could not have control over the weather conditions and his death was inevitable.