Instability of Characters in London’s To Build a Fire and Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart

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Henry James’ notion that a character is as intriguing as their response to specific situations is backed by the works of several literary composers in stories with one or several characters. “To Build a Fire” by Jack London and Edgar Allen Poe’s story “The Tale-Tell Heart” are fictional compositions that shed light on some of the most destructive habits of humans and their inability to cope once they reach their breaking point. In both stories, the main characters rely on their instinct to make critical decisions but are driven beyond their capabilities. The authors of both short stories adopted the themes of despair and the struggle between humans and nature to lead their audience into empathizing with characters while anticipating their end because they neglected their instincts.

“To build a Fire” is a short story that features a male character and his dog on their journey through the piercing cold and ice forests toward a boys’ camp where they would seek refuge. However, the man was not successful in his venture as his trip was cut short by his negligence and mistrust of an older man’s advice and his instinct. In the story’s beginning, the man realizes that the weather is colder than usual but does not acknowledge how this might impact his health (Harrison 315). Jack London suggests, “As he turned to go on, he spat speculatively. There was a sharp, explosive crackle that startled him. He spat again. And again, in the air, before it could fall, the spittle crackled in the air. Undoubtedly it was colder than fifty below, much colder, he did not know. But the temperature did not matter” (London 120). The man noted several other times that the temperature was low. Nevertheless, the man paid no attention to his instincts, thus leading to his demise.

“The Tale-Tell Heart” takes a different twist as the narrator’s inability to control their senses, thoughts, and ambitions led to his fall as he confessed to committing murder and surrendered himself to the police when he could have easily gotten away with his crime. At the story’s beginning, the narrator suggests that he is not mad for doing what he did and professes that he was ill, but his disease enhanced his mind, senses, and feelings. The character says, “I did not hate the old man; I even loved him. He had never hurt me. I did not want his money. I think it was his eye. His eye was like the eye of a vulture, the eye of one of those terrible birds that watch and wait while an animal dies, and then fall upon the dead body and pull it to pieces to eat it” (Poe 64). Therefore, the only obsession that the narrator has with the man is his strange eye, but his inability to control his feelings drives him to commit the heinous act and take the blame.

The factors that contributed to the downfall of the character featured in “To build a Fire” were his neglect of critical advice offered by an old man over his intuition and misguided ambitions of obtaining refuge once he arrived at his destination. The man thought of and remembered how the older man told him of the dangers people traveling across the snow faced (Harrison 321). The author notes, “He remembered the advice of the old man on Sulphur Creek, and smiled. The man had been severe when he said that no man should travel alone in that country after 50 below zero. Well, here he was; he had had the accident; he was alone, and he had saved himself. Those old men were rather womanish, he thought. All a man must do was to keep his head, and he was all right” (London 72). However, he later realized that his ideas were far-fetched and agreed that no man could survive a journey through the snow without a dedicated human companion.

On the other hand, the components that facilitated the crimes and downfall of the narrator in “The Tale-Tell Heart” are his conflicting feelings and internal crisis as they pushed him to commit the murder. The narrator was hesitant to kill his victim because he had no substantial reason. However, his thought of the old man’s eye drove him to the edge because of the cold feeling he experienced. He suggests, “When the old man looked at me with his vulture eye, a cold feeling went up and down back; even my blood became cold. And so, I finally decided I had to kill the old man and close that eye forever” (Poe 65-65). Although the narrator sought to carry out an irrational act, his conflicting emotions and thoughts convinced him that he was sane because he planned his actions for more than a week. Thus, the narrator’s thoughts and ideas suggest that he realized his mistakes but resisted acknowledging them because he believed in his intuition and sanity.

“To Build a Fire” depicts the battle between man and nature, proving that natural factors are much more powerful and can destroy any human. The character in the story heard many tales of how people were lost in the vast snow but did not forecast that he would fall, victim, because he thought he had everything in place. In the end, nature seemed to work against him as all the fires he built went off, and his matchsticks all caught fire (). Subsequently, the character slowly loses his senses and cannot feel his face, fingers, and legs. After a while, the traveler fell into a deep sleep to symbolize how nature overcame his powers. The author notes that “the man dropped into what seemed to him the most comfortable and satisfying sleep he had ever known. Later, the dog howled loudly, and still it moved close to the man and caught the smell of death” (London 79). Therefore, the man succumbed to the harsh weather conditions and did not have the opportunity to narrate his tale because he struggled with the forces of nature.

Similarly, the narrator in “The Tale-Tell Heart” pits his ego against human instincts and attempts to justify his wicked actions but fails. The character purports, “So you think that I am mad? A madman cannot plan. But you should have seen me. During that week, I was as friendly to the old man as I could be, and warm and loving” (Poe 64). In addition, the man knew he was sick but fought off the idea by suggesting that his illness made him stronger and more sensitive. Although the narrator was sure of getting away with the crime, his guilt turned upon him as his situation escalated out of control. The narrator comments as if playing a game with them, I asked them to sit down and talk for a while. My easy, quiet manner made the police officers believe my story. So they sat talking with me in a friendly way” (Poe 67). Nevertheless, the man could not stomach his actions and kept hearing voices. Therefore, he used all his might to justify and evade his actions but was unsuccessful, as they were inhuman.

The most notable feature of “To build a Fire” and “The Tale-Tell Heart” is the author’s use of empathy to draw his audience’s attention to the character’s plight and suffering. London describes how the man felt a sharp pain but trod on due to his belief in achieving his goals. The traveler thought about the advice he was given several times but could do nothing to alter his fate because of limited options. In addition, he considered all the possible solutions to save his life, including killing his dog but was unsuccessful (Carroll 142). However, the man’s fate is evident when his body systems start failing, and his plans to light a fire end up harming him. Similarly, the narrator in “The Tale-Tell Heart” suffered from several issues that pushed him to his breaking point. Judging by the story’s plot, the character might have been insane because the voices in his head did not stop even after he had murdered the old man. Instead, they became louder and resulted in more suffering, ultimately forcing him to surrender.

Another notable trait of the characters in “To build a Fire” and “The Tale-Tell Heart” is their struggle with obstacles that require conquering in different ways. In “To Build a Fire,” the main character resists and fights obvious signs that warn him from making his trip in the cold weather but proceeds. The man’s arrogance makes him ignorant, leading to his demise (Carroll 139). The traveler assumed he was bigger and better than others with more experience and did not accept that nature would endanger his life. On the other hand, the character in “The Tale-Tell Heart” fights with the voice inside his head or yet another personality detached from his humanity. I believe the narrator occasionally regains his senses during some periods of the day, but by night, his alter ego kicks in and takes complete control of his mind and actions. As a result, he is not sure of the morality of his actions and goes back and forth to justify his actions and convince the reader of his actions.

“To Build a Fire” and “The Tale-Tell Heart” are two different stories that feature characters with fragile mental states and unstable mind frames. Although they face different circumstances and are not fighting the same battle, their actions lead the readers to wonder about the severity of their instability. Both stories describe instances when individuals argue against their instincts and attempt to fight against nature. However, both characters fail because of factors that push them to their limits. The traveler in “To Build a Fire” loses his life to the harsh weather while his dog walks free, and the narrator in “The Tale-Tell Heart” cannot keep up with his act because of voices in his head. Nevertheless, the authors of both stories explain the characters’ experiences in detail and solicit empathy from readers, who feel the individuals suffering but question their sanity and rationality.

Works Cited

Carroll, Joseph. “Death in literature.” Evolutionary perspectives on death. Springer, Cham, 2019. 137–159. Web.

Harrison, Dave, and Knox Lively. “To Build a Fire.” Achieving DevOps. Apress, Berkeley, CA, 2019. 311–367. Web.

London, Jack. “To Build a Fire.” Literature An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing 10th ed. New York: Pearson/Longman 119-29. Print.

Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Literature An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing 10th ed. New York: Pearson/Longman 413-16. Print.

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Instability of Characters in London’s To Build a Fire and Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart

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