Exploring Futility in “The Chrysanthemums,” “To Build a Fire,” and “The League of Old Men”

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Annotated Bibliography

Exploring Futility in John Steinbeck’s “The Chrysanthemums,” And Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” and “The League of Old Men” Hashemipour, Saman, Sağlan Furkan, and Ömürcan Türkoğlu. “A Twentieth-Century Countrywoman in Steinbeck’s ‘The Chrysanthemums’: A Socio-Cultural Study of Oppression.” International Journal of Linguistics, Literature, and Translation (IJLLT), vol. 2., no. 3., 2019, pp. 36-41.

This article from a peer-reviewed academic journal is published by a collective of scholars, including a lecturer and two researchers, from Girne American University, Turkey. The article explores the symbolism of Elisa as the main character in Steinbeck’s “The Chrysanthemums” and especially her representation of the ignored and oppressed women of her time. No methods are explicitly identified in the article, and the authors use a combination of direct quotes from the story and additional sources commenting on its historical context. The main argument is that, while Elisa symbolizes the unfavorable situation experienced by the early 20^th century women, the chrysanthemums represent her hope that is eventually rooted out and destroyed. While fairly simple, the argument is easy to agree with, and the authors develop it with sound logic and sufficient reasoning.

This source can be useful for the paper by demonstrating how the futility of certain endeavors can be built-in in the existing social structures, and the attempts to overcome them result in unyielding pressure. The author’s reflection on the historical context and particularly the “limited social freedom” allotted to the protagonist is particularly useful in this respect (Hashemipour et al. 36). It can contribute to the discussion by showing how social mores can be just as insurmountable an obstacle as the hostile natural environment and the course of history itself.

Hillier, Russell. M. “Crystal Beards and Dantean Influence in Jack London’s “To Build a Fire (II).” ANQ: A Quarterly Journal of Short Articles, Notes, and Reviews, vol. 23, no. 3, 2010, pp. 172–178.

This article from a peer-reviewed academic journal is published by Russell Hillier, an Associate Professor of English at Providence College, Rhode Island. The aim of the article is to identify Dante’s influences in London’s “To Build a Fire.” In order to achieve it, the author uses a combination of close reading and historical analysis. On the one hand, Hillier searches for textual parallels in London’s and Dante’s texts. On the other hand, he uses additional sources to identify Dante’s “Inferno” as one of London’s main literary experiences in his formative years as a writer. The author’s conclusion is that the short story’s imagery uses deliberate parallels with “Inferno” to construct a hellish image of the Yukon Territory. Not all parts of this argument are equally convincing because not every aspect of hellish imagery discussed necessarily goes back to Dante, but the author’s ideas still provide plentiful food for thought.

This source would be best used in the paper to discuss the depiction of futility in the conflict between a person and a natural rather than social environment. The author’s interpretation of the “infernal rendering of the unforgiving Yukon wasteland” and the hellish associations it invokes can illustrate the protagonist’s insurmountable task (173). As such, it would provide material for comparison with the stories where futility comes from a conflict with historical circumstances and social mores.

Maiti, Abhik. “A Story of Repressed Feminism: Exploring Steinbeck’s Women Characters with Special Reference to ‘The Chrysanthemums’.” International Journal of English Language and Linguistics Research, vol. 5, no. 1, 2017, pp. 1-14.

This article from a peer-reviewed academic journal is published by Maiti Abhik, a History MA pursuing an MA in English at the University of Calcutta. As the title suggests, the article explores female characters in Steinbeck’s fiction with a particular emphasis on Elisa from the short story “The Chrysanthemums.” The author’s methods include the identification of consistent patterns and themes pertaining to Steinbeck’s representation of female characters throughout his works, as well as a close reading of the titular story. The author’s central argument is that Elisa is a feminist character who tries and fails to exercise her creativity and agency in an oppressive patriarchal environment. The argument is well-supported with textual evidence, be that the direct quotes from Steinbeck’s text or the references to other scholars. Admittedly, the author’s thesis is not hard to prove to begin with, as Elisa being at odds with the conditions created by other men, such as her husband or the tinker, is fairly evident.

This source would be best used in the paper to demonstrate how futility can manifest in encounters with a social environment. The key piece supporting the paper is the author’s interpretation of the story as Elisa leaving her attempts at an independent agency and “succumbing to the social modes” (Maiti 12). It will add to the interpretation of futility in the other two stories.

Pizer, Donald. “Jack London’s ‘To Build a Fire:’ How Not to Read Naturalist Fiction.” Philosophy and Literature, vol. 34, no. 1, 2010, pp. 218-227.

This article from a peer-reviewed academic journal is published by Donald Pizer, a Professor of English at Tulane University, Louisiana, and a well-known specialist in American literary naturalism. The article analyzes London’s famed story “To Build a Fire” as an example of naturalist fiction and opposes those critical interpretations of the work that Pizer considers to be unsupported. The article’s main thesis is that new historicist and cultural studies misinterpret classical Naturalist texts by disregarding the authors’ use of literary means. Pizer’s method includes a close reading of the text itself and the literary means it employs as opposed to uncovering its cultural and social context the author was presumably ignorant of. The author’s conclusion is that misreading naturalist texts in this manner is an exercise that threatens to undermine their strongest features, such as directness and plain language, pursuing deconstruction for deconstruction’s sake. Overall, the argument is convincing due to frequent references to the primary source and the straightforwardness of the author’s thesis, as opposed to the often cryptic interpretations he critiques.

This source would be best used in the paper to how futility results from underutilizing one’s resources. According to Pizer, the protagonist’s struggle ends up futile because he challenges both “instinct… and racial wisdom” (222). It can demonstrate how futility can logically result from a prior rejection of the resources at hand.

Reesman, Jeanne C. Jack London’s Racial Lives: A Critical Biography. University of Georgia Press, 2009.

This scholarly monograph is written by Jeanne Reesman, a Professor of English at the University of Texas at San Antonio. The book discusses the often contradictory and conflicting attitudes toward race in London’s writing throughout his long and fruitful writing career. One of the book’s most important points is that London, despite his reputation for supporting white supremacy, often adopted non-white perspectives. These could include African American, Hawaiian, Japanese, mixed ancestry, and, most important for this paper, Native American. The author approaches the matter historically as well as topically, analyzing London’s attitude toward race in different settings and pieces and exploring the topic chronologically in each of these sections. Overall, Reesman’s argument is fairly convincing, especially since the author touches upon the topic that has rarely been a specific and explicit focus of study before.

For the purpose of this paper, the best way to draw upon this source is by using its interpretation of London’s “League of Old Men.” The author views the short story as the portrayal of Native American ways declining before the onslaught of modernity symbolized and epitomized by “the machinery of the trial” (Reesman 65-66). When compared to other short stories, it can contribute to the discussion of how the futility may manifest in the doomed attempts to confront the slow yet inexorable historical processes.

Works Cited

Hashemipour, Saman et al. “A Twentieth-Century Countrywoman in Steinbeck’s ‘The Chrysanthemums’: A Socio-Cultural Study of Oppression.” International Journal of Linguistics, Literature, and Translation (IJLLT), vol. 2., no. 3., 2019, pp. 36-41.

Pizer, Donald. “Jack London’s ‘To Build a Fire:’ How Not to Read Naturalist Fiction.” Philosophy and Literature, vol. 34, no. 1, 2010, pp. 218-227.

Reesman, Jeanne C. Jack London’s Racial Lives: A Critical Biography. University of Georgia Press, 2009.

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Exploring Futility in “The Chrysanthemums,” “To Build a Fire,” and “The League of Old Men”

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