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.“
The social conditions of this time period along with the inherited traits of each individual character traits from the two story lines, “To Build a Fire” and “The Blue Hotel”, contributed greatly to the overcoming of the characters’ conflicts. In the Blue Hotel, Sweed, a rough and hazy man was in a bad situation. He could be characterized as shy, quiet, and indecisive. In “To Build a Fire”, the prospector was adventurous and spontaneous. He believed in traveling and in life’s purpose. The quote applies to both stories and both characters. The social atmospheres in both stories were fairly similar. They were both set during blizzards and the characters were unable to remove themselves from the situations. The differences include the individual characters and the plot details. The social conditions in “To Build a Fire” were life threatening and more urgent than in “The Blue Hotel”. Both situations ended up being dangerous but in the “blue Hotel” the conflicts were brought on b the characters where as in “To Build a Fire” it was brought on by nature. The main difference was the way the two men dealt with their problems. The handled their situations very differently.
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