Crane, London, and Literary Naturalism

This lesson focuses on the short story "To Build a Fire" by Jack London which provides a good example of Naturalism, the relationship between man and nature. It features links to a PDF study guide and an online copy of the text. After...

Students examine the relationship of man and nature in "To Build a Fire" and discuss the juxtaposition of knowledge and instinct. They investigate third person, omniscient point of view.

In this lesson, students will examine the relationship of man and nature as portrayed in "The Open Boat," based on Crane's suffering from a shipwreck on The Commodore in which he spent thirty hours on a small boat at sea before being...

Full text of three Stephen Crane famous poems: "In Heaven, "A Man Said to the Universe", and "Should the Wide World Roll Away". Explanatory note and select bibliography.

This Library of Congress site provides a brief description of Crane's life as a war correspondent during the Spanish-American War and then provides some excerpts from some of his war correspondences. A bibliography of related works of...

Jack London wrote stories that were inspired by his time in the Yukon. "Where the Trail Forks" is a short story that revolves around his beloved theme of man vs. nature.

Students read London's "To Build a Fire" and Crane's "The Open Boat" and compare and contrast the authors' style as they explore the genre known as American literary naturalism.

In this lesson plan, students will consider Crane, London, and Literary Naturalism. Worksheets and other supporting materials can be found under the Resources tab.

Use this resource to learn more about Stephen Crane. This site features links to lesson plans and activities for The Red Badge of Courage and other works.

This site includes a definition of the term naturalism, important characteristics and themes of the literature movement, quotes pertaining to it, links to important figures in naturalism, and further bibliographical information.