The Portrayal of Nature and Human Beings in Nature
The portrayal of nature and the place of human beings in nature are similar in both stories. Nature is portrayed to be always in control of human beings irrespective of their efforts. On the other hand, human beings are busy trying to change this status.
Nature as a Source of Survival and Peril
In both stories, man needs nature for survival and also, nature is the cause of man's demise and perish. It causes a lot of harm to man, and at times nature provides the solution to the troubles it causes.
For example in the story "To Build a Fire," nature is in control from the start to the end, a man tries to navigate through temperatures of minus 50 degrees. Survival for the man at such temperature is close to impossible. Such low temperatures are the doings of nature, and there is nothing human beings can do to prevent them. But man has been trying to fight nature over the years. They are trying to prove nature wrong. Therefore a man tries to navigate through such cold temperatures, but nature prevails. So the only way the man can survive is by lighting a fire to provide warmth. Fire is also a natural phenomenon. Therefore, one natural phenomenon provides a solution to a problem caused by another natural phenomenon. A similar scenario is portrayed in the story "There Will Come Soft Rains," but it is a little different.
In this story, human beings are portrayed to be in control as the story begins. They are well armed to deal with almost everything that arises from nature. However, at the end of the story, when a fire breaks out in the house, water is used to try and put out the fire. Water is natural and fire is natural. One natural phenomenon is the problem, and another is the solution. Therefore irrespective of how hard human beings try, they always have to depend on nature. Nature is described in the two stories as to have good and bad sides that help and affect human beings in different ways.
Human Beings in Competition with Nature
Human beings are portrayed to be in some competition to try and outdo nature. Man strives to come up with inventions to try and control nature.
For example in the story "There Will Come Soft Rains," man has moved forward regarding technology and has come up with means to control nature or to deal with nature. When it rains, man has raincoats and gumboots to deal with such weather. Also, man has devised various means to fight fire when it breaks out. The house described in the story "There Will Come Soft Rains" has all the necessary firefighting equipment to put off a fire in case it breaks out. In the story "To Build a Fire," the man tries to defy nature and wants to prove that irrespective of how cold it is, he has means to survive and beat nature.
In all these cases of a man trying to compete with nature, nature emerges victorious because it is more superior to human beings. The man walking on snow at a temperature 50 degrees below zero tries to use fire for warmth. Fire is part of nature which he easily loses control over. Also, in the story "There Will Come Soft Rains," irrespective of how a man becomes innovative and technological, he cannot beat nature. The human race has been wiped out by natural calamities. When the fire breaks out in the house, it burns it down irrespective of the high technology installed to fight the fire, nature always prevails.
Nature's Control over Human Beings
Nature has the upper hand in both stories. Nature terrorizes human beings and provides a solution. The survival of man is solely dependent on natural phenomena. If nature is against man, the chances of survival are minimal. If nature favors man, then the human beings prosper.
In the story "To Build a Fire," nature is against man all through. When an accident happened to the man in the story, he turned to nature for a solution and tried to light a fire for warmth. However, other natural forces make it difficult for the fire to grow. The cold weather numbs his fingers making it impossible to light a match. Also, when he struggles and lights a fire, snow falls on the fire and kills it. Nature determines whether the man lives or dies and since it was against him, he died as a result of the harsh weather.
In the story "There Will Come Soft Rains," man tries his best to show that he can survive without nature. He does so well, but in the long run, nature emerges the superior of the two.
Works cited
Bradbury, Ray. There will come soft rains. Perfection Learning Corporation, 1989.
