They include works written by Robert Frost, Eudora Welty, and Stephen Crane. These authors present stories that dig deep into the power struggle between man and nature, often digging deep into the minds of the individual who is caught in the moment, fighting to survive, thinking thoughts that can only be thought in a time of extreme struggle and desperation. They either leave you with a sense of triumph, or a sense of tragedy and loss. They mirror the constant struggle between man and the forces of nature.

All of these writers write of the never-ending struggle of man vs. nature. It is a struggle that we have endured for all of time, and a struggle that will continue to dictate our lives until the end of time. Robert Frost wrote of a nature that was cruel and unforgiving. It ended in a tragedy with nature ultimately beating the traveler in the Klondike. Stephen Crane writes of a nature that is indifferent. It takes who it wants, when it wants, with no justification given. He writes of four men, but only three of these men survived the challenges that nature offered. Eudora Welty writes of a nature that will try and stop you, try and trouble you in your journey through life, but can be overcome if you try hard enough. Phoenix Jackson survives her journey and accomplishes her mission, only to have to make the same journey again over and over.

Frost experienced first hand the conditions he writes about in "To Build a Fire". From 1897 to 1898 London was caught up in the great gold rushes that took place in the Klondike during this period of time. Many Prospectors and even those who knew nothing about digging for gold moved to the extremely harsh and cold climates of the far north. London was among this large mass during the late eighteen hundreds that went north. After only a short time in the north, London came down with a severe case of scurvies, and had to retreat back to California. The imagery that London uses in "To Build a Fire" helps to make you feel as though you are right there. "There was no sun nor hint of sun, though there was not a cloud in the sky. It was a clear day, and yet there seemed an intangible pall over the face of things ... The Yukon lay a mile wide and hidden under three feet of ice. On top of this ice were as many feet of snow. It was all pure white, rolling in undulations where the ice-jams of the freeze-up had formed. North and south, as far as the eye could see, it was unbroken white, save for a dark hairline that curved and twisted from around the spruce covered island to the south ... Fifty degrees below zero stood for a bite of frost that hurt..." When you read this line you can picture exactly the kind of winter day that it was, and how cold it was. He is able to write with this accuracy and make you believe you are there with the man because he has experienced these himself. Frost's first work, "Story of a Typhoon Off the Coast of Japan" was based directly on his experience on the Sophia Sutherland ship.

The struggles of man vs. nature are struggles that are with us every day, and will continue to be. It is only fitting that writers would write of these issues. American writers again and again have addressed this issue and expressed their views toward nature through their writing. They have made it truly and completely an American issue, with there works addressing themes of American literature.

Stephen Crane writes about the extraordinary power of nature and the way it can mold a situation around this power. Instead of the problems of extre

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Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)