London, Crane, Dreiser

            Within three of the stories that we read for Thursday seemed to have the same theme woven within them; survival.  Sister Carrie dealt with Carrie trying to find a job in order to survive in Chicago.  She persevered through the struggles of the big city and rejection from the various shops that she tried to apply to for employment.  At the end she does find a job, although it is not the pay that she had wished it would be.  The Open Boat is not just one character surviving but a whole crew that are on a boat.  They persevere through the many trials and difficulties on the ocean.  In the end, all of them except for one find help and end up surviving.  To Build a Fire also contains the death of the main character; however, his companion does survive through the excursion. 

            I found these stories interesting especially the way that each one ends—considering that they are written during the Realism and Naturalism period.  I think that these three stories marginally show the harsh realities of life that draws from the Realism aspect.  While The Open Boat does have a death occurring at the end it seems highly improbable that all others should survive—epically the captain who was injured.  What’s even more surprising is that none of the crew dies from the freezing temperatures and being splashed with water.  Also, the story never mentions the crew eating anything, only drinking whisky, and it seems unlikely that the men would be able to be burning so much energy and not eating anything. 

Sister Carrie, on the other hand, paints a very real picture of how difficult it was for people, especially women, to find jobs in Chicago if they have no previous experience.  I think in America this is still a real dilemma because businesses do not want to take time to train people to do the job so they will look for people with experience.  However, how can someone gain experience if they are not given the chance?