Naturalist literature often situates its narratives within oppressive natural environments, using these settings to reinforce themes of human struggle, determinism, and the inescapable force of nature. In naturalist works, nature is not merely a backdrop: it is also an active, often antagonistic force that shapes the characters’ lives and fates. Although McTeague is subtitled “A Tale of San Francisco,” it ends in Death Valley, where the natural world poses the greatest threat to McTeague.