Jakob Clay hadn’t been very lucky lately. He sat on a log, tapping his right leg, a nervous habit. The log was a rich brown, only visible when the flames of the fire licked the air near it. It was slightly damp out, but it was nice enough for Jakob—not that he had very high standards. “I’ve never won anything before,” he quietly informed his friend Mason, who was also seated on the log. There were twenty other people in the clearing, all whispering among themselves. Wood was being chopped. Water was bubbling. Everyone was on edge, all waiting to find out who was going to win the lottery. “Don’t worry too much,” Mason comforted, even though he was in the same boat as Jakob and just as anxious. “I’m sure everything will work out fine.” Jakob wasn’t so …show more content…
They were well concealed, the bottoms hidden behind his left hand and the tops all the same height. “I believe it’s time.” A few murmurs could be heard, then absolute silence. Only the crackling flames of the fire continued. “I couldn’t find any straws,” Killian continued matter-of-factly, “so we’ll just have to make due with these.” No one bothered to object. The objects they used didn’t matter, only the result. Killian commenced walking around the group, allowing each person to choose a stick. By the time he was halfway across the circle, Jakob could see people comparing their sticks, sombre expressions on all of their faces. Jakob was next. He picked the stick right in the middle. He held it in his palm. He could only hope it was the right size. “Bring them up,” Killian instructed everyone. They all did, showing their sticks to one another. Jakob knew immediately that he had the shortest stick. He was the winner. Mason offered him an encouraging look, but Jakob could see the sadness in his friend’s eyes. Killian shot Jakob an apologetic look, before addressing the others. “Dice him up and put him in the pot. He’ll be ready to eat by
- During: The wax began dripping down the sides of the candle once the wick was lighted. The flame was blue at the bottom and ombred up to yellow at the top of the flame. The flame was jumpy and not steady.
This is a very important part of the book because it shows the reader that the
To build a fire is a short story written by Jack London. It is a story about an individual’s choice. The main character’s self-centeredness overcomes him, as he tries to survive the wintery weather in his travel in the Yukon Trail. He made a choice of ignoring the weather warnings, which evidenced danger in his journey. There were warnings like the absence of fellow travelers due to the cold season, but his egoism made him still embark on the journey alone, despite the warnings. The protagonist’s pride and arrogance leads to a regrettable outcome, as it leads to his downfall. The protagonist made the wrong choices because of his egotism, and arrogance and they led to his downfall. He defied nature due to his lack of logical judgment, and
The short story "To build a Fire" by Jack London, tells about the relationship between man and nature. The story takes place in the Yukon during one of the long night. The main character who is unnamed travels with a dog along a small trail to a mining camp. The man leaves against the advice of a local and after a short time realizes that he should have waited. The temperature is extremely cold because the mans spit freezes before it hits the ground. The main obstacle of his journey is the many covered springs that mean death to whoever falls into them. The man sends his dog in front of him to make sure that the trail is safe. Eventually the dog falls into one of the springs and gets his paws wet.
He signed heavily, and as if in sympathy the smoldering log also sighed. And immediately Okonkwo's eyes were opened and he saw the whole matter clearly. Living fire begets cold, impotent ash. He sighed again, deeply. (Achebe, 153).
In the short story “To Build a Fire” by Jack London, the protagonist foremost values his pride, which leads to his demise. The story starts off with the protagonist taking a detour in the Yukon so that he could survey the trees in the area (he was doing this so that he could send logs down the river to the gold prospecting camp, where he would sell the wood to the prospectors for money). But, the protagonist’s pride blinds him from what could have and should have done to ensure his survival in the Yukon. About halfway through his journey, he accidentally breaks through the ice on the spring and his foot falls into the water. At the temperatures mentioned in the story (seventy below zero), if he did not dry himself properly, it could lead to serious frostbite and/or death. So, he was forced to build a fire, and the “fire was a success. He was safe. He remembered the advice of the old timer on Sulphur Creek, and smiled. The old-timer had been very serious in laying down that no man must travel alone in the Klondike after fifty below. Well, here he was; he had had an accident: he was alone; and he had saved himself. Those old-timers were rather womanish” (London 8). The man keeps feeding the fire and gets ready to take his (frozen and potentially dangerous) footwear off, and feels content and a sense of satisfaction of disproving the old-timers. But, just as it seemed to be that the fire was stable and strong, snow that was on the branches of the spruce tree he was under fell
get Curley but his eyes slipped on past and saw Lennie, Curley got into a fight with
“What else have you got in there?” Hector asked, genuine curiosity lacing his voice as he placed the glasses back down on the desk.
“You haven’t seen Curley in a while, have you?” Candy shook his head. “Well, once we got back here from the woods, we realized Curley was gone. Nowhere to be found. So sure, ya would’ve assumed Curley killed ‘im, but no. I took Carlson’s gun, and shot ‘im in the same spot on his neck that Carlson shot your dog, Candy. I could’n’ just let Curley torture Lennie like ‘e would’ve. I needed him to not be in pain, but I’m not sure I did the right thing.”
"I am absolutely confident that beyond the motif itself, there is no similarity of treatment whatever" (544). Jack London, writing in December 1908, was responding to an inquiry from the Richard W. Gilder, editor of Century Magazine. Gilder, having just published "To Build a Fire" in his magazine, was worried when he came across another version published 6 years earlier. London's explanation was that the first story was for boys and the new one was for men; the only similarity being the motif itself. Through careful analysis of the two stories, in light of this letter to Gilder, and another letter to Cloudesly Johns, it is apparent that although London claims no similarities
In the story "To Build a Fire" by Jack London, there are three principal themes. They are respecting nature, and considering results of actions. The main theme, or universal truth, is heeding warnings. The themes are shown through the character and his actions. The main character in the story had an attitude that prevented him from heeding internal and external warnings. He did not respect nature's power, and therefore he paid with his life.His attitude was arrogant and careless.
“To Build a Fire” is a short story written by Jack London. It is viewed as a masterpiece of naturalist fiction. “To Build a Fire” features a miner who is traveling to the Yukon Territory with a dog as his companion. The miner is the protagonist and the dog companion is called the foil. The dog plays off of the traits of the protagonist. “The central motif of “To Build a Fire” concerns the struggle of man versus nature.” (Short Story Criticism) The most argued point in the short story is the reason of the protagonist death. “Some critics believe that it was his lack of intuition and imagination that lead to his death, while others say that he dies because of panic.” (Short Story Criticism) The protagonist in “To Build a Fire” struggles in
No matter what type of story you are reading, setting always plays a key element in producing the desired effect. Jack London's short story To Build A Fire provides an excellent example of this. In this story, a man hikes across a snow and ice covered plane towards the encampment where he is supposed to meet up with more travelers like himself. The setting of this story is one of the northernmost most areas of the earth, the Yukon. The man must hike across this area for approximately thirty-six miles before he reaches the camp at which he is expected. The constantly dropping temperature further complicates the man's hike. When he begins his journey at nine o'clock in the morning it is
“Yes. But one at a time and with great diplomacy,” Monsieur Ochs suggested, beginning to hand glasses to each of them.
I picked To Build a Fire because I like adventure stories. It seemed that's the man was a newcomer to Yukon territory in Canada, and he didn't expect this severe frost. So he wasn't prepared for the terrible drop in colds, which was more than 75 degrees below zero, and also had no experience in the country climate. At last, he succeeded to reached his destination with his dog.