How Does Jack London's To Build A Fire?

Each time the dog fell through, his instincts told him to stop and bite the ice from in between his paws. If he didn't they would be sore. Eventually the man walked in front and fell into a pool of water, which delayed him. He would have to stop and build a fire and wait for his feet and socks to dry off. This was still dangerous because that meant removing those articles, which would leave them exposed. His instinct told him to keep going and not stop to dry off. He decided to run the further distance hoping to increase circulation but failed. It had only wore him out and now his hands were beginning to freeze. Now it would be hard to light a fire because of the numbness in his hands. After he learned it was too late to build one he turned his thoughts towards the dog. If he killed it, he could place his hands into the core, which would defrost his hands. But the dog’s instinct told him not to go near the man, as he could be a target. Without feeling in his hands now he could not kill the dog either. He was beginning to accept his

Snap! Your finger just broke off with no trouble at all. Extreme cold poses the problem of frostbite for your extremities. In Jack London’s “To Build a Fire,”the man learned this the hard way. The unnamed man undertakes the daunting task of traveling alone through the snow-covered Yukon despite the frigid temperatures.

Everyday people all over the world try to improve the qualities of their lives. Nonetheless, they forget that what they do can have severe harms and damages on the environment and other organisms. In the excerpt “A Fable for Tomorrow” from the book Silent Spring, Rachel Carson describes the disastrous and horrific effects of pesticides on the environment and animals of the town. In the essay “Our Animal Rites” by Anna Quindlen, she shows the inhumanity of animal hunting by human. Furthermore, she argues how human migration is destroying the natural habitats that belong to the animals. In the excerpt “Reading the River” from the autobiographical book Life on Mississippi, Mark Twain describes how he loses the ability to perceive the

history, but no one has actually come up with a solid answer. Jack London took up this issue in his short story, To Build a Fire. The story starts with an unnamed man and his dog travelling through the Yukon Territory to make it to the man’s camp. Despite the fact that man was in a safe and warm place, he decides to proceed with the dangerous journey. Quickly, the cold environment delays the man to the point that he freezes to death. Considering the author’s life and the literary/country history, To Build a Fire criticizes society as being too serious, arrogant, and literal, which in turn leads to people, not nature, making mistakes in their lives. In a sense humans do not understand nature and therefore the clash between humans and nature arises.

He was more frustrated about the delay that this would have on his arrival to camp than the fact that if he didn’t build a fire quick, his whole leg could freeze. He built a fire under a tree, and then lost it to the snow that was resting atop the tree and had fallen on it. The man had made another mistake, he didn’t build the fire out in the open because it was easier to do so right next to the twig source, the tree. He then tried building another fire, but lost it this time to moss that he was unable to remove from the twigs. The man then realized his only source for warmth was the dog. He was unable to kill the dog for its fur and in turn made the dog keep its distance from him. He figures that he shouldn’t be far from the camp he was heading to and so thinks if he runs far enough, he will eventually reach it. His endurance did not allow for him to run much; the man then realized he was going to die and so accepted the mistakes he had made and accepted his

In “To Build a Fire” by Jack London, an unnamed man and his dog attempts to trek across the freezing Yukon terrain to meet some people in a town. Before the journey, an old timer from Sulpher Creek supposedly warned him of the freezing weather. The man still goes out, not being aware that the cold can possibly kill him. He faces many obstacles, including being covered in snow after building a fire. Eventually, he becomes less aware of his surroundings and walks into a frigid spring. Most of his body is cold and numb. Near the end of the story, he accepts death and admits to himself that the old timer from Sulpher Creek was right. His dog stays until it smells the scent of death, and goes towards the camp.

To Build a Fire is yet another one of Jack London’s works that explores the relationship between man and nature. This short story however is focused primarily on that relationship. It’s not one built on respect, as the main character initially believes he can handle whatever nature throws his way. The theme of Man’s hubris is communicated through the thoughts of the characters, their actions and events in the plot.

In Jack London’s story “To Build a Fire” nature is the cause of misery for a man on his journey. The man is to blame for his own demise because he was not being observant to the warning signs that this trip should not be taken. The man also did not respect the conditions he was entering. This man thought he could overcome the natural conditions by not giving them the attention needed; this was a terrible choice. Jack London reminds the reader that nature must be observed diligently because it will not change for anyone or anything. Nature seems unfair but the fact is that nature is doing what it is supposed to and people take it for granted.

“To Build a Fire” is a story tale about a dog that connects to nature more than man ever did.

In the story To Build a Fire by Jack London, a man is trying to survive a might challenge, he is on foot in sub-zero temperatures and with snow coming down. The mans major flaw is being over confident. This personal flaw contributed to the mans death the most.One example of the man being over confident was not being prepared. With no supplies and nothing to work with, what was this man supposed to do in a dire situation, such as a bear attack. He did not think of this “he carried nothing but the lunch wrapped in the handkerchief” (London 463-464). He was not prepared at all. The man just decided to go for it and did not think of going a day later with a backpack full of supplies with everything he possibly could of needed and he may of actually

In this case the hiker should have taken the advice from the old man from Sulphur Creek, the old man said that “no man should travel alone in that country after 50 below zero.” Which was because not many people can make it out alive especially if they are inexperienced like this hiker, as stated in the beginning of the story we learn that the hiker was He was a “newcomer in the land, and this was his first winter”. After reading this we know that the man is most likely very inexperienced and does not know how to survive in such an environment. The hiker learns the hard way and makes a deadly mistake not taking advice from the old man from Sulphur

In “To Build a Fire,” a man sets out into the freezing cold alone except for his dog. He is confident that he can simply walk to the next campsite, and bring along a few survival tools. However, he soon falls

“To Survive, You Need to Build a Fire”, the title of the story is a conflicting instinct between man and nature. London story brings out naturalism and indicates that if man does not collaborate with nature he will not survive. As such, survival benefits are only possible if man’s instinct does not seek to benefit him with his surroundings. In light of this, the preoccupation of an individual in search of gold will more likely result in a conflicting situation in a bid to survive. The question becomes, does human action result from brute instincts with the nature he seeks to achieve from? This is wisely answered through the intervention and counsel on how to perform actions in the nature for survival purpose such as the Moby Dick by Herman Melville’s. In the reference to Melville’s narrative on how to hunt a whale, the reader is equipped with skills on

On average, about 500 people in the world die from exposure to excessive natural cold per year. In Jack London’s “To Build a Fire,” the main character is faced with the same problem. He is all alone in the frigidly cold Yukon climate. Eventually, the cold gets to him. He surrenders to the cold and dies slowly after freezing from falling in a frozen creek. The three major mistakes the man made that got him killed were not noticing that the dog didn’t want to go on the ice, building his desperately needed fire under a tree, and ignoring the advice the old-timer on Sulphur Creek gave him.

[1] As depicted in Jack London’s “To Build a Fire,” the Yukon proves to be a truly formidable wasteland. The barren environment is comprised solely of “unbroken white” (London 65), the sun refuses to shine, and, most saliently, the temperature measures 107 degrees below freezing. These factors render the Yukon a harsh place through which to travel, especially as a lone voyager like ‘the man,’ the story’s central character. Survival, however, is possible, and the man’s success in this wilderness hinges critically upon his ability to know more than just the facts of the Yukon. The man must imagine the consequences of his actions.