Jack London's To Build A Fire

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

In Jack London's “To Build A Fire” the story follows a man and his dog in the Klondike and their obstacles of trying to get to the boys which are his compatriots. The story revolves around the winter and how mankind reacts to the wild. The author uses nature to illustrate the poem’s tone by vilifying nature and using it as an obstacle.

'To build a fire' is a story about a man travels in the Yukon with his wolf-dog through a hostile environment.

In her passage, Ms. Vollmer argues about McCandless failing to hear the warnings provided by Jack London through his stories which McCandless had read and reread many times. In his story 'To Build a Fire' Jack London has shown the difference between a person who did not care about the risks and a dog with pure instincts. The similarity between this man and McCandless was that both were inexperienced to the adverse events of nature and both failed to see the dangers. The main purpose of London's story was to warn the adventurers about the risks to the wilderness. As an enthusiast of Jack London, McCandless had read these stories many stories many times and yet failed to understand London's warnings. Shreds of evidence lie in every mistake he had made as he continued his journeys making Vollmer's argument agreeable.

Perhaps the most obvious symbol in the novel is the fire. The fire represents hope for humanity. The papa and son really charishes the term ¨the fire¨ because he thinks the fire is like hope and sometimes can bring advantages and disadvantages.. The father proves this point when he says, ¨And nothing bad is going to happen to us. That's right. Because we're carrying the fire (McCartney 42).¨ The fire can bring advantages like when they found a bunker with a big food supply. The fire can also bring disadvantages like when they almost got caught by the bad guys.

To Build a Fire is a story about a man who doesn't listen to anyone but himself and freezes to death. Jack London based the story in the Yukon, Canada. There was a ton of snow and it is -75 degrees fahrenheit far too cold for people to be out there. There are things that he could have done to save his own life but the things were too hard for him to do. One thing that would have most definitely saved him is he could have killed the dog and used him as warmth but he couldn’t so in the end he died and the dog lived through the night.

Jack London, in his short story “To Build a Fire,” details man’s attempt to prevail against the wrath of nature. In London’s story, the man, the protagonist, embarks on a dangerous ten-mile journey on the main Yukon trail during a harsh winter. Although the man shows knowledge of his snowy surroundings, his lack of sagacity, arrogance, and disrespect of nature result in his defeat in a battle between him and nature. London describes the man as one who is “quick and ready in the things of life...and not their meanings;” thus, showing the man’s lack of sagacity. The man does not think about the repercussions of his actions so he begins his journey with the thought that “50 degrees below zero [would be] nothing more than 50 degrees below.

Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” is the story of a nameless hiker traveling with his dog who has gone into the Alaskan winter with only enough to make fire, and one meal. He is making his journey by foot to meet up with his friends at a camp that lies a day ahead. He has prior experience with cold temperatures but his overconfident manner doesn’t allow him to make reasonable decisions throughout his journey. As the weather gets colder his confidence in survival quickly decreases causing him to regret his decision to ignore lifesaving advice from an experienced man. London portrays a theme of death in this short story and more is learned about the process of the characters thoughts; this shows the struggles the man faces as he comes to a harsh realization in the cold of the Alaskan wilderness.

¨A Hot Fire¨ Expect the unexpected. Jack London used his characters to illustrate imagery. He had thoughts of biscuits being frozen. Mr. London also used his characters to illustrate characterization.

Naturalism was a literary movement or tendency from the 1880s to 1930s that used detailed realism to suggest that social conditions, heredity, and environment had inescapable force in shaping human character. Basically characters can be studied through their relationship with their environment. A lot of jack London’s work was based on naturalism, and “To build a fire” was no different. The story starts off with an unnamed man in Yukon (where he is foreign) where it is more than 50 degrees below zero. "The man's red beard and moustache were likewise frosted, but more solidly, the deposit taking the form of ice and increasing with every warm, moist breath he exhaled. Also, the man was chewing tobacco, and the muzzle of ice held his lips so rigidly

Vicious cold at 75 below; much colder than your average winter. “Spittle crackled in the air before it reached the snow.” This is what the man experienced in Jack London’s “To Build a Fire”. He is lost in a relatively unknown landscape, the Yukon territory in northernmost Canada and Alaska. Traveling alone with his dog. This story could have had a happy ending except some setbacks, that were almost totally avoidable. Seemingly, the man could still be with us today if it were not for his negligence of the old man’s advice, didn’t build his fire underneath a tree, and went with a trail mate on his journey.

“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

But rub as he would, the instant he stopped his cheek-bones went numb, and the following instant the end of his nose went numb” (5). His hands are immensely impacted by the cold weather and they symbolize the difference between life and death. His hands are his power and "After a time he was aware of the first faraway signals of sensation in his beaten fingers. The faint tingling grew stronger till it evolved into a stinging ache that was excruciating, but which the man hailed with satisfaction" (13). Much like his hands, the fire represents life and the absence of it represents death.

Jack London’s To Build a Fire is the story of a man and his dog going on a trip to the Yukon River. As he moves through the forest checking traps, the temperature becomes colder and colder. Since he was a newcomer to this land he did not know how 50 below zero would truly feel to the skin. The more he moves away from his camp the colder he becomes. He soon discovers that he will need to light a fire to keep warm through the night. He soon gathered sticks and branches and lit a roaring fire. Both him and the dog relaxed and relished in the feel of the warmth. When they were both thawed enough to not have a numb feeling throughout their appendages they carried on through the forest near the Yukon. As he walked forth he broke through the ice

“To Build a Fire” by Jack London is a short story about a man traveling through the Alaskan Yukon to meet up with his friends for lunch. The author keeps the character nameless and refers to him only as “The Man” which is used to show a connection between humanity and nature. The story shows the hardships the man goes through to get to his destination through the Alaskan Yukon, yet unfortunately doesn’t make it. The conflict is a man versus nature theme which contrasts strong and direct relations of the hardships in nature. Throughout this analysis, I am going to explore the conflict between the man and the merciless nature he has to go through before his death.