Literary Analysis Of To Build A Fire

Jack London conveyed many useful and deep messages in his story To Build a Fire. Instincts can hold stronger than knowledge in a variety of situations. Everyone knows the Yukon is an extremely cold area, but not like the instinct of a dog. No one truly knows the extent of the cold wilderness, until put into the harsh weather. Ignorance and pride can cost someone their life in extreme situations. The themes of Jack London’s To Build a Fire are pride, instinct against intelligence, and humans’ inability to overcome nature.

One common theme in “To Build a Fire” is pride. The protagonist throughout the story believes himself as tough and almost “unbreakable.” He looks down on the old-timer from Sulphur Creek, saying that “those old men were rather womanish.” The protagonist’s hubris is so great that he believes the harsh weather can’t stop him from reaching his destination. Even when the protagonist falls into the river, a very dangerous situation out in such harsh conditions, the protagonist only worries about how this setback will delay him a few hours. The main character’s hubris prevents him from realizing the danger of the setting until it is too late. Another theme in “To Build a Fire” is the indifference of nature toward humans. This theme is closely linked with the conflict posed by the setting. Jack London’s descriptions of the Yukon wilderness present it as an unforgiving place, covered in an “indescribable darkness.” The dog is a prime example of the uncaring attitude nature presents toward humans. The dog only cares about its survival. As stated in the story, “there was no real bond between the dog and man.” When the dog catches “the smell of death,” it immediately leaves the protagonist’s body toward the camp for food and for warmth. Neither the dog nor the environment show any care for the protagonist’s well-being. This, with the addition of the protagonist’s hubris, spell a death trap in the man’s conflict against the

In the text “To Build a Fire”, one theme is to always trust animal instincts. A newcomer decided travel with a dog in 75 below zero degree weather. Before he left, he got advice from an old man to never travel alone in 50 below zero degree weather. It was the newcomer’s first winter. The man didn’t listen to the old man’s advice. The dog tried to tell the man to go back to the fire they had made. The man didn’t listen to the dog. The man made the dog walk in front of him because of the hidden traps. Since the man didn’t listen to the dog or the old man’s advice, his actions caused him to fall through ice. So he sat there and went into a sleep and for hours he never woke up and the dog sensed death The man lied there until

To build a fire” written by Jack London is more of a primitive survival story where the protagonist tries not to freeze to death. It represents the battle of a man versus the nature. When I was reading the story I could feel my body possessed by the cold temperature just because of the way the author described it. The man was travelling with a dog, which was more conscious than him about the situation that they were living and how arduous it was going to be travelling in such conditions. “The animal was depressed by the tremendous cold. It knew that it was no time for travelling.” (London) Phrase that suggests that animal was most self-conscious than the man, even smarter.

“It was no longer a mere matter of freezing his fingers and toes, or of losing his hands and feet, but that it was a matter of life and death with the chances against him.” An analysis of the conflicts faced by the Man in To Build a Fire In To Build a Fire, Jack London uses the man’s conflicts with the dog and nature to portray the frailty of Man. These conflicts form when the man’s ideals or actions are contradictory with that of other characters or elements in the short story. The 2 main conflicts faced by the man are the conflicts between him and the husky dog, and the conflicts between him and nature.

Throughout the many years of mankind’s existence, there has been one common enemy, no matter the age or location. That enemy brings about destruction and death, yet provides sustenance and life. This contradiction is result of mankind’s first enemy, nature. It may be seen as cruel one moment, and then the next kind; but nature is neither, nature is something even more unsettling, indifferent. Nature’s indifference to humanity captures naturalism in literature, and is the theme of the short story “To Build a Fire” by Jack London, that of man vs. nature. To convey this theme throughout the story, London uses elements of fiction to support this theme through the use of setting and symbolism. Through these elements we, as the readers, can begin fully grasping the theme.

Nature is a reoccurring concept that seems to poke its head into most literary works. The same can be said for Jack London’s To Build a Fire. Just like in most of Jack London’s works, To Build a Fire’s theme is survival and the duality of man and nature.

Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” is an examination of one man’s journey through the Yukon wilderness, alone in less than ideal conditions. The man was feuding with the weather throughout the story. The ice trap caved in and the man was wet from his knees down. As a result of the cold weather, the man’s hands became numb and he could not build another fire. Since the fire was not built he evoked symptoms of hypothermia and surrendered his life to death.

In the story ‘’To Build A Fire ‘’A man is traveling along the Yukon trail. With his dog. The man is told not to travel alone but he does anyway, this man thinks he is smarter than both the wise old man and the dogs instincts however he falls short of caution ands thinks that nothing could possibly go wrong which causes his death in the end . There are many themes in this story but one that caught my attention was to nit heed warnings lightly.

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

The movement of naturalism was greatly influenced by the 19th-century ideas of Social Darwinism, which was in turn influenced by Charles Darwin's theories on evolution. Social Darwinism applied to the human environment the evolutionary concept that natural environments alter an organism's biological makeup over time through natural selection. Social Darwinists and naturalists cited this as proof that organisms, including humans, do not have free will, but are shaped, or determined, by their environment and biology. Naturalists argued that the deterministic world is based on a series of links, each of which causes the next (for more on these causal links, see Causal links and processes, below). In "To Build a

In the story “To Build a Fire” a man struggles to survive. The man failed to survive because of his foolishness. The man's ego caused him to do wrong decisions while in the wild. Mother nature throw many did not take easy on the man. The cold was too much for the man to handle.

In Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” the reader follows along in the journey as an almost anonymous man wanders somewhat through the cold winter Yukon. “To Build a Fire” explores a variety of methods to reveal aspects of the protagonist. In "To Build a Fire", Jack London uses inner thoughts, mood and setting to develop the character of the unnamed man.

Nature often tests man’s limits. Sometimes man can overcome these tests and win; however, there are times when man just simply fails. In Jack London’s “To Build a Fire,”, a man faces many trials which test his limits. Unfortunately, through arrogance and a lack of preparation the man cannot survive the conditions of the Yukon in which he haves a hard time making it through the tremendous cold and is set up for death. The setting in “to build a fire” has an impact on the characters, plot, and symbolism. One of the first ways that the setting has an impact is on the characters. For an example, “it certainly was cold, he concluded, as he rubbed his numbed nose and cheek-bones with his mittened hand” (2). The weather had been very cold in which it caused the man’s body to be numb. The second reason setting has an impact on is the man’s food. For example, “He had forgotten to build a fire and thaw it out” (4). The cold weather caused the man’s biscuit to freeze. Another way the setting has an impact is on the dog. For example, “It had wet its forefeet and legs, and almost immediately the water that clung to it turned to ice” (3-4). The water would have caused the dogs feet to become sore. Not only has the setting influenced characters, it has also influenced the plot of the story. Another way that the setting impacts “to build a fire” involves the plot. First in the opening of the story, the man faces difficult things. For example, “the man's red beard and mustache have likewise

“To Build a Fire” is the perfect example of a naturalist short story. Naturalism stories include determinism over free will and the indifference of the environment and man’s survival. "To Build a Fire" divulges much about itself and its naturalist origins in its title. The title itself suggests the need to survive. Naturalism is interested in conflicts that bring out the instincts of man. London's story brings out one of the truest conflicts in literature and life: man versus nature. The man is at constant risk of freezing in the brutal cold, and soon just surving will become his preoccupation. In the story the man is clearly not an experienced adventurer. He