Naturalism In Jack London's To Build A Fire

When the time came to build a fire to survive the first accident in the water, his irresponsibility essentially cost him his life. He forgot to build a fire promptly after he got wet, which made it extremely difficult build one after it. His fingers got numb and rigid, making it hard to even light a match. Eventually, the man gave up hope when the last of his matches were snuffed out. Even when it was too late to start a fire, the man’s condition of his hands prevented him by his last resort to kill the dog he was with for warmth. Ultimately he knew his only option was to lay down and go to sleep. The cold had gotten to him so bad that he didn’t mind laying down at the very end of his life. The satisfaction he got when he fell to sleep was much needed by him after his cold journey that day.

When Jack London wrote "To Build a Fire" he embraced the idea of naturalism because it mirrored the events of daily life. Naturalism showed how humans had to be wary at every corner because at anytime death could be there, waiting for them to make a mistake and forfeit their lives. He used naturalism, the most realistic literary movement, to show how violent and uncaring nature really is and how no matter what you do nature will always be there. London also presented the basic idea of Darwinism and the survival of the fittest, basically if you are dumb you will die. Collectively, London used naturalism to show how in life, humans can depend on nothing

The narrator negated the advice given to him that, "no man should travel alone in the Yukon when the temperature is sixty degrees below zero." He failed to heed to the advice because he thought of how he had saved himself from the accident, and had built the fire alone. This was pride ruling him not knowing that, he was risking his life. His arrogance made him believe that he can make it all alone, and alive. The main character’s poor decisions led to his death. He was not compatible with the cold weather, and thus could not make it alone as his pride, and arrogance made him believe. His arrogance caused his death, because he imagined that he had the ability to travel alone in the harsh cold weather, and ignored the advice given to him. This instance of the narrator dying, because he thought

The man represents the fraction of society that doesn't respect nature. He doesn't understand the power of nature because he is oblivious to it. On the other hand the dog was "told a truer tale than that was told to the man by the man's judgement." The man "did not know cold. Possibly all the generations of his ancestry had been ignorant of cold, of real cold." "The was no keen intimacy between the dog and the man." The man and the dog are together because the man needs the dog, and the dog has no choice. They have no emotional connection between them because the dog is used as a slave. In one part of the story the man uses the dog to test the trail and make sure that it is safe. The dog has more inherent knowledge about the area, all of his "ancestry knew" about the cold and the dangers of extreme cold. He also had a warm "natural covering" to keep him safe from the weather. The man was not used to the cold. He "was without imagination. He was quick and alert to the things of life, but only the things, and not the significances." He also was stubborn for his neglect to take advice.

Readers of all ages, literature lovers, and book fanatics often find conflicts within their own lives just as the characters of the stories they read do. Some are able to find a way to overcome and conquer, while others get stuck behind or can not find a way to beat them. In Jack London’s short story called “To Build a Fire,” the main character conflicts with mother nature, who keeps tearing him down at every possible point. The main character, who is only referred to as the Man, is battling his way alone through the harsh temperatures of the Yukon. On this journey he runs into many obstacles and challenges. The Man does not listen to the advice he is given, leading to his inevitable death at the end. The most notable theme London builds

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.

When his inexperience exposes itself to him, he remembers the old-timers words of wisdom. The man did not realize the prudence behind the old-timer’s words of wisdom. He ignored the old-timers cautions and dangers of traveling alone, making him foolish and naïve to his situation. “That man from Sulphur Creek had spoken the truth when telling how cold it sometimes got in the country. And he had laughed at him at the time!” (London, 528)

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.

The story “To Build a Fire” written by Jack London has two nearly identical versions published in 1902 and 1908 respectively. The latter is better-known and more thought-provoking because of the protagonist’s death. To begin with, the journey takes place on a cold winter day in Klondike, consists of a man and his dog. The man is ignorant of the extreme coldness and feels confident about travelling alone at fifty degrees below zero. However, he breaks through a thin skin of ice unexpectedly and wets himself halfway to the knees. In order to dry his feet, the man builds a fire, only to have it extinguished by a pile of snow unloaded from a tree. He tries to set up another fire, yet all attempts has failed. The man panics and strives to unfreeze his body by running. Not surprisingly, his efforts are useless, and the man dies of hypothermia at last. The author effectively supports the central conflict of man versus nature and gives hints about the man’s death as resolution by using appropriate title, descriptive setting, and a large amount of foreshadowing.

The miner attempts to start another fire in the open but his efforts are futile.” (London 9) The miner thinks about killing his dog companion for the warmth but is too weak. “The man then panics and begins running until he can run no longer.” (London 11) The man dies shortly after many attempts to run to the camp. These facts lead some critics to believe that the protagonist dies as a result of panic and the failure of his rational faculties. (Short Story Criticism)

The Naturalist work, “To Build a Fire” by Jack London excels in the Naturalist idea of determinism. This means that what could happen, most likely will happen. Through the character’s treacherous journey in the snow and frigid temperatures we can see two pieces of masculinity exemplified by our author, the fighter’s mentality, and stubbornness. The masculine fighter’s mentality and will to never give up shows men’s perseverance through a Naturalistic view. One of these views was that behavior was determined by your environment (Darwin). This environment that are character was in was critical which lead to the man having a careful outlook but still end up

From the news that the old man who fall out from the platform into the railway and the man with a green coat jump follow to help him up bravely because of several reasons. First of all, he is afraid that the old man will pass away. For example is the old man who fall into the railway may be die if the man with a green coat can’t help in time or he may be injured so, he can’t come up by

As far as plot is concerned the setting plays as large a role as the wandering man does. The plot of the story is a simple one: a man who should have heeded the warnings of others must struggle to survive treacherous terrain and reach his friends at their camp. However London's attention to detail creates a desolate wasteland that in the end destroys the unlucky hiker. London's words create a chill as they describe the "far-reaching hairline trail" of which the man must follow (London 118). He also describes the temperature as "a bite of frost that hurt and that must be guarded against" which is presumably appropriate for seventy-five degrees below zero (London 118-119). The plot becomes void if the man has not the enemy and companionship of the setting therefore producing a heavy reliance on that setting.

“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.

After further and cumulative study of the story, one may come to the conclusion that the man in the story has totally influenced reality both in his refusal to allow perceptions persuade him from his mission as he set out to it and also in his utter confidence in his own perceptions of his unique and higher judgment maintaining an overly optimistic outset in regards to his own abilities. One particularly dire incident began, “The man was shocked. It was as though he had just heard his own sentence of death” (London 130). One can see by the word “shocked” that he clearly assumed nothing would go wrong, until it actually is done already.