To Build A Fire, By Jack London

     To Build a Fire is a story is a perfect example of the writing genre Naturalism. It contains elements like survival depends on instinct, nature is impersonal, man lacks free choice, and heredity and environment direct and influence our lives. In the story nature is the antagonist and is very impersonal, as it is in life. The dog

In “To Build a Fire,” Jack London presents the story of a man against nature as he tries to survive in the harsh winter of the Yukon in the early 1900’s. He begins a nine-hour hike through, temperatures as low as -75 degrees Fahrenheit, and he plans to meet up with friends in the area. With him is a local husky, with whom he has little companionship. The narrator builds a fire to warm himself. However, as the fire starts to reach a good warming point, snow falls and douses the fire. Finally realizing that things are getting drastic, the man starts running for the camp in desperation, with hopes of warming his body and possibly getting help. Eventually though he falls from exhaustion. While on the ground, he falls asleep and

If developed the right way, the setting can play an important role in a story like this. London builds his setting up quickly, within the first words of this story. The story is set in the wintertime with no sign of the sun, at the Yukon Trail. A deadly and extremely cold area in the country of Canada. In the story, the narrator states, “Day had dawned cold and gray when the man turned aside

“The country is celebrating one hundred years of freedom one hundred years too soon.” (Baldwin, 10) The Fire Next Time, written by James Baldwin in 1963 brings up the segregation in mid-20th century America with emphasis on the impact of history and politics. Although Baldwin’s main focus was not politics it is nonetheless an important aspect of the racial segregation because it was how the laws were interpreted that constituted the crime. Even though the law was not on the black populations side Baldwin was hopeful for the future and through politics and history he believed that “we can make America whet America must become,” a state that sees people of all races as equal; and the best way of

In James Baldwin’s collection of essays, The Fire Next Time, he discusses a range of topics stemming from the ultimate point that despite current implications and present maltreatment of African Americans in America, White Americans are not the only ones who contribute to the inferiority of Blacks. It is a collective action problem that has to be realized on both sides of this issue. In order for the nation to move on as a whole and get somewhere past this, Blacks and Whites have to work together in an attempt to realize that the past is a determinant of the future and shapes who we are as a people, and in order for equality to transform from a state of mind to a physical concept practiced by all, African Americans have to first accept their past in order to look to the future. Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “[n]o one can make you feel inferior without your consent” and these words ring true in reference to the oppression of African Americans by White Americans as displayed in The Fire Next Time.

Growing up I was always told “be a leader, not a follower” and “treat others how you want to be treated”.As a child i thought these were just words i would recite to me dad every morning not knowing that he was teaching me to stand out, in others words, marginality. assimilation on the other hand is something most of us try to avoid nobody wants to be “just another one” and playing by someone else’s rules. In the three works “The Fire Next Time”, A james Baldwin photograph, and “Para Teresa” i found evidence of marginality and assimilation for all different kinds of worldwide issues toda. I’ll explain.

The story “To Build a Fire” narrates about a man who decides to travel through freezing temperatures of Yukon and becomes a victim of the unforgiving power of nature. The temperatures reading 170 below the freezing point, the man decides to light a fire. Having several attempts to light the fire, he decides to run around like a “chicken with its head cut off” and finally comes to rest to meet his death with dignity. All that the man is trying to do is to find the meaning of his existence.

Would you ever slaughter your dog, shed its fur, and use it for warmth? The main character in the short story, To Build a Fire by Jack London would. Jack London is an astonishing novelist and truly correlates to his characters and brings them to life. There are many similarities and differences between Jack London and the protagonist in, To Build a Fire.

In “To Build a Fire,” a short story, the author Jack London uses details that make us almost feel the effects of the severe cold. There are many examples of this throughout the story, but a first example would be when the mean first becomes numb. “He did not expose his fingers more than a minute, and was astonished at the swift numbness that smote them.” (pg.10) This is truly the beginning of the man’s unfamiliar-ness to cold weather, which leads to him freezing to death.

In Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” the main theme of the story is to listen to old timer’s advice. Although, this is not the only theme of the story. There are many sub-themes that help support the key point such as nature overpowering man, pride leading to disaster, and failure of imagination. These sub-themes help strengthen the major theme of the story to help the reader understand that listening to old timer’s advice is important.

One iconic story from Greek mythology tells the tale of Sisyphus, disciplined for his self-aggrandizing craftiness and deceitfulness. As a punishment in the Underworld, he must push a boulder up a hill, just to have it roll down the other side. This man’s predicament relates to Jack London’s story To Build a Fire because the man constantly tries to surpass the harshness of his surroundings, only to fail when his life source extinguished. In contrast, Walt Whitman’s poetry has an idealistic view of mankind, representing the hope that Sisyphus could eventually roll the boulder to the top. Accordingly, London views mankind as an inferior pawn of nature, while Whitman praises the common man and his redemptive qualities.

Realism is defined as “an attempt to make art and literature resemble life.” Realism generally tires to reflect real life, as previously stated, without, however the added negativity and sense of hopelessness that Naturalism does. Unlike realism which focuses on literary technique, naturalism implies it is a philosophical position. For naturalistic writers, since human beings are, as Emile Zola puts it, "human beasts," characters can be studied through the relationships they have to their surroundings. Below are three analyses of three separate texts, discussing whether they are: realistic or naturalistic, each text’s central ideas, and what the writer wanted the reader to realize about reality.

In this particular story it shows us how hard life can be in the cold, icy places. If I had to be in a setting I definitely wouldn’t want to stay in a place that is like the way, it is in the story. This is what I mean

"Between the world and me” is basically a letter Coates writes to his 15-year old son, Samori. The style and structure of the book borrows largely from “The Fire Next Time” by James Baldwin which has an epistolary structure and an elliptical style. At a glance, the texts seems like they were not meant for the general public as the tone of book insinuates privacy and intimacy. However, this is not the case. As a matter of fact the appearance of privacy is deceptive and he uses the letter form to give him a larger scope to illustrate the emotional complexity of black life in America. Some parts of the text portray characteristics of a faithful letter while some indicate that Coates is speaking to larger audience. One of the moment which shows that it is a personal letter is revealed after the non-indictment of Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown as Coates addresses his son one on one: “…You stayed up till 11 pm that night, waiting for the announcement of an indictment, and when instead it was announced that there was none you said, “I’ve got to go,” and you went into your room, and I heard you crying. I came in five minutes after, and I didn’t hug you, and I didn’t comfort you, because I thought it would be wrong to comfort you. I did not tell you that it would be okay, because I have never believed it would be okay...” In another moment, he appears to be speaking to the general public and rallying his black counterparts against black supremacy: “…Perhaps our triumphs

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