Treachery In 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

The short story "To build a Fire" by Jack London, tells about the relationship between man and nature. The story takes place in the Yukon during one of the long night. The main character who is unnamed travels with a dog along a small trail to a mining camp. The man leaves against the advice of a local and after a short time realizes that he should have waited. The temperature is extremely cold because the mans spit freezes before it hits the ground. The main obstacle of his journey is the many covered springs that mean death to whoever falls into them. The man sends his dog in front of him to make sure that the trail is safe. Eventually the dog falls into one of the springs and gets his paws wet.

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

Some stories can have an emotional impact on readers, but every so often a story will reach out and help the reader escape into it. Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” is a fascinating story with a remarkably well described setting, and geographical descriptions of the surrounding Yukon areas. It portrays an overconfident man, whom because of his lack of intuition and stubbornness, succumbs to natures unforgiving climate.

During his journey, the man gets his feet wet as he falls through the ice into the water of a hot spring. Because of the severity of the cold, the man’s life depends upon his ability to adapt to his surroundings. After one, half-successful fire-starting endeavor, and several other pitiful attempts, the hopelessness of the man’s lone struggle

Though London illustrates how nature is a difficult external force, the man is responsible for his misfortune, as his circumstances are the consequences of his choices. The narrator explains that the man was traveling ?to take a look at the possibilities of getting out logs in the spring? (978); more than likely, he did not have to perform this task, which required taking ?the roundabout way? (978). Also, despite being a ?newcomer to the land? (977), the man fails to bring a human companion to the ?unprotected tip of the planet? (982): just as the Earth is exposed to space here, as the narrator describes, the man has little defense against the cold. The man is not ignorant of the extreme cold, but rather, arrogant; though warned about the conditions (982), the man does not bring anything except a small lunch (978). Another sign of his lack of preparation is his failure to sufficiently protect himself from frostbite: he ?experienced a pang of regret that he had not devised a nose-strap...[that] passed across the cheeks, as well, and saved them? (979). Granted, the man can not see the water he falls into (981), but the fundamental responsibility for the journey is his. Furthermore, he elects to build the fire to thaw himself under the spruce tree, which proves disastrous (983). The narrator notes, ?It was his own fault, rather, his mistake? (982); the man also recognizes this, and knows he

This man who we do not know from the start got lost in the Yukon Trail. From the start we could see he wasn’t sure where he was and that brings me to number one in the Principle of Survival his perception was not clear he wasn’t sure what was going on at the beginning all he knew was the it was nine o’clock and the sky was starting to get a subtle gloom. His awareness was not in the best place either in this situation, “ But all this-this mysterious, far reaching hairline trail, the absence of sun from the sky, the tremendous cold, and the strangeness and the strangeness of it was- made no impression on the man.” He wasn't aware of the symptoms that he was already experiencing like the frost forming on his beard. He didn't have that awareness that he needed in the type of climate he was in.

Since the dawn of time, mankind has had to struggle to survive against the adverse conditions caused by Mother Nature. The theme to Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” is no different. “To Build a Fire” is a tragic story about the main protagonist’s effort to conquer the hostile environment in extreme sub-freezing temperature leading to his undesired fate. The environment being the Yukon, is a bitterly cold environment with man or without man. The protagonist being “the man” has to deal with these hardships, first being his critical goal of reaching the camp, to fighting frostbite, to merely surviving the night. This sets up the short story’s central theme, that mankind lives a solitary existence which is subject to the relentless, unconquerable forces of

To Build a Fire is written to show how Harsh and uncaring the Yukon can be in the middle of winter, But this man thought he was better than nature and could take the journey un affected. Given advice from the old timer he thought nature was no match for him. Even with the advice of how dangerous nature could be from the Old timer He let his arrogance get the best of him. The man embarked on his journey with the thought that he would make it but being arrogant and not listening to the advice given to him Naturalism was shown, Man was no match for nature and Nature chose the next move for him at every point along the way. Being arrogant and feeling like he was superior to nature turned against him. “The tremendous cold.. Made no impression on the man. It was not because he was long used to it. He was a newcomer to the land”(London 42). This man was a newcomer and had no business being out in the weather, Naturalism fate for him would lead him to his death for being arrogant and exploring this dangerous Yukon in the MIddle of the freezing winter temperatures.

Mankind has been pushed by Mother Nature for many year, over and over mankind has proven itself greater and mightier than nature. In other various occasions Mother Nature has also defeated man kind which resulted in death or near death experiences and traumatic events. In “To Build a Fire” and “The Law of Life” the characters are put into similar yet dangerous situations that makes them put their common skill into action. To Build a Fire a man who is remained unnamed in the novel is set in the Yukon trails which leads toward Henderson creek .

He put his gloves back on and proceeded to bang them against his chest to warm them up. The man made another fire when he realized how cold it was. The dog was overjoyed with the fire, but that soon came to an end when the man put it out to continue the journey. The man was foolish because he did not understand the meaning of coldness. The man then makes another fire after he falls through some ice.

The protagonist meets his demise because of his lack in intuition and imagination. (Short Story Criticism) The miner heads out to the miners camp after being warned to not travel at such cold temperatures. The miner displays his lack of intuition many times throughout the story. The miner proves he lacks in instinct when he says “fifty below zero is just uncomfortable and cold.” (London 1) “The protagonist travels against the advice of experienced prospects, thinking that he will make it successfully.” (Short Story Criticism) He shows his inexperience further when he thinks it is “fifty below when it’s actually seventy-five below zero.”(London 2)The recurring motif of man versus nature supports the lack of intuition theory. The secondary main character displays the instinct traits the man does not have. It shows how the wolf-dog senses the severity of the climate while the miner just views it as uncomfortable and cold. The miner further proves his lack of

The traveler is advised not to make this trip with the lack of his inexperience in the Yukon due to the weather, the incoming storm, and its advisories. With the subzero freezing cold temperatures that came with the storm. “Fifty degrees below zero stood for a bite of frost that hurt and that must be guarded against by the use of mittens, ear flaps, warm moccasins, and thick

After the man makes a fire and has a smoke, he moves on. At a place where there were no signs of any trap beneath the ice, the man falls through and wets himself halfway to the knees. Knowing the danger of his predicament, the man quickly builds a fire to dry out his feet. Unknowingly, the man built his fire underneath a snow-covered tree and just as the fire is roaring to life, an avalanche of snow falls onto the fire putting it out. “The man was shocked. It was as though he had just heard his own sentence of

“It was a clear day, and yet there seemed an intangible pall over the face of things, a subtle gloom that made the day dark, and that was due to the absence of the sun.” Throughout Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” there is a sense of slow burning dread as readers are introduced to the man and his gradual, but inevitable death, brought upon by himself. London’s short story opens with the main character, a man, foolishly embarking on the long journey back to camp in the freezing Yukon, accompanied only by a husky mix. It is in this unforgivingly harsh weather that the man meets his fate, at his own hand. From the beginning of the story, the man displays flawed behaviors and personality traits that render him unable to survive on his solo journey in the Yukon, becoming his own worst enemy.