Jack London composed "To Build a Fire," the tragic story of a man's battle to defeat the force of nature in the most extraordinary temperatures. All through his voyage along the trail in the Yukon, he belittles nature and overestimates himself. Very quickly his destiny is uncovered when London writes, "But all this---the mysterious, far-reaching hair-line trail, the absence of sun from the sky, the tremendous cold, and the strangeness and weirdness of it all---made no impression on the man" (977). The man is a chechaquo to the Yukon and he doesn't care to understand the threat of this voyage. Regardless of the man's carelessness, as a reader, hope is still alive that rescuers will save him. The end of the story, he meets his demise in the Yukon and his dependable husky leaves his side to find the camp. Nobody anticipates losing their life because of a disastrous mishap. Is it …show more content…
His hubris attitude made it troublesome for the man to envision the potential outcomes that could happen when he does not consider nature's warning signs. The man neglects to consider the conceivable outcomes of what may turn out badly. He neglects to form an association with nature or even with his husky who knows the conditions are dangerous. The man essentially observes his goal of making his journey to the mining camp and is determined to arrive. The man's absence of imagination puts him in danger with the force of nature around him. This causes him to commit significant errors as he walks through the Yukon. He doesn't permit the extremely plausible picture of him freezing or dying of hypothermia alter his journey. His absence of premonition and imagination is essential to the pomposity in plain view and his treatment of his husky serves to underline a longing to control nature. His arrogance is rebuffed in the story as he comes to understand that he, at last, must choose the option to give into
He was short sighted because, he sees danger ahead of him, but assumes that there is nothing wrong. He was insensitive to the harsh weather conditions he was facing. The narrator saw the effects of the harsh cold weather, but he exhorts himself in continuing with the journey to the camp. He was just trying to be stubborn, and his pride made him believe that he will be a hero by beating all the odds of the cold weather, by reaching the camp safe and sound. The narrator was overestimating his abilities, and his pride and arrogance clouds his logical thinking into making the right choice, which was to turn back, other than moving on with the journey.
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
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.
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 start off, Chris McCandless followed the writings of “Jack London”. Chris read the book “To build a Fire” from Jack London (Pg.51). The book Chris McCandless read was about a man that went to a cold and snowy area. Much like McCandless did but instead the man in the book “To build a Fire” lived through the experience and the cold did not bother him.
The man laughs him off because he views himself as superior towards other men and believes that he can easily survive in the wilderness. The Man’s ego allowed him to think that he had everything under control, even though his fingers were numb from the cold.
The story To Build a Fire demonstrates possible dangers of traveling in the Yukon under extreme cold. Through a young man, Jack London depicts the consequences of ignoring instinct and survival advice. The man travels with a dog, who can perceive the dangers of the freezing wilderness. The reader learns of the man's personality through descriptive words and phrases while journeying through the story.
The man should’ve noticed this and turned back, but the man was that of a stubborn mule he felt as if a little weather 70 below zero wouldn’t harm him, if he kept his head. Not to mention the fact that his chew left an amber trail in his beard. No to mention his cheeks and nose went numb, along with his has even though they had mittens are them. The man could’ve heeded is the way the dog acted towards the weather.
During his time in Klondike, London developed scurvy, which gave him a troubled stay. London’s problematic visit in Klondike led him to write the short story To Build a Fire. Jack London was a journalist and essayist during
“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
Although there is suspense in the plot, this story focuses primarily on character. In fact, character is one of the most crucial facets of this story; it is the thing that eventually causes the protagonist’s death. The thoughts of the protagonist are stated, implying certain character traits such as naive determination. In addition, the dog has its own thoughts and character. One may think, “A dog with thoughts?
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.
John London uses realism, naturalism and irony on his story "To Build A Fire". This story narrates the story of a men in the middle of the Yukon Trail, London narrates how a man is trying to get to the fork of Henderson Creek, where the boys were already. The man was hoping to find some gold and that's what lead him to his own tragedy.
First, I am going to analyze the dog’s relationship with the man. the man is on his way to meet the boys with his only companion, a wolf dog which represents the bond we have with nature. The dog relies on the man to provide warmth by fire and the man needs the dog for his instincts. I believe the that since it is a wolf dog it has both traits as a wild wolf and a domesticated dog. It is like a gateway between humanity and nature which allows us to be a part of it. The dog never left the man’s side because he needed him. The man however, the attempted to kill the dog to spare his life. The man also sent the dog across the lake knowing that the dog’s instincts could get him across. The man heavily relied on the dog for his survival and was willing to sacrifice him for the man’s